[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

The trick that this girl accomplished by standing in the pick up was getting the horse to stand still close enough to it. The pick up put her high enough to make mounting easy, unless the horse was a monster.

Becky

[CindyDawg]

Yeah, I know. She just makes it look so effortless:') She's the one that helped me work my saddle problems out and teaching me how to make my horse stand still during mounting.

[AnAmericanMother]

Speaking as a person with very short legs and a tall horse, I am always looking for Ways To Get Into the Saddle.

My car bumper is a favorite - right foot braced on the trailer hitch, left foot in the stirrup, facing forward with left hand full of mane and reins, right hand on the cantle. Push the left foot in the stirrup up and forward, then let it swing back down and use that momentum and the handfull of mane to swing up into the saddle.

When I'm out in the hunting field, something that doesn't always occur to people is that if you can't get up on something, get the horse DOWN. I lead the Gracie mare into a ditch or sideways on a hill and climb on that way. If I'm out in the middle of a perfectly flat field (and that happened to me on the last Shakerag hunt - we had a longish check and my saddle pad had slipped), I lower my left stirrup about five holes and use the mane-and-stirrup swing technique, then raise the stirrup once I get back in the saddle. Works so long as you have a quiet horse who will let you readjust the stirrup without a fuss.