# Mounting on the left... what's the big deal?



## RubaiyateBandit (Jan 25, 2009)

Everyone in my area seems to throw a fit when I mount/dismount my horses on the right, but I don't see what the big deal is. I've always mounted on whichever side I happened to be standing on, and none of my horses have a problem with it, so I don't see why I should have to get on the right. And, the way I see it, we desensitize a horse to everything on both sides, so why ignore mounting from the right? I've (unintentionally, without giving it much thought) mounted one of my friend's horses from the right and he wouldn't stand still for nothing, but mounting from the left, he stood like a statue.


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## Fire Eyes (May 13, 2009)

_Most horses are trained to stand for one side. So if you went to mount a horse you didn't know, you should mount from the left because chances are they're more comfortable with that side. However if it's your own horse, mounting both sides is a good idea. For you and them._


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## foreverandalways (Jun 16, 2009)

ive never gotten the big deal either
but hey my instructer said that it is better 4 the horse (which i dont get but....) 
so if anyone gives you a reasonable answer please tell me


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## CessBee (Dec 6, 2008)

its because in the army and stuff back in the day were horses were used for war, it was so your sword didnt get in the way whilst mounting, also they wanted the whole troup to be co-ordinated so they all mounted from the same side


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## CessBee (Dec 6, 2008)

and because most modern riding techniques evovled from the military, they have stuck, (please excuse horrid spelling, its the school holidays)


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## ForgetMeNotAshley (Jun 28, 2009)

I have always mounted and dismounted from the left side and will probably never do it on the right side because 1. it confuses me and I don't like it and 2. I don't think it really 'benefits' the horse to be able to mount from both sides anyway.

But it might be helpful if you're in an emergency and must mount from the right...


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## alexischristina (Jun 30, 2009)

Hm... My horse wont stand still for mounting... probably just behaviour, but next time I'm going to try on the right... I probably wont be able to do it, will probably get confused. OH WELL. But my instructor makes a big deal of it too. A few years back I was riding one of the bigger horses and decided that since it's easier to get the girth up a few holes if you are up higher, I stood on the mounting block just to get the girth up and she went off the handle because I was on the wrong side. O_O I don't get what the big deal is either.
My mom has decided it's so you can walk your horse and your dog at the same time, you're supposed to be on a horses left and your dog's right... it fits! haha.


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## ForgetMeNotAshley (Jun 28, 2009)

alexischristina said:


> Hm... My horse wont stand still for mounting... probably just behaviour, but next time I'm going to try on the right... I probably wont be able to do it, will probably get confused. OH WELL. But my instructor makes a big deal of it too. A few years back I was riding one of the bigger horses and decided that since it's easier to get the girth up a few holes if you are up higher, I stood on the mounting block just to get the girth up and *she went off the handle because I was on the wrong side.* O_O I don't get what the big deal is either.
> My mom has decided it's so you can walk your horse and your dog at the same time, you're supposed to be on a horses left and your dog's right... it fits! haha.


It kind of ticks me off when this happens. Sure, it's considered the proper "English" way of doing things (of which I'm quite a big fan, tbh ) but if you ONCE do something on the right-hand side it's not like the world's going to end. :roll: I rug and saddle and do all kinds of things on the right-hand side.. I just don't feel comfortable mounting on that side


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## alexischristina (Jun 30, 2009)

I think people are just so darn used to it that they can't manage mounting on the other side! ... or doing anything else.
Personally, I think it's stupid to not do anything on the right side... it just seems like it could put you in a dangerous situation or something... as silly as that seems... if you have to do something on the right side and your horse isn't willing to stand?


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## ForgetMeNotAshley (Jun 28, 2009)

yeah, that's probably the only downside to not being able/willing to mount on the right side. Training your horse as a one-off to stand quietly to mount from both sides would be worthwhile, because even if you never really mount from the right side, in an emergency it would save a lot of hassle and potentially even safe a life.

I guess it's just an issue of how safe you want to be, and how prepared you want to be in an emergency.


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## Sophie19 (Apr 13, 2009)

I mount from both sides, I lead from both sides. My instructor explained to me that it was traditional to mount on one side and then told me it didn't really matter. Seems like if you mount on one side all the time your stirrups would get stretched out on one side and not the other.

Neat to know it's a military tradition though.


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## Scoutrider (Jun 4, 2009)

It is harder for me to mount from the right, but I like to get my horses used to it. One day, I was really glad I did. My left stirrup came apart on me, the pin that held it to the fender on my western saddle fell out (my own stupid fault for not checking it...). My horse was fine and dandy to mount and dismount from the "wrong" side, so, no prob. Found the pin, fixed the stirrup, and kept on trucking.

I have heard the military tradition explanantion before.  I gave it when the topic came up during a 4-H meeting before, and got all kinds of wierd looks. So many people think (or don't think) that it's just the way it is, and don't try to find out why.

We go to such great lengths to train on both sides of our horses in circling, bending, lunging, everything. Why not have the horse as even in mounting?

Also, going back to the military roots of the tradition, it's important to remember that many of the riders, esp. new recruits from the Northern cities during the Civil War, were fairly new to riding and needed a crash course that was short, sweet, and to the point. It's a lot easier and cheaper to print "Mount on the left," than it is to print "You can do it this way, or this way, or that way, unless the horse is trained such way..." 

I'm glad I wasn't in the military at the time, lol. I'm left handed. My sword would have still been in the way, lol. :lol:


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I believe that it is simply because mounting on the right is not considered "proper" horsemanship. I, however, believe that is a load of crap. For a well rounded horse, you should be able to do everything from leading to tacking up and mounting from both sides.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

I didn't read most of the responses so I'm sorry if I repeat.

It's a general rule that all horses are trained to be saddled and mounted from the left. That is not saying that all horses should not be able to be mounted and tacked from either side. Most people can do either side. 

The reason horses are trained to the left is so that there is never a question as to which side a person is to mount or tack. If you don't know the horse, you automatically assume he is only left sided. it's a safety issue. My opinion is you should be able to do it from both sides. But if you don't know the horse... you mount from the left. It actually does make sense.


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## White Foot (Jun 4, 2009)

It's always good for the horse to get use to mounting and dismounting from both sides.. even if you will never use it.


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

Tradition dictates mounting from the left but having a horse that can be mounted on both sides comes in handy at times on a trail ride (as one example). 

As for stretching your saddle leathers by mounting only on the left - a Western saddle's leathers are so thick and wide that it's nearly impossible; on an English saddle, if it is a concern, just change one side to the other from time to time. Besides, unless you weigh 500lb and like to hang in the stirrup for an hour or so before swinging your right leg over, you don't spent enough time mounting to worry about it.


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## Gillian (Aug 2, 2008)

I agree with what everyone else has said. 
I've never tried to mount from the right side... it would feel SO weird though, ha ha. 
It's like ingrained into my soul, lead on the left, mount on the left, I'm brainwashed.
:shock:


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

iridehorses said:


> As for stretching your saddle leathers by mounting only on the left - a Western saddle's leathers are so thick and wide that it's nearly impossible;


Actually it is very possible. If you have an older saddle, measure the holes on the stirrup leather. You will find they are not the same. If you ride the same saddle, same horse, you get used to the feeling. Put your saddle on a different horse or have someone else sit in your saddle, they will let you know which is longer.

We train to allow mounting and dismounting from both sides. Never know when you are going to shatter your right elbow or tear all of the ligaments in your left ankle and need to mount from the off side . . .


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## Deej (May 5, 2009)

I'm really shocked that people at your barn have a problem with this. EVERYTHING I do on the left I do on the right. Its just good training. Have those people ever been on a narrow path with a steep hill on the left and have no choice but to dismount on the right? Enough said!...


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## BackInTheSaddleAgain (Apr 20, 2009)

That's what I was going to say. A good horse will letcha do it from both sides. If it's your horse, then they ARE making a big deal out of nothing.


Fire Eyes said:


> _Most horses are trained to stand for one side. So if you went to mount a horse you didn't know, you should mount from the left because chances are they're more comfortable with that side. However if it's your own horse, mounting both sides is a good idea. For you and them._


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

mls said:


> Actually it is very possible. If you have an older saddle, measure the holes on the stirrup leather. You will find they are not the same. If you ride the same saddle, same horse, you get used to the feeling. Put your saddle on a different horse or have someone else sit in your saddle, they will let you know which is longer.


Actually I have. The custom made saddle I sold earlier this spring was one I used for the past 12 years with thousands of miles on it. The difference was less then 1/4". In fact I looked at my new saddle of ~1 month and it is also a tiny, tiny bit different from right to left. I would take both instances as being off from the mfg. and not a result of mounting.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

I think if a stirrup is stretched it has to do more w/ the way a person rides then mounting. I tend to ride heavier on one side then the other so my english saddle will have a slightly longer stirrup but my western saddle doesnt stretch nearly as bad....


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

farmpony84 said:


> \ I tend to ride heavier on one side then the other so my english saddle will have a slightly longer stirrup...


Just switch your leathers from one side to the other to keep them even.


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## GypsyTally921 (May 14, 2009)

CessBee's right; it's mostly because it was a military tradition to mount from the left; and that's continued to be passed down through the generations, and everyone does it that way because it's how they learned. 

However, I have another reason: my right knee is blown; and mounting from the right would probably dislocate it if the horse even twitched, so I mount from the left for sheer safety. My older mare lets me on from either side (from a mounting block) but from the ground it's always the left for me. As for leading, I think that stemmed from most people being right-handed, having the horse in your stronger hand and not letting them go behind you, which would be unsafe.


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## RidingBareback (Jul 1, 2009)

Next time I'm on my horse in battle, I'll mount on the left^^^ lol.

That's really neat, though!


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## RubaiyateBandit (Jan 25, 2009)

I was talking to Katie and another woman (who's name I can't remember right now; she's a horse chiropractor) the other day, and somehow this topic came up. She actually commented that getting on both sides can be beneficial to the horse, because always mounting on the left pulls on the withers and, in turn, the sternum. Which, if done repeatedly for a long time (this is assuming the person isn't using a mounting block), can get the horse's withers and sternum twisted into the wrong place.
It seems to make sense to me, anyway.

I don't ride other people's horses often -- I have enough of my own to ride -- so I don't worry about it too much. I just get annoyed when other people at shows always tell me that I can't get on my own horses from whatever side I want.


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## Maynme (May 15, 2009)

I always mount my horse on the right but everyone else mounts her on the left! She is versitile.


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## Sunny06 (Jun 22, 2009)

It's incorrect equitation, but who cares?


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## CessBee (Dec 6, 2008)

i need new english leathers now cause mine are all stretched I did swap them over but one is now a WHOLE hole longer so i have to have them on different holes.


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## Sunny06 (Jun 22, 2009)

^^ HA! I have the same prob.


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## CessBee (Dec 6, 2008)

I do have a theory that im strange and have one leg longer than the other lol, so that makes them feel uneven, but its only with those leathers so i dont think its true


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## RoadRider / Rios Dad (Jul 2, 2009)

I also teach my guys to mount from either side. It sure doesn't hurt. I also like them to ride double in case I pick up a hitch hiker:lol:


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## Tennessee (Dec 7, 2008)

I make sure all of my horses allow me to mount and dismount on both sides. I have gotten myself into some sticky(not literally) situations on trail rides, and it is important that your horse be comfortable with you getting on and off on both sides.


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## Qtswede (Apr 16, 2009)

it's just traditional. I start all my colts that way, but as we move on from the basic stuff to the more bombproofing stuff, they learn to be good on both sides for mounts and dismounts.


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## DarkEquine (Aug 29, 2008)

I always thought because most of where the tack does up - throat latch, girth, blanket surgingles, are all done up from the left hand side.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

DarkEquine said:


> I always thought because most of where the tack does up - throat latch, girth, blanket surgingles, are all done up from the left hand side.


Again, that^^ is all tradition. It would take no work at all to switch everything to doing up on the right.


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

smrobs said:


> It would take no work at all to switch everything to doing up on the right.


... and that is the key - you would have to change things. What you can't change are things like halters which only buckle on the left.


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## Sunny06 (Jun 22, 2009)

It's just all tradition, IMO.


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## Cat (Jul 26, 2008)

I train all of my horses to mount & dismount from both sides. Sometimes its just needed when you are out on the trail. I don't like one-sided horses.


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## Misfit (Jun 29, 2009)

On top of what others have said, sometimes in eq classes you will be asked to dismount and mount again from the ground on the right hand side.


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