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When I was a kid I was taught to mount a horse facing towards the rear of the horse and then to swing around as I raised myself up and throw a leg across the saddle. From what I see when I observe others mounting a horse it would seem that the practice is still alive and well.
But this is certainly not the safest way to mount a horse from the ground.
(i) If the horse jumps forward the rider will be swung around and knocked over and may not be able to remove the foot from the stirrup.
(ii) In the process of swinging around to get the leg over the back of the horse, the toe of the rider's left foot can sometimes poke the horse in the girth or elbow and cause him to jump away.
(iii) As the rider raises up and swings their body to face forward, the rider has to move more weight away from the horse which causes more of a pull of the saddle on the withers. This can unbalance a horse and even frighten a green horse. It can also eventually lead to sore withers from the saddle.
Rather than mount from the ground facing the rear of the horse I prefer to mount facing forward.
Doing it this way reduces the risks that I have pointed out when you get on a horse facing the rear.
(i) If the horse gets a fright and scoots, the rider is less likely to get a foot caught in the stirrup and they won't be spun around and knocked over as the horse leaves.
(ii) The toe of the rider is less likely to jab the horse because the toe is always facing forward parallel to the horse.
(iii) When a rider mounts facing forward, instead of pushing themselves towards the horse's body the rider simply steps forward, as if they were stepping onto a bus. There is a lot less sideways pull against the horse so there is minimal exertion of the saddle on the wither.
Mounting from the ground is almost the first thing a person is taught when they start learning to ride. I hope that teachers put more thought into how they teach it so that the old method is gone forever. I would really like to see more safety conscious practices such as this become common place.
