I get that I need to enforce good behavior
I am at a loss as to how to do it. I will read through these threads you have shared. Thank you.
i am the person who detailed the specific instructions for how to mount from a fence a few paves back. you start from a fence because it is safer to start there. the horse can’t knock you off a fence but he can knock you off a mounting block.
Now that he’s. standing quietly to mount from a fence it is safer to use the mounting block.
it sounds to me like he is a very willing horse and he believes he is doing what you are asking. it sounds like clearer communication is needed.
i can’t see what you are doing but try NOT leading him back to position. instead tap his outside hip just like you did from the fence. you now have to teach him from the mounting block just like you did from the fence. and when he does stand in the right position dont get on. just love on him. make him feel that’s the bes place to be in the world.
it isnt an instant translation from fence to mounting block. you have to repeat the same steps you did on the fence.
Given that the issue you describe is all around you climbing the block, but he is fine with a fence, I think you need to find an additional stage between fence and block. The way you describe your block makes it sound like once the horse has moved you need to get down from the block to reset the horse before you can continue. I use a couple of small straw bales in the school to teach mounting. Softer landing if I come off into them, but more importantly it means if the horse steps away I can stay up there and move the horse around me to ‘reset’ them without me having to step down. The height I get from 2 bales also means I can work on being higher than the horse, put my arm over it and even lean all my weight over it without putting my foot in the stirrup if I want so I can work through a range of mounting experiences without necessarily having to do them all in order or put any sideways weight on the saddle. When I first taught my youngest to stand for mounting I did it with a headcollar rather than a bridle because it is easier to keep hold of the 1 rope and move her around me on the bales than it is to hold 2 reins, and I was sure she was then learning to stand rather than being held in halt by the bit.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with finishing a session without mounting if that’s not the stage you are at yet in this behaviour with this horse. The horse doesn’t know whether your goal is to mount or stroke his ears or stand on the block just holding the reins. As long as you end on something that isn’t the exact behaviour you are avoiding (horse stepping away from block) you aren’t undoing your training.
Here is something no one has mentioned.
It’s about getting the horse ready first.
If a horse has learned to move away when you put your foot in the stirrup, or whatever variations of not standing still, the preparation I often use to get on is to push or pull on your saddle horn, or the pommel, or the withers, until he braces his feet and legs against your attempt to push him off his feet on purpose.
You may have to start from the ground, so you can travel with him.
When he starts moving away, push on him the same direction, make him move away, as if you want him to. At some point he will brace against that, and lock his legs up against you, which is what you want…
You can also pull on him towards you, like you are trying to pull him off balance.
Again, he will brace his feet.
What a horse has to do to allow you to get on is to brace himself. So pushing or pulling eventually become the cue. When you get on the mounting block, and bring your horse into position, get him ready by pushing or pulling on the saddle so he braces his feet.
You don’t really have to worry about reward or punishment or treats. You are simply using the horse’s natural tendency to brace against pressure to your advantage, and he learns by consistency.
As a side note, if you can tie in picking up on the reins in relation to all this, and he will learn that also by associative learning, or classical conditioning.
I leased a horse that was a nightmare at the mounting block. I taught him to stand this way - it didn’t take long, and he learned it well.
Have the mounting block in an area where you can really move around. If it is jammed into a corner this will be a lot harder.
Every time horse moved when I tried to get on, I just (very quickly) made him move more: circles, backing, etc. Any time he wants to move, make it your idea - you decide where he will move & you decide when to stop. After a few circles, side steps or backing up (vary this) go back to the block & try again. Praise praise praise when he is still, and move move move when he isn’t.
I would only do this after making sure a horse is fine with someone standing over him on the block, but OP had done that.
I forgot to mention that you should tie this in with a definitive “stand” command.
I also used this technique to teach my current horse to not walk off immediately after I got on. Did the same thing but on her back. With both horses, they caught on pretty quickly.
I don’t know…my daughter had a problem with her horse swinging his butt away from the mounting block as soon as she reached for the stirrup. She tried all sorts of things.
One day she got very frustrated, got off the mounting block and give him a smart smack on his hip with her crop, told him to “stand up, here” and that was the end of it. He now stands very still at the block.
Maybe get mad a little?
It’s been my experience that a tap, or smart smack, will increase energy in a horse, not make it stand still quietly and calmly. In this type of situation, I would like my horse to learn to stand still while I mount anywhere, anytime and under any condition, not just in the ring next to the mounting block. I am out on the trails a lot and have had to mount under some unusual conditions, and really appreciate a horse that stands patiently and calmly.
Standing still to be mounted is simply a horse that learned how to stand patiently. This is an important skill, since the horse has to stand for the blacksmith, stand in the trailer, stand in the crossties, stand tied to the trailer, etc. Incorporating a tying program into the training program can contribute to the horse learning to stand patiently. Weather permitting, when I ride, I tack up and bring 2 - 3 horses out to the ring and tie them to a tree. I ride them one at a time, and they stand tied to the tree when not being ridden. Over time, they’ve become very very patience horses.
It also does that, Flash44. It can also be used to reinforce a command. It also depends on the horse. Some would react badly, some would increase their energy. This particular horse got the message and “replied”…oh, okay, if you insist. And hasn’t moved a muscle since. What sometimes happens is that the horse sees the moving around and then standing and getting a treat as a complete behavior chain. He doesn’t get that moving is bad/standing good and that standing gets the treat. Also, some horses are not candidates for hand feeding and sometimes, out on the trail, you might run out of treats.
It depends on the horse…they are all different. Ours are Morgans and they tend to be very lively. If they were tied to a tree they would eat the tree! LOL We cross tie them in their stalls where they stand quietly. It’s different for different breeds, too.
I agree that standing still and being patient is once of the most important skills.
