We do it twenty times a day. We probably do it more than anything else in a ten-hour stretch, except maybe tell a tall tale or pry the lid off a snoose can. But still, it’s a remarkable element of ...
We do it twenty times a day. We probably do it more than anything else in a ten-hour stretch, except maybe tell a tall tale or pry the lid off a snoose can. But still, it’s a remarkable element of horsemanship; that magical, frightening, exhilarating and potentially catastrophic moment when man’s foot leaves the ground and all your trust rides on two things; the quality of the horse underneath you and the strength of your horsemanship skills.
We caught up with well-known horseman and livestock handling consultant Curt Pate in Winnemucca and asked him to expound a bit on this simple yet fundamental action. Here’s what he had to say.
WR
Give us your insight on getting on a horse, Curt, it’s such an elementary procedure but there’s a lot more to it than we think.
Pate
When I was a young guy working on big ranches with the old-timers, the ones who could really get a lot done, I noticed that when they went to mount up their horses never walked off with them. They just stayed put. I realized that as those old cowboys got older, and as it became harder for them to get on, they really had to prepare their horse to not walk off.
In comparison I’d watch young guys go to get on, and they’d be real athletic, but their horses would walk off about four steps, and they’d go to correcting their horse for that. What I learned from watching those old-timers was that they broke things down, and I don’t know if they meant to do it or not, but they set things up in their mind to fix it before it happened.
WR
Heaven knows them old-timers would never let us kids know what they were up to, anyway.
Pate
Yeah, (laughs). What I noticed them old boys doing when they were getting on, was they would shorten their outside rein just a little bit, and not cock their horse’s head so much toward ‘em.
WR
Which goes against what we were sort of taught by watching the bronco men.
Pate
Yes. It does make sense to a point, but really, by cocking the horse’s head inside toward you you’re setting him up to take a step and if he does, you are already in a perfect position to react to it. If he does walk off you can bring him around toward the inside so he doesn’t get away from you, that’s what we’re thinking.
WR
How does cocking his head to the inside set him up to move?
Pate
If you think about it, when you step on a horse you’re putting all your body weight on his left front foot. But really, if you want to stop the problem of walking off in the first place you need to set his head to the right just a little bit, to counterweight that right foot which is light, and that allows him to stabilize and ready himself to take your full weight on the left side as you mount. That way, he can stand rock-steady and he won’t be inclined or set up to step out.
WR
So the rider needs to change the way they prepare the horse? Or is there a fundamental change they need to make in themselves?
Pate
They need to alter their horsemanship fundamentals from reactive, where they set the horse up to walk off, which in turn forces them to react to that situation; to proactive, where they set the horse up to not walk off in the first place.
I use this example a lot, just a simple thing like getting on a horse. If you think about it, it can be real easy, it can be an action where you can stop something before it happens, like I think all good stockmen should do, instead of having to fix the problem after the wreck happens.
WR
Tell us how you go about stepping on a horse.
Pate
If I’m getting on a horse I don’t know, I start out in front of the shoulder and I’ll begin to put my foot in the stirrup and just see if he’s starting to walk off or do anything he’s not supposed to do. You’ll know as soon as you put your toe in the stirrup whether or not he’s gonna walk off. That puts me in a position to stop him right there, and then he knows.
WR
How much toe do you put in the stirrup?
Pate
Just the ball of my foot, so I can pull it out easy.
WR
What do you grab onto?
Pate
The mane and the cantle. I don’t grab onto the horn, especially on colts, because that twisting pressure on the shoulder and withers sometimes causes those colts to squirt out from underneath you.
WR
Now you tell me.
Pate
(laughs) You’re welcome.
WR
Please continue, we’re all ears (editor’s note: really, we’re all eyes, this is a magazine).
Pate
So, I’ll do the mount in three steps; first, go to the shoulder and see if he’s going to walk off, then I’ll work my way back to the cantle and then when I figure he’s going to stand still, I’ll step on and that’s when I transfer my thought from stepping on to controlling my reins.
WR
There’s not a lot of time to switch gears, is there?
Pate
No. A hesitation for a horse is like a half-a-second, and that’s a big pause for them. With a human it seems like it takes us a minute before it means anything to us (laughs). Inexperienced riders, ‘riders on the defensive’, I call them, they sit down and they don’t even think and their horse walks off three steps and they think their horse is bad for doing it. In fact, they probably set it up themselves by not preparing their reins short enough, or not thinking ahead just a little bit. Just some simple preparation can help you reduce the amount of force and energy you need to get the job done.
WR
When do you start to make that thought transfer?
Pate
Good horsemen are really balanced. As soon as you start to step on that horse, if you’re a thinking horseman, as you’re getting on, you start to prepare yourself to stop the horse from walking off about the time your leg swings over the cantle. You change your thoughts from mounting to controlling your horse once you get seated.
WR
Do you give him a verbal cue (whoa)?
Pate
No, personally I don’t give him a verbal cue. There’s nothing wrong with a verbal cue, but I don’t, I prefer to communicate with my reins.
WR
What do you do once you’re aboard, assuming it’s a broke horse that’s pretty receptive?
Pate
If it’s safe, if he’s broke, I’ll just sit there and get him calmed down a bit, and then I think about moving a foot, not the whole horse, just one foot.
WR
Which foot?
Pate
No preference, that’s why I try to balance my horse when I get on, so I can move the right or the left foot first, whichever one suits me. When I finally have a horse to the point where I know he’s gonna stand still, I just get on him anywhere.
WR
Thanks Curt.
Pate
You bet.
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Sidebar
‘Get On’ Safety Tips from Curt Pate
- Don’t run your foot clear into the stirrup; just put it in as far as the ball of your foot.
- Wear smooth leather soled boots that were designed to slip out of the stirrup instead of hang up.
- Be honest with yourself. Are you qualified enough to get on the caliber of horse you’re getting on? If you’re in over your head, admit it and don’t get on him.
