Restarting Monte, Part 3

Although this is part 3 of Re-starting Monte, I began untracking him on the lead rope around his hind end on the first day of ground training. And on the second day of his re-start, wearing a saddle and carrying a snaffle bit, I continued to get him supple and untrack his hind end for those turn arounds and giving to pressure. While we did not shoot video on using the lead rope to untrack his hind end, you'll see the untracking using the lead portion of the mecate reins as I continue with Monte understanding to giving to pressure on a direct rein. You have to be careful with a green or very responsive horse, all horses actually, so that he doesn't step into you as he feels the mecate lead on his side opposite you, so the angle and distance to your horse and his hind end should be safe for the handler. Soon the horse may be anticipating this so be ready for him to move his hind end over before you pickup the slack or otherwise put a feel in the lead rope. Monte would sometimes step in the opposite direction and this was simply because I did not do enough of this untracking exercise.

As the horse untracks with the mecate lead across his hind end, you can do the same untracking with the mecate lead just looped over the saddle horn. He may struggle at first but give him time to search and find the release. The first time I did this with Monte without a saddle and just using the lead rope, he untracked really fast like a corkscrew as it worried him. A few more times and he was responsive but lost his apprehensiveness about the pressure. I just make sure the release is followed by a longer pause, perhaps 10 seconds before asking again.

Getting the horse to pick a rider up off the fence. I had first seen this over 20 years ago and immediately got my horses comfortable with this, as I had pretty bad knee pain that made mounting from the ground pretty hard. Since then I have healed my knees, but having horses pickup you when you ask them to is a good tool to have available. We all have seen young people climb into a saddle......someone 5'1" tall mounting a 16 hand horse, like monkeys climbing a tree for a banana, but trust me when I say if you are an old person you will be grateful getting the horse to do this.

This is best to start with a lead rope. Sitting on the fence, with the horse usually perpendicular to you, I will bump the lead rope until the horse searches for a release by moving his back end or even starting to just lean his hind end towards me. Its important to give the release with good timing and give the horse a good pause before bumping again. Continue until he is close and parallel where you can mount. If you did a good job with the horse on following a soft feel on stepping forward and backing, you can direct a step or two forward or back for easier and safer mounting from the fence.

Before you mount for the first couple times, while maintaining a solid foot and hand on the fence, use your other foot touch the horse where you can, rub your foot on his barrel and butt, and place weight on his back or in the saddle. You want to avoid spooking him seeing and feeling you above him once you are committed, so get him used to some feel of your boot and weight in the saddle and your foot in his opposite eye.

I don't get on a horse that is moving. I work with him to stand still while I mount, but still have control of the mecate reins or lead while I am mounting, and once I throw a leg over if the horse starts to move out, I'll check him. I try to be light but smooth getting in the saddle as opposed to a sumo wrestling flopping on a couch. With re-starting Monte, I mounted from the fence maybe four times. The first two times he began to walk off, but again I asked him to stop and wait on me. When I am in the saddle, and he is waiting on me and I am ready to walk out, I rock his hind end back or step back then ask a front foot to step away from the fence then move out. If you gave the horse a decent understanding from the ground work with connecting the lead to the front foot, this will be easier. Be satisfied with the smallest step out. The important thing is that he tries and is not moving forward without your direction. In fact, I rarely mount and have the horse step right out to the front. This helps alleviate anticipation down the road.

Sometimes it only takes a few minutes to get a horse to understand his part in picking you up from thr fence, a trailer fender, a mounting block, etc. In clinics I have started many rider's horses on this, although it has to be reinforced to be reliable. Once a horse is good about this, they sometimes become anticipatory and move to pickup up before you ask. If this happens I just re-set them, as by now I can control their feet with the mecate lead, and have the horse wait until I ask to be picked up.