Good suggestion Jonni about grabbing the off side
breast collar.
I can't hold on to the reins and hike my leg up far
enough and grab on to the mane (or the off side breast collar) so I have to jump
up a little and try to do all the above while in the midst of my
"hop".
My hubby too, springs into the saddle with never a
problem...could be because his legs are much longer than mine... For us
that are under 5'6" and who are riding horses that are taller than
15.2h...
Teaching your horse to stand is a
must!
Putting your horse on a downhill slant is
good.
Practice, practice, practice.
When you mount and dismount, try to do so
quickly. The horse can get off kilter with you hanging off the side of
them and that is why some horses move when you are mounting, they simply can't
balance themselves and they don't want to fall down!
I try not to use a mounting block. As
there isnt always a mounting block on the trail (unless you can find a rock or a
hill).
When I was recovering from a broken left leg I had
to mount on the off side and I still try to do that from time to time to keep me
a little more limber.
Do stretching excercises daily.
My husband refuses to put running boards on his one
ton ford truck because he tells me:
"IF YOU CANT GET IN THE TRUCK WITHOUT RUNNING
BOARDS YOU SHOULDNT BE RIDING"
A little strict, but its kinda true because I have
to really stretch my legs to get into his truck!
And if you are riding a 17.2h Hanovarian (like one
of the gals we met at the beach last week end)...you use any means possible to
mount...and that includes climbing into the bed of your pick up truck if its
handy!
