Dismounting without falling

[PaulaO]

For years I dismounted the traditional way. Kick feet out of stirrups, swing right leg over, jump down. Then I got into the habit of dismounting like Western riders: keep left foot in the stirrup and step down. Not the safest but I could not dismount the traditional way without falling down and landing on my behind. Today I dismounted and landed on my butt.

I do not know what I am doing wrong. I feel like my feet hit the ground so hard that I just collapse. It's not horse specific. After tomorrow's lesson I will have Kim guide me through dismounting. Miss A. is very good so I''m not worried about her. I just can't figure out what I'm doing or not doing.

Any suggestions?

[Kelo]

Can you use a mounting block to get off too? Sometimes the distance is just too much, but stepping off onto a block is just right.

[DJR]

My knees won't allow me to vault off (kick both feet out of the stirrups then swing off and land at the side of the horse), especially when I'm on my 17+hh gelding. I can't absorb the shock of hitting the ground because of a lifetime of knee pain. But, I also don't feel safe stepping off like a Western rider would with the left foot staying in the stirrup until the right foot is on the ground.

So, I keep my left foot in the stirrup in order to swing my right leg over the horse, then I put my hands on the pommel & cantle and take my left foot out of the stirrup. I then ease myself down using my arms & my body (against the horse) to break the momentum downward. I land gently beside the horse, and use the horse to steady myself. I've been doing it this way for about five years and it works well for me, even on younger more flighty horses.

[Kyra's Mom]

I use a mounting block for dismounting about 90% of the time. 1 artificial hip and 1 arthritic knee that is next in line plus issues with both feet and they just can't take the impact. So, I use a mounting block for both getting on and getting off.
When I got my current horse, I started doing the come get me off the fence (or let me get off on the fence) type exercises when she was only 2. By the time I actually rode her at 4, honestly, nothing regarding mounting was a big deal. When my hip was going bad, I changed to mounting on the right side. Hip is fixed but I still mount on that side. Horsie doesn't care. I trained her well .

Susan

[boots-aregard]

Yeah. Mounting block.

I had a huge tree stump, about 3.5 feet across, left behind as a mounting block at my barn. I'd mount (on the left) on the block going out, and dismount (off the right) coming home. Theory being, you 'even out' the stresses on the saddle tree that way.

It is good training to know how best to mount and dismount for each horse from the ground, yes. But it is also good _practice_ to use a mounting block instead.

[Flight]

I do what DJR describes, when I dismount my 17hh horse. I tend to put my hands on the pommel and seat though.

[Quelah]

I do it the way DJR and Flight do, though I'm not sure if if I put my right hand on pommel or seat LOL, I'll try to pay attention tomorrow.

[AmityBee]

I do it the way DJR and Flight do, though I'm not sure if if I put my right hand on pommel or seat LOL, I'll try to pay attention tomorrow.

Me too. Both legs out of the stirrups, though. I definitely support myself on pommel and cantle. Unfortunately, unless you never wear anything with a zipper, it will ruin your saddle.

[kande50]

I usually step down, but if the horse is too tall I start as if I'm going to step down and then kind of drop down the rest of the way. I've only come close to falling once, when he was spooking at something and moved just as I was stepping down.

It's not graceful, but I can't slide down because I have Peacock stirrups on my saddle and they're easy to get hooked up on.

https://youtu.be/1Gy7vejNELE

[boots-aregard]

I do it the way DJR and Flight do, though I'm not sure if if I put my right hand on pommel or seat LOL, I'll try to pay attention tomorrow.

Me too. Both legs out of the stirrups, though. I definitely support myself on pommel and cantle. Unfortunately, unless you never wear anything with a zipper, it will ruin your saddle.

Yeah, watch out for that! I was shocked and surprised to see so many "riding vests" (you know, puffy vests with out arms) that have zippers. I thought the point of making them for equestrians was to forego the zipper in favor of snaps, but it's a search of huge proportions to find a snap one these days. Zippers are horrible with saddles.

[goldhorse]

My preference is to use a mounting block. The barn owner built an extra tall one which puts my feet about even with the stirrup. I can keep one foot on the step and swing my other foot over the saddle. I reverse that for dismounting. Granted my horse is only 15h.

Otherwise I do a modification of DJR's method. I keep my foot in the left stirrup, swing my right leg over, remove my left foot, place my left hand on the withers and my right hand on the pommel, and then kind of shimmy down my horse's shoulder until my feet near the ground.

[PaulaO]

Kim held Miss A after our lesson and guided me off using the above methods. I will practice. I can dismount with the mounting block, but there may come a time when that is not available. What bothers me is that I used to this without thinking, purely from muscle memory.

And ground mounting is a distant memory. I couldn't haul my fat butt onto a 12 hand pony...

[goldhorse]

I can't ground mount either. Even on my little 15h guy. I'm too short, too inflexible, and now too broken. I discovered the hard way that my current horse doesn't like being ground mounted either. The pull on the saddle makes him back sore and grumpy. Now, everyone who rides him knows to use the high mounting block where they can just swing their leg over and settle into the saddle.

My last horse was taught to do what I call "hailing a taxi". If you stood on an object: fence, tree stump, truck bumper, etc. and jiggled the reins, he would sidle in next to you for mounting. I have taught my current horse the same trick. It has been invaluable out on the trails which never seem to have traditional mounting blocks.

[Flight]

I can't remember the last time I tried to mount from the ground! I've taught my two the same trick as goldhorse. I always climb on my bullbar and click to them to sidle up at shows and people always comment (probably because it's not a glamourous sight, me clambering on the front of my car )

[kande50]

I have a couple of mules who are around 15 hands and they don't seem to mind if I mount them from the ground. I do give them a treat after I get into the saddle though, and that probably contributes to their attitudes about mounting. I also started practicing mounting from either side back when I was in college and was lucky enough to have an instructor who taught us to do everything from both sides, so do mount from the right side as often as from the left.

[jeniferkey]

I hold onto my bucking strap or the mane. I still kick out and hop off, but I need that hand hold to be sure I don't sit down if my feet don't want to support me. I have broken sesimoids in both feet and I have to be careful how I land. If the horse is taller I do tend to stay close and try to slide as I go down.

[Imperini]

I leave my foot in the stirrup until I'm on the side then carefully make my way down from there. No way I could leave my foot in the stirrup until the other one makes it to the ground even if I wanted to. With my hips being the way they are if I take both feet out of the stirrups I'm likely to get stuck halfway over and land on my face because I have to lean so far forward but waiting until I'm on the side and then supporting myself to take my foot out once I'm there is perfect for me.