mounting up

I have a 3 year old mare that we just backed a few days ago......she doesn't mind us being on her back , what bothers her is a ground mount. My husband convinced me to break her with a western saddle ( i'm a die hard english ridder) and she get's all squerly when I put a foot in to the sturrip but yet if I get on her by a mounting block she doesn't mind....i do she's only 14.1 and I look silly get on her that way...basically i'm breaking her for my two kids to ride

If kids will be riding her, won't she need a mounting block anyway?

Kristy: what if the kids took the horse on a trial ride and got off and had to get back on?..there probley wouldn't be a mounting block handy.... :P

Start slow. Put your foot int he stirrup but don't try to mount. Put your foot in and pull it out over and pver and over again. Let her get used to that. When she can stand quietly, start putting weight in the stirrup, but still don't try to mount. Do that over and over again. Heck, jump up and down next to her until she can stand quietly. Basically, she need to be de-sensitized to what you're doing and when you mount from the ground, it pulls on the saddle weird which can be scary to a green horse. I hope this makes sense. Its alot easier to do that to explain. In general, if a horse isn't sure about something, I do it repeatedly until they realize that its nothing exciting and becomes second nature to them.

lol. You clever girl. I know she wanted a solution but I was curious to ask.

Hi there, how lovely to be able to ride western! I envy you.
However with this young horse I would just carry on using the mounting block until she is completely at ease - mounting from the ground is much harder on her back, especially when she is still just a baby.
I always mount from a block even on 14hh, and if I have to get off will try and find a rock or depression to remount. Tight jods don't help and age has taken its toll...
My humble advice is to avoid a battle and take things slow. She will come round to it when she is older and stronger.
Good luck, oh and yee-haa.

I break all my colts to mount from eithe side. The first times are started when they are tied. I repeat getting on and off several dozen times like this. You may want to try it till your horse accepts it.

It could be that she has a slightly sore back and when you get on her from the ground it hurts a bit and if you get on from a mounting block you don't have to put as much weight in the stirrup for as long to get on so it doesn't hurt.
I'm not saying you've done anything to hurt her, she may have just done something in the paddock. :)
I am helping to break a mare that has a simliar problem at the moment except her back problem was a lot worse and now even when it doesn't hurt her she remembers the pain and won't stand still.
You might want to get a horse chiropractor out or even a vet to check her over just in case.

Are you prodding her with your boot from the ground? It is much easier to have this happen while mounting from the ground.

I agree with everyone up above, and if she doesn't have a sore back,another thing to try is have someone on the opposite side of her and hold the stirrup down and put a little pressue so when you get on her spine isn't being pulled all to the left side, which will cause discomfort especially for a younger horse