It's a perfectly reasonable question, if he isn't prepared to explain then perhaps he doesn't know why himself, his repsonse seems a bit rude to me. To be honest Christena, I had been thinking of posting question myself about standing on a horses back, it seems to me that a lot of weight on a small area (ie a big man standing on a pony's back) is not actually that great for the poor animal. We spend so much time trying to ensure that the saddle fits and that we as riders are balanced, so why would you want to stand up and potentially hurt them? I agree that it does show that the horse is calm and that the person feels safe to do it, but I cannot see the point of it either, unless you are in a circus performance or just want to show off. I would much rather see someone demonstrating a good relationship and a calm horse with some nice soft riding or groundwork.

That guy just sounds like an arrogant trainer who just likes to be a "show off".

emlaw you bring up a good point that I didn't think about. And that was that sanding on their back would cause pain. Even in circus and other horses like that, they have special saddles or pads that still spread the weight over a wide area. I too rather see good relationships by riding (ether with tack or with out {witch I think is very cool}) OR by ground work again with or with out tack.
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Horse addict I also agree with you. This guy is a little how do you say full of him self. EVEN on my videos, Yea I do get some not so good comments BUT I am not rude in my reply, even if the comment was rude to me. To me it is "natural horseman" like him that give us bad names, in my own opinion.
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NOW on another note I would love to see a lesson with the save equipment Monty used to in saddle fitting to show the pain that standing in the saddle is causing the horse.

I don't think he has any reason to do that to his horse, except to show off (which he clearly is doing).
What I would like to see videos of is how to react to common, everyday minor problems, like balking at the wash rack. Trick riding is completely it's own category!

Christena - if you want to see some amazing riding without any tack at all, just check out the video on YouTube of Stacy Westfall in the 2006 Championship. Amazing stuff, although she does stand on the horse's back near the end which kind of spoils it a bit for me. It seems to be something that is mostly seen in western riding for some reason.

In the "Willing partner's program" there is also an example of a horse with the rider standing on a Western saddle, probably there will be no problem with the weight. You may consider this as a sign of extreme confidence. But I don't think that everybody of us has to repeat that experience. I can immagine that it is quite dangereous until you come to this point. There are other exercises I would never try, like mounting and dismounting from behind.
What is the common sense? I think who is capable to do those exercises with a horse safe and as a game may do it. Most of us should probably not try to do so.

Personally, I wouldnt. Biggest reason, my balance isnt that good and I would probably fall off. Besides, the only reason I ever even thought about it was to reach something I couldnt otherwise, but decided I didnt need it that bad.

100% of the videos that I have seen so far with “standing on the saddle” are all of riders showing off. I have seen the video of Stacy Westfall and she is amazing. When I seen that video in 2007, I have been wanting to do that. I want that connection with my horses. Now I can see doing it as a trick rider. BUT as in general everyday riding. No, why show off unless you have a girl or guy you want to show off to. Now someone has also told me last night that Standing on the saddle is a task that Dennis Reis and Parelli had you doing.
I am starting to wonder if the top “trainers” are taking training out of horsemanship and putting in more show off tricks. I am afraid they are taking the safety of horse and rider out of training.
I have all 16+ hh. it’s a long ways down when I call. I know I would never stand on their backs.
Thank you all for your input. The next question is when will all this Show Off stupid tricks stop? Does it have to wait till a beginner gets hurts?

I too think you have a valid question, Christena, and I am sorry to hear that someone who thinks of himself as a competent trainer gave you such a rude answer. No teacher should ever give a question that kind of response. It reflects very badly back on himself, if you ask me. I really can't see why he couldn't have given a simple explanation, even if only to say he didn't have any particular reason for doing what he did, except to show that he could.
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That said, I would like to put in a word for the actual deed in question.
For the normal rider there is no real point in standing on the horse's back -(Mind you, I have a friend who lived on a farm as a kid, and he used to park dad's work horse under the apple trees in fall, climb its back and pick down apples for himself and the horse. They both enjoyed this game!) - and I doubt it affects the horse very much physically.
There is, however, disciplines where you need to be able to doing tricks has nothing to do with showing off, like gymkhana and voltige (gymnastics on horseback) - both competed in at World Cup levels.
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I can also see a use for "tricks" when it comes to horses used in riding for disabled people, where kneeling down and being able to stand very still in any situation can come in handy.
Not to mention the fun lots of kids can have with their ponies, teaching them all sorts of things just for bonding and having fun. (And practice their balance!)
Furthermore, training a young horse - before you even sit on it - tricks can be a great way to teach it to listen to you, learn to accept certain things, and just have fun.
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I will finish this by mentioning one of the best young-horse trainers in Sweden - Eamon Hickey. Yes, you will often find him "show off" at clinics by standing on the back of a horse (very briefly). He does it in part because the audience has come to expect it, partly to show horse owners that their horses are not the impossible buckaroos they thought. But also to show *the horse* that it doesn't have to fear this. The human on their back won't hurt them even when they are this high above them - so it does have a certain value as long as you use it with care and sense.
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Back to us "normal" riders, there is of course little use for standing on our horses' backs (maybe if a light bulb needs changing in the stable ;) ), and I would strongly recommend against it if you lack the gymnastic skills to do it, or if it is just to show off.
But - and I say this with all respect for other peoples' views here - I think any training that has a thought behind it and teaches the horse to calmly accept all sorts of things is OK by me as long as both horse and rider enjoys themselves.

Thank you Kichi for you input on this question. And you have made several valid points. Yes, when using this trick for a learning experience and therapy. They you are using them for good not to just show off. And using the skills for your riding disciple that is also different then an everyday normal rider to do it.
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I also use trucks to teach horses. When we get now horses at the rescue. The fist week is I play games and teach tricks to horses for both positive rewords and positive human contact and a treat. We first would teach the horse to pick up a foot when we tap its leg. We teach horses to smile. Our Mini Horse Mascot knows how to rear, bow, and sit all on command. Using tricks to help form a bond is a good thing yes. HOWEVER, teaching a horse to bow, to me shows you are to lazy to mount your horse and it could not be good on their legs and back (could it?)

Dear Christena, my best friend when I was a child had scoliosis and was in a wheelchair her whole life. Her lovely FJord horse would go down on one fronleg so she could get up, and he acctually did pick up her jacket or helmet if she dropped it on the ground. There might be a horse one day that moves along to a girl like my friend Anna, one of those horses trained for somebody else's purpose. People with an agenda is a different story, sometimes we just can´t force people to think in a different way, and sometimes we are lucky! Warmest CI Ann Lindberg

Thank Hastpedagog, For someone suck as your friend, then I can see using such a trick like that. I am mostly talking about people that are 100% able to put their foot in the stirrups. If you look at the videos on youtube with the trick of bowing to mount. The people can easy mount without being what I see as lazy. Like said before tricks are good However Only when they are used in a good way and not in a lazy or harmful way.

So true Christena - human kinds ego works in funny ways! It´s not easy to be human as my old grandfather used to say - I never understood that as a child, but I do now! Wish you all a HAPPY HORSEY DAY! Warmest Ann Lindberg