why do u mount a horse from the left hand side?

Answer 1

Being a jockey, we call it, near side,being the left side of a horse,the right side is called the off side.We allways mount on the near side.

Answer 2

The tradition or custom of mounting from the left is very old- in fact, it dates to before the Middle Ages, and even goes back to before the time of the Crusades, when horses were the only means of transportation. In those days, knights wore armour and carried swords, and the swords were normally carried in a scabbard on the right hand side of the saddle. Eventually, after the Chinese discovered gunpowder and guns were invented, the sword was replaced by a rifle, but its position did not change. Mounting from the right, or off side, tended to cause the armour to become tangled- which is why the knights of the earlier era did not do this. Mounting on the near side became a custom that has continued into the modern age. All horses that are raised and trained in the US and throughout most of Europe are taught to accept mounting only from the left. This is also true in some of the Latin American countries, as well as in parts of Asia. There are places in the world where mounting is done from either side, but this is less common.

Answer 3

One person above is correct in that swords were worn on the left hip of a right handed person so they could easily reach across and draw out their swords. My guess is this would have had to be the opposite for a left handed person though I've never heard it talked about before. Like many said this way just kinda stuck from then on.

However this is not a good tradition!! When we always tug a horse on the left side getting on and NEVER from the right side the horses back gets pulled all out of alignment. It needs to be pulled back to the right just as much as the left to keep your horses back ok. Otherwise many horses end up crabby with sore backs and you have to get the services of a chiropractor to put the horses back into shape.

Two options:
1. Learn to mount your horses from both sides. Make sure you know if the horse has been worked with before on the right to know where you need to start. Horeses right/left sides work independently so you have to go back to square one teaching them to let you mount on the right.
2. Use a mounting block where you can throw your leg directly over or at least put very little sideways pull on the horses back. On this option though I havn't figured out how to get up in the woods when I am unable to find a log somewhere to help me up. If someone has invented a carry-on mounting tool to keep with you in the woods please let me know!! I have a 2 year old that's going to finish out around 16.3 with a wide back that will be difficult on trail rides if I have to get off.

Answer 4

tradition in calavary times only the officers typically rode and officers have swords on their right sides which means they had to mount from the left. So all military mounts were trained to be handled from the left and it stuck. Really no reason why you have to do everything on the left on ur own horse or a horse you raise yourself but any other horse person will look at you like a dumb**s. Still if you don't mind it, nothing says you have to do everything from the left, though never try mounting on the wrong side on a horse you don't know, they could freak and hurt you.

Answer 5

When we started riding horses, the people mounting them just got on from the left side. So it's just been like that ever since. And now that it's been done for over 300 years.... mixing it up would confuse the horse, I guess. Sorry it's probibly not the answer you were expecting, but I don't know any other reason than that.

Answer 6

Way back when the men would wear their swords on their left hip so it would be easier to draw if they were right-handed. In war, if they had to mount, they certainly didn't want to lug a heavy and cumbersome sword all the way over along with their leg. So the only way to mount comfrotably was to use the left side. Nowadays, even though we don't normally wear swords, the majority of horses are trained to be mounted on the near side. Who are we to go against tradition?

Answer 7

The previous person has a great answer. I would just add that it is very smart to have the horse accustomed to being mounted from either side, and to be comfortable having work done from every angle. Safer for both rider and horse that way!