How To Train Your Horse To Stand Still?
Stress, tension, poor habits, inexperience or lack of engagement - leading to over enthusiasm - can result in you, the rider, being dangled with one foot caught in the stirrup as your horse marches off.
This is a recipe for disaster!
Teaching a horse to stand still while mounting is grounded in groundwork - 90% in fact.
How do you train your horse to stand at the block and stay there as you mount?
The skill is to develop your ability to move your horse forward, back, and sideways while at their side.
In time you will be able to move away from your Horse while he or she stands still for at least 30-40 seconds. For beginners, think of it like parking a car. It may look easy from afar, but like anything it takes practice to master.
The Horse mounting block
Before positioning your horse near a mounting block, you need to disarm him or her to the motion of you getting onto the mounting block.
The aim is to teach your horse to be comfortable with you getting up and down alongside him or her.
To teach your Horse to be comfortable with a mounting block, grab one, or something similar, and throw it down in front. Then lead your Horse to follow.
Once your horse is comfortable with this, you can throw the block (or prop) behind or to the side and again lead to follow. When your horse is desensitised to the block, He or She will become more comfortable with you pushing it around, even underneath him/her in time.
Next step - after your Horse accepts the mounting block
So when your horse is confident with the block, practice positioning him/her beside it while staying in front. Some riders use a whip to gently guide their Horse to move back, forward or sideways. Once in position, ‘park’ your Horse until he/she relaxes.
Don’t forget to reward with a pat or rub.
When your Horse is standing at the mounting block, continue to encourage by rubbing down each side, both on and off the mounting block. If your horse moves away, go to the front and reposition in the same way that he/she stepped out of position. For instance, if he/she stepped back, get him/her to step forward and vice-versa.
Remember to always reward with a pat and rub.
After that, simply repeat until your Horse is doing it with ease. Continue everyday, get down, lead your Horse away, and repeat four or five times. Repetition makes perfect!
What if my Horse swings hind-quarters?
Being able to turn on the forehand (from the ground) is ideal for correcting horses that shuffle their hind away when you’re about to jump on.
Try teaching your horse to do a static flexion by getting them to do it in response to the bit is the best approach. So apply gentle pressure on the bit and release when they stop moving. Soon your horse will bend without moving.
Always check (and teach) your Horse to move their hind from a simple cue, gesture, or command. He/she should respond to this from your continued work - forward, back and sideways movements – eventually.
Once comfortable with static flexions, and your Horse is moving their hind end over, it’s time to connect everything.
Stand to the left hand side
Keep the reins over their neck
Place your hands into a riding position, while on the ground
Bend your Horse to the right
Rewarding every time he/she offers to bend
And … Repeat
Your left hand holding the left rein acts as a break if your horse moves forward, which you can adjust, up and down the rein as required.
To initiate your Horse to turn on the forehand, bend him/her to the right and follow their head round until you can see the right side of your horse, then cue to move their hind. When he/she moves, pay attention to their feet - back legs should pivot around right foreleg i.e. turning on the forehand.
It’s unlikely that your Horse will do this right away, if so:
Stop with the left rein and start again
Or persist until they step correctly
Always release and reward your Horse whenever they do the correct step. When your horse understands what you are asking, he/she will eventually respond with light pressure on the right rein.
Touch and timing are important!
Before long you will notice that if your Horse tries to swing their quarters as you mount he/she will step their hind back to the block when you pick up your right rein.
Horses are not only beautiful, they’re very smart, with intellect far beyond basic tasks. Horses have the capacity to figure out advanced cognitive challenges like learning various degrees of concepts to manoeuvre in complex formations, evident from the deep connection with their rider during Dressage performances.
Horses have the intellectual capacity to figure out advanced cognitive challenges.
Teaching a Horse to stand still is an incubation process. Like any relationship, partnership or connection, a bond will solidify over time, if governed by collaboration and trust.
