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Brown: It’s just like riding a horse

I don’t remember exactly the first time I was put on a horse, but it was before I started learning to drive, so let’s say four years old. The first challenge is getting on board. When the stirrup is about level with your face, and you can’t reach the saddle-horn from the ground, traditional mounting methods are not really an option. Alternative one is the environment utilization mount. Find a fence, vehicle, rock or other object that lets you start from a significantly elevated position relative to the horse. This works, but you have to have both the willingness to commit by jumping off or over (because horses never stand close enough to make it easy) and the faith that the target will still be there when you land.

Audra Brown

The other problem is that you better be ready to ride for a while and your hat better be on tight. You don’t want to be out in the middle of a flatland pasture and have your hat blow off. Your main options are get off and walk you and your horse a likely long way back to a suitable environmental mounting position or you leave your hat to be lost (which is like losing your favorite toy but worse) and get a sunburn.

Thus, we arrive at mounting method two: The cheater stirrup. As a vertically-underdeveloped cow-kid, this is the crowning addition to your tack. If you’ve never known the challenge, you may not be able to comprehend the torture it is to not be able to get on and off a horse at your leisure.

The cheater stirrup is probably an old stirrup that was laying around either without a mate or without prospects. It was unwanted and unloved until it got tied on the side of your saddle. It’s probably still higher (relative to your body) than would make getting your foot up there easy, but it can now be done. You grab the saddle leathers, get your foot in the cheater and suddenly you’re on the side of your horse. A little foot switching and you’ve got your left foot in the real stirrup and your right leg swinging over to catch the other.

The only feeling that compares to sitting up on the back of a horse is being able to get there.

Audra Brown says that falling off a horse isn’t nearly as bad if you can get right back on. Contact her at: [email protected] and find her on the web at: audra-brown.com.

 
 
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