Seasoned trail horse out on third ride of the year. Historically, he stands quietly when I mount but is then anxious to get moving. I’ve made him walk in small circles until he stands. Then when we do leave he is very forward for about the first 1/2 mile. Just rather tense and moving helps. Yesterday, he was a bit antsy when I lead him up to the mounting block and I just knew he was going to walk off - which he did - and then immediately broke to the trot, crow hopped and escalated to a full on bucking fit before I ever got situated. Dumped me. In hindsight I should not have mounted, but I can’t unring the bell. He never moves off when I’m in the arena or has excess energy, just trail riding, and only briefly. So, what to do? I doubt that he’s girthy. I’ve had him for three years and his energy level after mounting while leaving the trailer has increased. He just walks fast, doesn’t break gait or jig. I’m not sure what to address because I’m too old to bounce and I HURT today…
You say he does not do this in the arena, so I will put it down to training.
In the arena you ask for them to stand for a long time, this is so when they are excited eg trail riding or at a show or whatever it gives you an extra second or two to get in the saddle as they will not stand for as long as they do at home.
Horses are different every day. Cold weather can make a difference. Feed can make a difference. Every day you must access whether it is safe to mount.
I agree with Suzie. Unless there’s a new pain issue, it’s likely to be blamed on him being a horse. It sounds like the bad behavior is escalating. Can you work him in an arena prior to riding? Do you do any groundwork prior to getting on? It can really help you gauge what kind of horse you have that day and get him focused on you. He needs to be taught to relax before you head out. A forward walk is fine, but he needs to be relaxed at that walk, not looking to break into a trot.
Do you typically hop on and head right out? He’s anxious to get going, but he needs to learn to chill out before taking off. He’s only tense for a little bit and then calms down? I would try tacking up, and take your time. Do some groundwork and get a feel for how he is that day. If he seems too tense I wouldn’t even get on. Work with him until he relaxes and put him away. When you do ride out, if he’s tense keep his brain occupied. Do some serpentines, weave around objects, anything. When he relaxes, leave him alone.
I also like to recommend Warwick Schiller. He has a website and FB page, and a video subscription. But you may get ideas just looking around his website/FB and YouTube videos.
Can you put some alfalfa and a handful of grain in the front of your trailer, then open the escape door and let him eat while you mount? Usually, they stand and eat happily until I am in the saddle and ready to head out on the trail. Also, can you lunge him before trail rides so his energy level is lower? I would make sure you have a good helmet and vest. Safety equipment is good for keeping us old folks less anxious and more confident.
Another vote for Warwick Schiller. If you follow his “plan” you can fix all of this, and have a horse that walks out calmly on the trail. (Another option is Ed Dabney, and I recently audited a Brent Graef clinic – they all have similar programs involving groundwork and communication, find one that works for you.)
Warwick’s subscription has a free trial, and there is a very active, supportive Facebook group if you have questions.
Good luck!
Thank you all. I do agree that he has probably been elevating himself in small ways that haven’t been obvious to me. I will do more groundwork both at home and before riding on the trail. I belong to a Julie Goodnight web site and used to belong to Warrick’s so will investigate that again.
For sure it’s a training issue. Julie Goodnight has an excellent program as does Warwick Schiller.
I would practice mounting and dismounting. When you’re in the saddle you can ask him to bend his head in each direction several times. Never let your horse move off as soon as you’re in the saddle and never let him decide what pace you travel at.
You’ve got your work cut out for you, but in the end you’ll have a reliable trail partner.
I always ask for bending after mounting, and usually offer a treat when he bends his head around, but he’s too tense at the beginning of a ride to take one. He has been a great trail horse - I rode him all over the state last year and he never put a foot wrong EXCEPT for the quickness on leaving the trailer. So I need to teach him to relax… He is relaxed when he comes off the trailer and when I’m tacking up, which I don’t rush. I will first investigate Julie’s program for specifics and then try Warrick if necessary. Thanks!
Do you use the same tack in the arena and on the trail?
My 6 yr old is working on not being tense mounting. It takes a lot of practice. It helps to have nowhere to go. Maybe get on and ride near the trailer vs going off on trail. Keep him guessing what’s next.
I also got a Tipperary safety vest and wear a helmet to help protect me if I fall, so I suggest at least those pieces. This mostly sounds like an issue where he’s wired to go- and you need reset the button before it happens again or gets worse. I enlisted help with training and lessons. Think of it as investment in your safety.
Yes I do.
I will look into a safety vest as that damn saddle horn rammed me in the ribs on the way off 
OMG the same thing happened to me! I rarely use a western saddle but I was riding a greeny and thought I’d better just for more “security”. Geezus, it felt like I hit every lump and bump on the saddle as I fell. 
Your horse anticipates the fact that you’re going off property and mentally “leaves” before his body actually goes. That’s the tension you’re feeling. He then takes a few minutes to “catch up to himself”, if you will, which is why he levels out once you’ve been going forward for a bit. You’re correct that you should not have gotten on when you sensed he was going to walk off - for whatever reason, he was more ahead of himself that day than usual. I’m betting when you went to get on, he wasn’t ready for you to do so because he was too concerned about getting going, realized you were a hindrance and disposed of you.
Look up Dr. Deb Bennett’s Birdie Theory - it’s an excellent metaphor for this scenario, and I’ve used it with students to help them grasp similar situations when horses do things that otherwise don’t make rational sense to us humans.
Another metaphor that works is driving in traffic - if you imagine you’re driving a long, straight stretch of road with traffic lights. You can see several lights ahead of you as you’re driving. You come to a red light and stop accordingly. All of the lights ahead that you can see are green. Ask yourself: are you sitting calmly in your car, simply waiting for your light to turn green? Or are you looking ahead to all the green lights in front you, thinking “I hope this light turns green soon, otherwise all those lights ahead are going to turn red before I get to them!”
I’d bet money you’re thinking the latter. Now imagine you’re in a bit of an aggravated mood and just want to get to your destination. What are you thinking at that red light? Probably the latter, but with a greater sense of urgency.
Your horse is doing exactly this - he’s jumped ahead mentally - he knows where you’re headed, and mentally is already headed there. But physically, he’s still being held back at the mounting block. He’s courteous enough to let you get on, but once you’re up he feels compelled to move out, like the driver in the car stopped at the red light thinking ahead to all the other green lights and their end destination instead of staying present at their current red light. You need to help your horse learn how to stay content mentally at the red lights.
I freely admit my current horse is altering my bias when reading your description of events.
It seems likely to me there was something else going on before/during your mounting. Going to bucking that fast when previous history has him just walking away with purpose seems like an overly large escalation.
See my above disclaimer again.
I’d hazard a guess that there was something external going on that got him a little more up than normal. And that there was something a bit off about his tack. The external activity increased his need to move and decreased his ability to deal with the tack irritation - prompting the crow hop, which in turn made the tack irritation more uncomfortable, or turned you into something that he couldn’t handle given the external activity and tack irritation. My apologies for the run on sentence. I hope you followed it.
Specifically. My horse spotted the open gate on the dog run by the ring as I was going to mount. The wind was making the gate swing, which my horse found scary, creating the need to leave the area. His tension pushed his saddle too far forward which created the need to buck. While he has learned to let me know the saddle is wrong and give me a chance to dismount and fix it, the need to leave the vicinity of the swinging gate aborted that chance. I mounted, he moved, he bucked, I came off. Yeah, I should have closed the gate, reset his attention, and shifted the saddle before mounting up. Hindsight is often 20:20. The inevitable chain of events was quite clear afterwards, and I have learned from it.
The first time he bucked me off I had no idea why it had happened, but I did pay attention when similar behaviour cropped up again and eventually figured out the saddle position was the buck trigger. I’m not suggesting that saddle position is your issue, but that something apparently minor can become too much under certain circumstances. A girth slightly too loose that allows the saddle to shift sideways an inch or two; a wrinkle or lump in the saddle blanket or pad; an accidental bump or less than graceful mount by the rider; a crusty or dirty lump on the girth - any could be enough in that moment to prompt the crowhop.
Just another perspective to consider.
You guys are awesome!!! I’ve gotten some really constructive advice, but Abbie and Redhorse seem to have hit it out of the park. I totally agree Abbie, that he gets ahead of himself mentally on trail rides that I trailer him to, and your explanation seems very logical. Fortunately he doesn’t do it at home, but please tell me HOW to get him to stay relaxed at the red lights on away from home trail rides??? Me too, for that matter…
And Redhorse, I had tightened his girth moments before climbing on which could have been his tack issue, and my friend’s new horse was a bit up so was a minor distraction. Since I was thinking he was distracted and might walk off I’m sure my mounting could have been smoother. All of those things could have contributed to his frazzled state of mind and out of character behavior. The good news is that I have a good friend who has promised to help me work through some focusing groundwork, and after reading both of your possible explanations I feel very hopeful that this is something I can recognize in the future and address before it escalates. Thank you both!
PS. Again Abbie, red light calmness exercises would be appreciated 
Some of the people I trail ride with do about 20 minutes of ground work before they mount, always. They circle the horse, back them up, get them to step under sideways, just generally establish an obedient calm structure. I don’t do this, but I have an unusually laid-back horse. I think I probably should do it anyway, just in case. Maybe this would help?
Keeping him halted after mounting at home really helps. Plus always walk after tightening the girth.
It takes as long as it needs to take, but I do not mount my horse until they are standing quietly. Currently working with a “new” guy (who had an abused past) that would not stand still for mounting. It’s only been a little over a month and he stands perfectly quiet for mounting and does not walk off until I ask him to. Just takes consistency and time.
I do a little bit of ground work when necessary (depends on the horse). This particular guy literally only needed one 5-minute session on day 3, but he is sensitive and does have good general ground manners. Just nervous … and expecting to get spurred or whipped… :no:
I’m not big on making the horse walk in circles before I mount. In my mind, that teaches them to walk in circles before I mount! If I want them to stand still, then they need to stand still. If they step forward, I ask them to step back where they were. I wait until they quiet and stand there willingly. If they step forward again, I back them again to where they were. Rinse and repeat 1000 times if necessary. It takes as long as it takes. I mount up when they are standing quietly.
If they walk off before I ask, I stop them, and put them back where they were. Then give them the opportunity to stand. If they move again, I put them back where they were. Again, rinse and repeat as much as necessary. WHen they are standing quietly, then I cue them to walk and we proceed with our ride.
I do this every time. Stay calm. Stay relaxed. Don’t make a big deal out of it. Eventually the horse learns they just need to be patient and stand there and that we are not in a hurry to go anywhere.
Same goes when we are riding. If I have asked for a walk, but the horse moves into a trot, I bring them back to a walk and give them the opportunity to walk. If they break to a trot again, I remind them that we are only walking. Rinse and repeat. Stay consistent. I appreciate a horse that has energy on the trail, but I do request they stay at the gait I have asked for.
the one thing I would consider is that the variable before trail riding might be standing in the trailer for a while (depending on how long your trip is to the trailhead). So this could be a mix of issues. Behavior and pain - that something could be getting worse/stiffer if he is immobile for a longer period than just tacking up. If when you tack him up at home he is able to move around freely in a pasture/paddock or even a stall up to the point you tack him up, that might be one of the contributing factors (but I’m fairly certain as this behavior has escalated, this is more than just physical at this point).
You might want to try lunging him for about 10 minutes, no tack just to get him to loosen up, if you have space/footing to canter that would be great because that really stretches the longissimus muscles and loosens everything up. Then tack him up and work him in a way that encourages his focus on you, paying attention to you and your cues. This has two purposes, first, it lets you know how he is responding to the tack and the idea of work. Is he focused on you or showing signs of discomfort, lack of focus, etc. that make you not his primary focus? Does all thathold true in changes of direction and speed? And secondly, you are giving him a chance to loosen up under tack without the added challenge of rider weight. Every time you tighten up the girth, be sure to do at least 5 minutes worth of work. Then as others have suggested, I would get on, get off, walk him around, get on, encourage stillness, get off, walk around and so on. Then when you finally do go to walk off, make it a tight circle. If he is relaxed you can just open up that circle to a bigger one.
If you get some positive results off of this, I would take a long hard look at physical issues as well as mental issues. It could be that there has been an issue for a while now, but he is a bit stoic as far as pain goes, and now the lack of motion (along with a horse who might be more tense due to a different environment) is bringing the issue to your attention. I say this only because I ran into this with a horse who probably told me a thousand times before that there was a physical issue, but it took me riding him around for 30 minutes, jumping courses, then getting off for 10 minutes to raise jumps, hopped back on and thought to myself (as I was cantering up to a 3’3 brush box) “this horse shouldn’t have a hump in his back, we’ve been working for 30 minutes” and then proceeded to get piled driven into the arena on the backside of the jump as a good horse went full on bronc from pain. I wouldn’t have though a horse could get that uncomfortable in that short of time, but I stand corrected. He’s retired now after a lot of $$$ and not much in the way of success. Now that is an extreme example, and I’m certain you don’t have a horse with that extreme of a problem, but it is worth ruling out any minor pain issues first!
With mine I do a few minutes of in hand walk, halt, back up, turn on the forehand, in hand leg yield, shift saddle, walk, halt, check saddle, etc before I mount up. I’m looking for him to be obedient to my aids and attentive.
My stand for mounting training involves a halt, back up to mounting point, dismount and remount if the horse walks away on mounting. Repeating as needed until the horse stands quietly.
I have on occasion aborted a trail ride, dismounting and running through our pre mounting in hand exercises, and subsequently been able to remount and continue with a calm horse. I have left the group or place that was causing the issue with the intention of walking back if necessary. I suspect this works in part because we do them all the time and he knows the routine and partly because the exercises demand a certain degree of focus from him which distracts from whatever is upsetting him.
