From: Alex
Dear Jessica, I have read other answers from you and I know that you always encourage riders to use mounting blocks, and I'm sure you are right about this being better for the horse's back (my vet says you are a very smart lady and he would like to meet you someday). My horse has been much better about mounting since I started using a mounting block, and my wife even put a plastic two-step stool in the outdoor arena! But when I'm in the field and I get off to set a jump and then need to get on again, what is the best way for me to do it without hurting my horse or saddle? I should already know the answer to this because I have been riding and jumping for so many years, but I never really thought about the process of mounting until I got Flame and he had a problem with mounting. Now I realize that there's more to it than I thought. For instance, I don't really know whether my right hand should be holding the cantle, or????? Thank you Jessica, and thank you for this incredible service. Nobody else has helped me as much as you have.
Alex
Hi Alex! Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate them. I'm glad to know that you have mounting blocks in place now, and that your horse is happier about being mounted. You are absolutely right -- there WILL be times when you need to mount from the ground, and it's important to know how to do it correctly.
Here's the formula:
Stand next to your horse, facing the rear, with your left hip at his left shoulder. Hold the reins and a handful of mane with your left hand just in front of the withers. Put your left foot into the stirrup, turn your toe in toward the girth, put your right hand on the waist of your saddle (that's the twist, the narrowest part of the seat), bend your right knee so that you can bounce once if you need to, then spring UP from the ground so that you are standing in the stirrup with your weight on your hands. Swing your right leg over the saddle, pick up your right stirrup, and sit gently. The idea is to get your weight up and balanced over the top of the saddle as quickly and smoothly as you can.
The reason for facing backward and looking at the horse's hock instead of his nose when you mount is this: if you are standing by the horse's belly and he takes a step forward, he's too far ahead of you and you can't catch up and mount -- if your foot is already in the stirrup, you might end up hopping a step or two and then falling. Standing at the shoulder and doing the hop-and-swing into the saddle is much safer: if you are caught halfway up the horse's side as he takes a step, his movement will swing you INTO the saddle instead of away from it.
If your horse stands still but tends to swing his croup away, be sure that when you pick up your reins in preparation for mounting, you shorten the right rein slightly. Horses find it easier to move their hindquarters away from a bend, so putting a slight bend right into the horse's neck means that the horse will find it easiest to swing his hindquarters to the LEFT -- and that will move the saddle toward you instead of away from you.
Your right hand goes on the twist, and as you swing yourself over the saddle, that hand can shift to the right-hand saddle skirt and pull DOWN on it; this will help keep your saddle steady as you finish mounting. Don't ever hold the cantle! Holding the back of the saddle as you mount, particularly if you mount from the ground, is a burning formula for a twisted saddle tree. I've seen a lot of warped saddles result from this practice. A twisted tree ruins a saddle, and usually damages the horse before the rider figures out that there's a problem with the saddle. This way, your back and your horse's back and your saddle will all last longer. ;-)
Jessica
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