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You have your horse all saddled up and ready to go. Now for the next step; getting on. No matter what kind of horse you have, here is a sure fire way that you wont have your horse bolting off on you or you flying to the ground.

In this article we are working on the left side of the horse, as this is the common practice. However, for safety reasons if you are training a horse I recommend getting it use to being mounted from both sides. So let's begin...

Firstly take your left rein in your left hand and take your horses head around and gather a huge chunk of mane while you are at it. You must have the grip of death with this hand so that if your horse suddenly decided to do anything such as pull its head away, they cannot.
Turn so your back is partially facing the horses head. Remember the horses head should be flexed towards you. Now place your left foot in the stirrup, if you need to you may want to use your other hand to hold your stirrup still.

Grab the pommel (front of the saddle), and with one movement swing up onto the horse keeping your right leg straight as it swings over. Put your right foot in the stirrup STILL HOLDING ONTO THE HORSES HEAD. Even if the horse is walking around in circles it can't go anywhere.
Now that you are on the horse you can let go of the rein and flex the horses head to the other side if you wish and just sit around for a few minutes and enjoy that you are actually up on a horse.

For safety reasons it is advised for all beginners to be supervised and working with a horse that you know is quiet. Although this method can be used for every horse, it takes practice to get anything right and have one full swift movement.

By keeping your horses head around like this it means that it will never bolt, walk off or run away from you, while you are on or even off the horse. This means you are in full control all the time through the whole process. Also by making the horse stand around for a little while before you 'ride off into the sunset' means you will never have a horse that instantly walks off once you are up there in the saddle.

Therefore, this method can be used anywhere at anytime on any horse no matter what your circumstances are. So now that you are safely on your horse, enjoy your ride.

Learn more about this author, Jessica Morris.
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