Getting On

There is a local state park where I live that uses volunteers to patrol the park. The volunteers serve in a variety of different capacities from docents to mounted patrol. I thought it would be fun to volunteer to be a member of the mounted patrol so I asked them what the requirements were.

They gave me a list of requirements that ranged from being able to ride your horse at a walk, trot, and canter to being able to administer first aid. But one of the requirements that surprised me was that they wanted to see the volunteer mount their horse from level ground without assistance. I thought that this should be fairly obvious and I asked the ranger who administered the test about that. His reply shocked me. It turns out that it is the single most stringent requirement and disqualifies nearly 80% of all applicants. I thought he was exaggerating but he showed me the paper work, and sure enough, his statistics were correct.

Being able to get on your horse without assistance from another person or a mounting block is really a skill that every rider should have if they are intent on riding on a trail. If you cannot do it, then I highly recommend it, at least as a long term goal. The following are some ways to help you reach that goal:

1. Join a gym. (and go)
Horse back riding is a physical skill. It requires practice, and fitness. Get fit, get flexible, and develop the arm strength that it requires to start getting on your horse.

2. If you cannot afford a gym, then consider the following exercises:
-Find a fence like the ones seen all over stables and climb over it. Do it for about 20 repetitions and it will definitely help you develop the flexibility and the strength.
-Every time you go out to see your horse in the pasture, if the fence is strong enough, do not go through it, or through the gate. Go over it. Force yourself. It is just another chance to use all those muscles that you would use to mount your horse.
-Grab a bale of hay, and toss it over a log or a jump. Then step over the jump and toss it back. Do this 20 times a day.

3. If, in the end, you have done all these exercises and you find that you are simply too short or your horse is too tall, (take note when you buy your next horse) then consider stirrup extenders that can be purchased to help you mount your horse.

Personally, I would be afraid to ride my horse on the trail if I could not easily mount and dismount. And of course, now that I have been preaching exercise, I suppose I better get my lazy carcass out there and do it too.

Command or Control, a Ground Based Review

In a previous post, I mentioned how important it was to understand the difference between Command, and Control. As a quick recap, I have to restate that Control of a horse is an illusion. Control of the horse is the province of the horse alone. It is the rider's task to teach the horse to control himself. When this is achieved, the rider may assume command. But many have mentioned that they do not necessarily know if and when they have command or when they are attempting to exert control.

The following tests might help:

1. Lead your horse through a series of obstacles, there should always be slack in the lead rope, if you never lose the slack, you have command.

2. When you groom the horse, is it necessary to tie him? Especially in cross ties? If so, you do not have command of your horse. Cross ties may be used to train him to stand quietly, but the training is not complete until he no longer needs them.

3. Can you fully tack your horse without tying him? If so, you have command.

4. When you bridle your horse, does he lower his head for you?

5. When you ask your horse to stand and wait for you while you walk 20 paces away. Will he wait at least 30 seconds without being tied or held? If so, you have excellent command.

6. When in the pasture, can you call your horse to come to you, then send him away, and call him back? Can you do so in the presence of other horses? If so, command is well established.

7. Can you step up to a mounting block and have the horse swing his side to you and present himself for mounting? Or do you do the mounting block dance?

These are all tests that will test your command of a horse on the ground. Mounted tests are generally well established in many disciplines but there are still a few tests that you can do yourself to test your command. However I will leave those for another blog.

Many extremely well trained horses will fail these simple tests so if you do not get them all, do not be discouraged. I cannot pass them all myself with my own horses. And passing on one day does not mean I will pass on another day. And indeed, passing is not as important as having them as a goal and recognizing that there are many times when I may be deluding myself into thinking that I have command when I am actually trying to exert control.