Question: I have a wonderful Paso Fino mare who is a joy to ride.  Her name is Sedona and I adopted her 3 years ago from the Humane Society at Lollipop Farm in Rochester, NY.  Sedona was locked in a barn with 2 other horses for over a year with no care, only some hay and water.  When I first saw her I did not know if she would survive.  But she recovered fully and is doing great. 

My problem is with mounting.  Sedona just will not stand still when she is tacked up, so mounting is very difficult.  I have a left ankle that is held together with plates and screws so
I really need her cooperation when I am mounting.  She starts to circle as soon as I gather up the reins and move to her side.  I am very patient as I know Sedona may have a past history of abuse and she is somewhat nervous.  But once I get on, she is great to ride and perfect for my ankle problem as I can not post.  Can you give me some suggestions on working with her to settle and stand still for mounting?  Thank you so much.

Hi,
There a couple of things you can try to remedy this. One would be to put her in a corner to mount so she can not go forward or turn to the side. Do this until she understands to stand still to mount. I have also found on some that have had a really bad history to try mounting
from the other side. This has worked on many horses for me. Seems like when this works, after a while they do get better about being mounted from the normal side.

Good luck
Elizabeth