Mounting, especially from the ground, can put a lot of stress on a horse’s withers and spine unless you use proper mounting technique. While many people recommend using mounting blocks, which helps reduce the stresses on a horse’s back, it turns out that many of us are just doing it wrong. Check out Carson Tucker’s demonstration on how to mount without a girth. From both a mounting block and from the ground. That’s right, nothing holding that saddle on the horse!
It turns out there’s a whole lot more technique to climbing on your horse so that you don’t let your weight pull the saddle to the side and torque your horse’s withers and spine. Improving your mounting skills will make for a happier horse and start your rides off on a better note. It also means you don’t have to worry so much about your girth being super tight.
James notes in the video that it is still important that your saddle fits your horse and that it’s not so much a question of strength as one of technique.
Stacy Westfall, her husband and her son give another demonstration.
I won’t be trying the girthless method any time soon but it has made me think about how I can stop pulling on my horses’ backs and make mounting more comfortable for them.
Have you ever tried girthless mounting? I did have a trainer, many years ago, who had me ride without a girth, but that’s another story and an episode that was never repeated after my mother drove up and saw the lesson in progress.