When you last mounted a horse, which side was it from? Most likely
it would have been the left hand (or near) side. But do you know why
you did it? Well probably because that was how you were taught and
it is the traditional way to mount a horse. As a beginner you would
probably have been told off if you had tried to mount on the "wrong"
side.
The tradition of mounting from the left hand side goes back to the
days when soldiers carried swords. These were carried beside the left
hip, and to ensure the soldier did not strike his horse with the sword
as he mounted, he always mounted from the left.
Nowadays, you don't see many riders carrying swords, yet the tradition
of mounting to the left still persists. So why does it matter if we
all mount from the left?
Well, firstly every time we put our foot in the left stirrup and pull
ourselves into the saddle we are putting all of our weight on the
left hand side of the horse, (even if we use a mounting block) This
has several effects:
- The horse braces itself against the weight, which, over time
leads to muscle development on one side and not the other.
- The stirrup leather stretches and becomes unequal to the right
leather. (You are supposed to swap them around regularly so they
stretch equally, but how many of us remember to do this!)
- The rider becomes stronger in their left leg than their right.
While none of these things cause any serious damage to horse or rider,
it seems illogical when we are so concerned with doing equal work
on both reins when schooling, that we unnecessarily make the horse
(and rider) one-sided when mounting.
But before you rush off to mount your horse from the right side, bear
this in mind - the hemispheres in the horse's brain are not connected
as they are in humans, and this means if he accepts actions on the
left side of his body, it does not necessarily mean he will accept
them on the right side of his body, as to him it is two totally different
actions.
Therefore he may be surprised if you try to mount from the right!
So are you going to start mounting from both sides? Do you already
do this?
Whatever your views, we would like to hear them on the
'Riding' discussion board. |
