how to train a horse to stand still

Best answer

Mount the horse 6-7 timesuntil it stands still each time you mount it. Repeated mountings will encourage the horse to stand still when it mounted. Further reinforce the behavior by rewarding the horse with a pat and a treat for not moving off as you mount.

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Whenever your horse is standing still, praise him with a soft voice and a scratch on the withers. If your horse steps sideways or turns towards you, create a boundary on the opposite side by placing your mounting block close to a fence or wall.

Ask your horse to stand; let your reins be slack. If they start to take a step, immediately pull a rein to your hip and apply pressure with the leg on the same side. This will cause the horse to bring its nose back towards your leg and step their hind-end around.

Standing still for mounting builds mutual trust and confidence for you and your horse. But since horses are flight animals standing still simply does not come naturally to them. Whenever they feel anxious ?even a little bit ?they not only want to but have a real need to move!

Gently take up enough contact on both reins so that, if your horse moves forward, you can put a block on the reins. If he pushes through your block, release it and push him around the mounting block until he is back where he started.