Very basic question

mustangsally · 04-11-08, 10:10 AM

I have always heard that you should never approach a horse on it's right side (or maybe it was always from the right side?). Anyway, is there any truth to having to go to one side versus the other, which is correct, and why is that so?

countrygirl · 04-11-08, 01:01 PM

I was taught to approach the horse from the left side. I'm not really sure why that is except this is the side most people will mount the horse.
Actually, I don't think I've ever seen anyone mount a horse from the right side.

**alexis** · 04-11-08, 01:04 PM

countrygirl I dont think I have either. Maybe its something that we have all seen in shows and the movies only to assume this is the way to go? Never heard it as a myth or anything though.

flatback_frannie · 04-12-08, 01:35 AM

I've heard of an origin to this having root in a time when horsemen carried swords and had to mount from the left side (I believe). and doing it today is just a hold over of custom.

SaddleSore · 04-12-08, 01:02 PM

I have never heard of this at all in truth. I always do mount from the left, but I never thought about why I did so-it was just a case of what I was taught and it kind of stuck with me you know?

sallyanna · 04-12-08, 08:23 PM

I don't think it's much about safety. I really think it's just what's always been done. So much so that the horse expects it and may scare if it's done differently.

OldnGrey · 04-12-08, 08:41 PM

Like flatback-frannie asserted, the practice started when warrior horsemen carried swords. Since most people are right-handed, the swords were worn on the left side and thus thy mounted their horses on the right so that they could swing over their right leg easier, and safer for the horse. Practice became habit, then custom. Now swordless, we are taught to mount on the left and if we tried to do otherwise, it would feel very awkward.

purplefdu · 04-13-08, 12:50 PM

I've actually worked on every horse I've leased or trained to be mountable from either side. It feels awkward doing it from the right, but I did so much therapeutic riding it was necessary to teach them to not sky from people on the right side.

It is from swords and other historic reasons we mount from the right, which was probably blended into a mix of tradition, superstition, and training of only that.

katie · 06-11-08, 09:45 PM

I've never heard of it mattering which side the horse is approached from but I have heard to not come up behind a horse or it will kick you. But, I've not had a lot of experience around horses, this is just stuff I've heard, lol.

04-11-08, 10:10 AM	#1 (permalink)
mustangsally Member Join Date: 04-03-08 Posts: 25	Very basic question I have always heard that you should never approach a horse on it's right side (or maybe it was always from the right side?). Anyway, is there any truth to having to go to one side versus the other, which is correct, and why is that so?

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04-11-08, 01:01 PM	#2 (permalink)
countrygirl Member Join Date: 04-04-08 Posts: 25	I was taught to approach the horse from the left side. I'm not really sure why that is except this is the side most people will mount the horse. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen anyone mount a horse from the right side.

04-11-08, 01:04 PM	#3 (permalink)
alexis Super-Moderator Join Date: 08-10-07 Posts: 329	countrygirl I dont think I have either. Maybe its something that we have all seen in shows and the movies only to assume this is the way to go? Never heard it as a myth or anything though.

04-12-08, 01:35 AM	#4 (permalink)
flatback_frannie Member Join Date: 01-06-08 Posts: 129	I've heard of an origin to this having root in a time when horsemen carried swords and had to mount from the left side (I believe). and doing it today is just a hold over of custom.

04-12-08, 01:02 PM	#5 (permalink)
SaddleSore Member Join Date: 10-12-07 Posts: 233	I have never heard of this at all in truth. I always do mount from the left, but I never thought about why I did so-it was just a case of what I was taught and it kind of stuck with me you know?

04-12-08, 08:23 PM	#6 (permalink)
sallyanna Member Join Date: 12-01-07 Posts: 100	I don't think it's much about safety. I really think it's just what's always been done. So much so that the horse expects it and may scare if it's done differently.

04-12-08, 08:41 PM	#7 (permalink)
OldnGrey Member Join Date: 04-04-08 Posts: 25	Like flatback-frannie asserted, the practice started when warrior horsemen carried swords. Since most people are right-handed, the swords were worn on the left side and thus thy mounted their horses on the right so that they could swing over their right leg easier, and safer for the horse. Practice became habit, then custom. Now swordless, we are taught to mount on the left and if we tried to do otherwise, it would feel very awkward.

04-13-08, 12:50 PM	#8 (permalink)
purplefdu Member Join Date: 08-12-07 Posts: 236	I've actually worked on every horse I've leased or trained to be mountable from either side. It feels awkward doing it from the right, but I did so much therapeutic riding it was necessary to teach them to not sky from people on the right side. It is from swords and other historic reasons we mount from the right, which was probably blended into a mix of tradition, superstition, and training of only that.

06-11-08, 09:45 PM	#9 (permalink)
katie Member Join Date: 06-10-08 Posts: 50	I've never heard of it mattering which side the horse is approached from but I have heard to not come up behind a horse or it will kick you. But, I've not had a lot of experience around horses, this is just stuff I've heard, lol.