Lorien Stable: Trainer's Notes
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Today's topic is Teaching a Horse to Stand while Being Mounted.
Many horses are mischevious at mounting time; they won't stand still,
they wiggle, they move away. Usually this is because no one has ever
properly taught them to stand still--they're not misbehaving, it's just
that no one has ever really sat down with them and explained what is
expected at mounting time.
So what you need to do is to teach them to just stand still. It isn't
particularly hard.
First, teach the horse the word "whoa" (or some facsimile thereof).
Don't assume he knows it-start all over and make sure. I usually do
this by walking the horse, stopping, using the lead to ask for a stop,
and saying "whoa." Eventually, you use the lead less and less until he
is responding entirely to the verbal command, and does not need you to
use the lead rope to get the idea across.
I have an additional page on teaching voice
commands, which goes into this in more depth.
Now you want to teach him to stand still, to continue to stay "whoa'd"
while you are moving around him.
You will eventually make him stand at a whoa while
you mess around his
body...playing with the girth, flipping the reins, whatnot. This is how
I do it:
You may want to begin any or every session by reminding him of how he
whoas on
the lead; walk a few steps, whoa, walk a few steps, whoa. Then you will
move on. I usually first
teach them to stand while I am holding the lead rope,
walking back to the neck ("whoa. whoa. whoa."), and back to the head
("whoa. whoa. whoa."). I hold the lead rope to prevent him following
me. If he tries to follow me, I do not punish him; I tell him, "no,"
and start over. You are trying to teach him something he does not
already know; here is no point getting angry at him. You have to show
him what it is that you want him to do, and then try to make sure he
"gets" it.
If he has remained whoa'd then I reward with a treat or a "good boy"
or "good girl," or a nice scratch (or a combination thereof). Rewarding
him for doing it right will tell him when he has done what you are
asking for. Do this
for several times a
session--I would say about five--and then stop. At any time, if he
seems to have a
"flashbulb moment" and suddenly gets it, or does it perfectly, STOP.
Put him
away. Reward him by not making him repeat the exercise any more that
session. Do this for
several sessions until the horse really seems to have the idea down well.
Do make sure you repeat the exercise on both sides of his
body, not just left or right.
Next session, I start off by reminding him to stand whoa'd while I walk
back to the
neck and back to the head; reward. Now I walk past the wither; for
the first few sessions, I usually keep my hand on the horse. I lightly
run my fingers along his body s I walk toward his back, then back to his
head. Again, if he has been able to stand still, I reward him. I do
this several sessions until he understands it and obeys well.
I bet you can guess what I do for the next session ;) I extend my "walk"
to his hip, then eventually to his tail. Over the course of a few
sessions I keep extending my range until I am entirely walking around
his body and returning to his head.
If at any time he seems to be losing it--he will not stand still when
told--you can go back to the very first step, asking him to whoa while
being led. Reinforcing the idea of "whoa" is most helpful.
I also teach him to stand while I walk away. It's easier for him to
obey your "whoa" if, at first, you walk away from his side (turn your
back to his withers and walk straight a few steps) rather than away
from his head. Stop him, tell him to "whoa," walk a few steps away from
his body. Walk back, reward. Again, try extending this slowly over the
course of a few sessions; you want to be able to walk about 5 steps
away, or away from any *part* of his body (shoulder, head, hip) and have
him remain still.
Okay, your horse now reliably knows "whoa." You can now expect him to
respond to it when asked :)
Now, get a second person. The second person is to hold the horse. You
start off, as usual, by leading him at a walk and asking for a whoa
several times. Now, you go to mount. Your second person holds the
horse. You say, "Whoa," and walk around. You say, "Whoa," and mess
with the girth. You say, "Whoa," and fiddle with the stirrup. Now, you
say, "Whoa" and attempt to mount.
If he stood still, congratulations. Reward him! Put him away. That
was all he needed to really
understand the concept. If not, you simply repeat the exercise,
and keep asking him to stay whoa'd. He will eventually understand that
you want him to stand still to be mounted. When he does, rmemeber to
reward him well and let him be done for the day.
After a few sessions with a helper, then you attempt to mount on your
own. Tell him, "whoa" and climb on. Voila!
Don't forget to teach him to continue standing still after you have
mounted. It's terribly bad manners to walk away before he has been
asked; so
make sure after you mount, you remind him to "whoa" until you
specifically ask him to move on.
You may still encounter difficulties after you have made sure he really
does understand "whoa." In such cases, it is usually a good idea to
have your horse's saddle, back, and teeth checked out; if he is
obediently
standing for other exercises, but continues to squirm away from being
mounted, he may be hurting. The saddle may not fit properly; he may
have an injury to his back; his bit may be hurting his teeth. If he
associates riding with pain, he may
simply be afraid of being mounted. Again, here too, do not punish him
for "misbehaving." Punishing him will only make him afraid and more
likely to keep misbehaving. It is entirely proper to correct him for
not doing what is asked (tell him "no" and ask him to do it right), but
hitting him or yelling at him will not help you.
