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Where did always mount from the right come from2007-11-24 21:22:53

I was wondering why its the right? What happens if you do it from the left? ;)

Answers:

The custom or tradition of mounting horses on the LEFT, or near side, is CENTURIES old. It dates to the time of the Crusades, in fact, and it may even be older than that, because there is evidence that horses were trained and handled from the left during the Roman era. The REASON for mounting from the left had to do with the fact that in those early days, knights wore heavy battle armour and carried long swords. Those swords, which were in a long sheath called a scabbard, were attached to the saddle on the horse's off, or RIGHT, side. ( The saddles of that era didn't look at all like today's English saddles do- they had horns, in fact, and looked a lot like an endurance or Western saddle does now.) If a knight tried to mount from the right, his armour tended to become tangled in and get caught in the scabbard, and with time, it became customary in most countries for all horses to be trained to handle from the left, and to accept being mounted from the left.

As the centuries passed, eventually the Chinese discovered gunpowder and guns were invented, and the swords were replaced by rifles. But the custom and tradition of mounting horses from the left continued on into the modern age. THAT"S why horses are always handled and mounted from the left, at least in most places. There are some countries where horses can be handled and mounted from either direction, and there are also places which train horses to accept this from the beginning- but they are in the minority.Generally, if you mount from the right here in the USA or in Europe, people will think you are doing it incorrectly. Hope that answers your question.

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mounting on the left came from medievil times when knights had their swords on side and it provented them bending their leg. Many people believe their horses should be able to be mounted from either side and it not matter. With most horses it doesnt effect them. Mounting from the right is hard for me because it seems weird and difficult to situate the simple change

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um... you dont mount from the right you mount from the left. if you are mounting from the right you are doing it wrong.

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umm, you mount from the left, not the right. You're doing it wrong!