Why Do You Mount A Horse On The Left Side
Olivia Luz
You can actually mount from either side.
Why do people mount horses from the left side. Most warriors were right handed. In order to avoid any potential debilitating incidents before engaging the enemy riders would mount from the side where the sword would not impede the process. Mounting from the left or near side of the animal has its roots back in war when horses were ridden by soldiers armed with swords.
Therefore in order to get on the horse unhindered by the scabbard he had to mount on the left side. Horses are always mounted from the left because in the ancient times people were carrying their swords on their left side so it easier to mount that way. Tradition and training are the reasons people mount horses from the left. They carried their weapons on the left side so they could more easily pull the sword from the scabbard.
There are two reasons why people mount horses from the left. They mounted from the near or left side so the sword would not get in the way. The practice goes way back before the medieval heyday of knights. Most soldiers most people are right handed so wore wear the sword on.
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It s just a tradition knights used to mount fronm the left because their swords hung by their left side and they didn t want to spear. Traditionally many people who rode horses also carried weapons and tools since horses were used as working animals. Mounting a horse from the left is a european tradition from the days when gentlemen wore swords. If you re wearing a sword on the left you ll want to mount your horse on its left since otherwise the sword will get in the way.Like many of the traditions involving horse handling this practice stems from the early use of horses as military mounts. In other times warriors used either side to board their chargers. The scabbard was usually on the left side of the body so the man could draw the sword with his right. The custom dates at least to medieval times.
In 360 bce xenophon wrote in his on the art of horsemanship that a rider should be able to mount from either side. To be honest you don t have to mount a horse from the left.
Source : pinterest.com