I need old-people help.

Bless you and your perseverance! If you love riding and it takes a 12.2 haflinger, do it. Obviously, you are a thinking horseperson. Riding with a mounting stool, easy up stirrup, or just a ditch, if It’s important, do it as long as you are able…And carry a cell phone. Lots of able horse people are glad they had the cell.

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You might also want to do some targetted bomb proofing work on this horse. Often if you take a horse to a cattle working session and they get to push cows around they get much less nervousei about them. Or put him in a field with cows for a week.

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I’ve used the little portable stool before and it was pretty nifty. I tend to ride in places where I can always find some uphill advantage somehow so I’ve lost track of where that stool ended up. I really prefer a taller horse but at 5 feet tall and pushing 50 years old I’m starting to wonder.

Keep yourself safe but it sounds like the more you work on bomb proofing the horse the easier your riding life will be. Maybe take some time to include that in your riding routine, find a riding buddy, trainer, training technique, or even someone that could walk with you while you safely work on his confidence.

Good for you for trying to figure out how to make it work! :slight_smile:

I’d like to suggest a combination of a couple of previous posts. First, teach your horse to park out. It gives you a few inches advantage and puts the horse in a stable position he knows he must stand still. Also carry the Easy Mount collapsing step. I have lots of mounting problems and dread ever having to dismount or getting dumped on a ride.
It sounds like you have a terrific horse and I understand not wanting to get a different horse. Try out all these suggestions and go out there and enjoy your horse.

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I got one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0838XYJSW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Got a pair of saddlebags it fits into (for my dressage saddle!). The darned thing is amazing. You have to use it on a very stable surface, and be careful of course. Easy to attach a cord to lift it up to the saddle. Have very little experience with it yet but it does work.

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