Why are horses mounted from the left side

Question

Why are horses mounted from the left side

Answer 1

We generally work on horses on their left side.  This isn't just tradition, it's easier.  Most people are right handed and you want to lead and control the horse with your strong right hand.

Since the horse is used to being led and handled from the left, and since we're usually standing on its left when we've led it to where we're going to ride it, we get on from the left.

Answer 2

In the old days, men going into battle would carry their sword on their left hip... that way, it's easy to pull out with your right hand (most poeple are right handed).  Since the sword was on the left, it's easier to fling your right leg over the horse so that the sword doesn't have to cross over the horse.

Since then, it's pretty much just tradition.  When you train a young horse, you work mostly on the left side.  You saddle from the left, you teach them to accept weight by leaning on their left.  Beginner riders are taught to work on the left of the horse... they're taught to mount from the left.

There's no rule that you absolutely have to mount on the left.  A lady at my barn has started mounting on the right just because she realized that her left leg was stronger from mounting, so she decided to even it out by mounting on the right!

Some horses will stand better if you're mounting from the left... because if you're mounting from the right, they're confused about what you're doing because they're not used to it.

Answer 3

Kmiami is partly right in her answer, but I want to add a few things to it. The custom of mounting horses on the left side is one that dates clear back to the Roman era, if not before. At that time, men who were fighting wore heavy armour and carried long swords. These weapons were carried in a type of holder known as a scabbard, which was attached to the right side of the saddle. Most scabbards were made of heavy leather, but a few were actually smelted from iron or steel, the way battle armour was.  If a knight or centurion tried to get on his horse from the right, then there was a good chance his armour ( which generally weighed nearly a hundred pounds, just by itself) would get caught on and tangled up in the scabbard. Keep in mind as well that the saddles used in that era looked nothing like today's English saddles do- they actually had high pommels in the front and rear, and looked more like today's Western saddles or even like endurance saddles do. Because of this tendency for the equipment to get tangled up, it became customary for knights and soldiers to train their horses to accept mounting from the left.

As the centuries passed, weapons were improved, and so was the technology behind them. Eventually, some time after the Middle Ages, the Chinese discovered gun powder and guns were invented. Over time, the swords which the soldiers carried were gradually replaced by rifles- but the weapons continued to be carried on the right, and the custom of mounting on the left continued on into the modern age. Other developments happened as time went on as well- one of which was the invention of the stirrup. Stirrups were invented by the Goths, and it was this innovation which allowed the Goths to defeat the Roman armies in battle. This happened because the riders in those armies could hurl lances much more effectively, due to the fact that they could brace their feet, something the Romans could not do as yet. The result was the begining of the end for the Roman Empire.

In the modern age, the custom of mounting horses from the left continues in most countries. It's a standard practice to train horses to handle from the left now, and most people learn to get on and off from the left. People who do things like participate in mounted color or honor guards ( such as those commonly seen at parades, rodeos, and some of the bigger shows) often will have a flag holder attached to their saddle- and the holder is generally on the right, not the left, for the same reason that a scabbard is always on the right.

Interesting question !!