Re: RC: Won't stand for mounting

[RDCARRIE@aol.com]

My husband's gelding used to start off at a very fast walk as soon as my 
husband put weight in the stirrup.  It didn't seem to be discomfort during 
mounting in this case - it was more that Raffey is always ready to go, and 
didn't see the need to wait till Ross was fully mounted before getting 
started.  LOL  So every time Raffey started to move off during mounting, Ross 
would return to the ground and calmly turn him in a tight circle, then say 
"whoa", and start to mount again.  If Raffey moved, same thing.  Only took a 
few repetitions for Raffey to learn that they'd get going a whole lot sooner 
if he stood still for Ross to mount.  He learned that if he didn't stand 
still, he had to do some work.  Ross always stayed calm and simply made 
Raffey work a bit when he started to move off, and praised him when he stood 
quietly.  He occasionally has to refresh Raffey's memory, but the change has 
been remarkable.  No more finishing the last 70% of the mounting and fumbling 
for the other stirrup while the horse is striding off at a fast power walk.  
Of course, if the problem is that the horse is hurting during mounting and 
moving away from the pain, that would definitely need to be addressed.

Dawn in Texas