Can you mount from the other side or have you tried?
I have tried. It was also super awkward plus adding the “I’m on the wrong side” incoordination I decided not to try that again. Both hips are bad, left hip is slightly worse.
I think if I keep doing what I did yesterday, I may be able to get that leg strong enough so that it’s less of a scramble. I’m going to film it to see if I can figure out exactly what I’m doing 
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In my case the “getting on with stirrups 3 holes longer than I’m used to” thing is simply that my crotch is then lower than the seat of the saddle.
And no, I can’t swing my leg up and over that as well as the cantle. Especially when the stirrup is now at the very bottom of the barrel of the horse and swings in when you go to push off the mounting block!
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I tried mounting today in the way he did in the video by grabbing the mane and the other side of the saddle ( fork??) and keeping my body close to my horse and my knee angled toward his shoulder.
Not only did my saddle stay in place when I did it, my horse was noticeably happier and my saddle was cinched a lot looser than I had been doing it. It was also easier to do than the way I was doing it. I was shocked.
My boy is a bit round at the moment 
and from the video I realized I was way over tightening.
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That’s wonderful! This is the way I’ve always mounted, and reach my students to mount. It really makes a difference.
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I mounted and dismounted on my PSG mare most of the time from the “wrong” side. My old gelding tolerated this, too. Age, knees, hips, and the shock of the dismount were the reasons for this adaptation. IMO, it’s another way to spread the stress of mounting evenly over the horse.
I’m afraid to try this on my new horse, though, as a GERMAN horse, through and through, you do things the correct way or he gets VERY confused.
My riding teacher can certainly sympathize with your struggles, OP. With two new hips getting back in the saddle after 12 years out is not always pretty, but once on, all is well!
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I came back to suggest trying from the right side as well. That, though is fraught with a whole different set of issues
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I agree, it’s a pain. My 4 year old learned to wait for me to snap the air vest rip cord, and now he also waits for me to fix the stirrup leather.
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I have those t-bar adjustable leathers and those make it a touch easier but the holes end up wearing out and then coming loose as you’re trotting around the arena leaving you with a stirrup hanging off your foot and a slight dilemma as to what to do next (drop it and scare the youngster? Try to bend down and get it? Call for help? Ask me how I know 
)
After getting double hip replacements last year, I found dismounting harder. I got hung up at a dressage show & my trainer was in the office. Crying like a two year old, I was finally able to get off. My 21 year old Schoolmaster was so embarrassed, but thankfully stood still. 
I sold that saddle 2 days later and bought one with no external blocks and a shallow seat. Problem fixed.
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I’m very grateful for my shallow seat/low cantle no big blocks saddle for sure.
It’s a Black Country Kur
(I got this model originally because the flatter seat allows for shorter panels for short backed horses like mine. I also really liked the feel of the flatter seat and minimal knee block. Now that my right hip can be wonky due a ligament injury I appreciate having less bulk to swing my leg over!)
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Interesting!! I get what you’re saying, I guess I just don’t think about it, thank goodness!!! I wish I could be more help. You probably wouldn’t want to, but posting a video might help us make better suggestions…
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Agree! I’ve had friends very badly injured in the mounting/dismounting phase. I do NOT want to follow in their footsteps. 
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If your left stirrup is currently AT mounting block height that is perfect.
First, practise at home with some small piece of furniture (or pile of cardboard boxes or saw horse or large, sturdy, patient dog lol) that is just below crotch height and that you can straddle with both feet on the floor.
Imagine that the floor is the top step of your mounting block. Rest your left hand on the whatever (table/boxes/dog) and practise leaning forward to 90 degrees allowing your right leg to stay in line with your torso. Once you’re there move that right leg slightly to the right so your crotch is over the obstacle. As you place that foot on the floor to straddle your pretend horse, allow your torso to move with your leg back to vertical.
Where I board we have a wheelchair ramp that is just slightly above my stirrup level. I mount like this all the time. It feels weird at first, but I got used to it very quickly. Bonus, absolutely no torque on your horse or saddle because they don’t feel your weight at all until your bum is in the saddle.
Once you get used to doing it that way, mounting from a slightly shorter mounting block is much easier. Your body will realize that there is no flinging or other acrobatics involved. Just step up into that left stirrup, straighten your left leg as though that stirrup is the higher mounting block (floor from your practise at home), lean forward over your horse’s neck to 90 degrees keeping your right leg in line with your torso and settle down into the saddle. Do not worry about picking up that right stirrup until your bum is settled - same as you did with both stirrups on the extra tall mounting block.
Caveat - horse must fully and 100% understand that there is never to be any movement at all at a mounting block until asked. trained at the mounting block and TRAINED at the mounting block are different things. Stay safe.
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I love this thread.
Yeah, I had that theory too. I was wrong. YMMV
Seriously, I wish I’d had the hip replaced 20 years ago!!
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I have watched this video a lot over the last week. Mounting has been a struggle for me for years. I am a para rider and can’t feel my legs or feet. I had to rely on having someone at the barn who could hold my horse’s head because i just don’t have the strength to get my leg over the cantle and especially my mare would walk off before I was safely in the saddle. I wouldn’t be up high enough to get my foot out of the stirrup. It was a mess, so the safest thing was to have someone there to hold the mare while I mounted. It was embarrassing. And there were times that I would come out to ride and nobody was there to help, so I would long line or lunge. And deal with my disappointment.
My gelding is very tolerant. We have taught him to stand and to move him hind end over to give me the best position to mount. I still lean way too far over when I mount (think of my head being along side of the off side neck). I am working on that. I have core strength enough to NOT lean that far forward, but habit is a hard thing. I still struggle with the cantle. I need a deep seat for stability, but that cantle can still get me.
Now, having said all that? I mounted all by myself last week. First time in years. It was ugly. But Max stood like a trooper. And I did it. So much is a matter of muscle memory and re-calibrating it.
Sheilah
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You know, there is something to this idea. We see something very accomplished riders trying to replicate our issues, but they really can’t.
Sheilah
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This is awesome and made my day. Thank you for sharing your story. And I completely agree… it is muscle memory and re-calibration but that is HARD WORK.
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Say, where does one find a four-step mounting block that doesn’t cost the earth?
