I actually jumped off the three step mounting block, on purpose, with the idea of repositioning a young horse who was being squirrelly about it. Landed on my feet as I’ve done a million times before when getting off a horse, but this time from a much lower height everything gave way in my right knee. No more jumping off of anything ever again.
On May 4 I dismounted onto a mounting block, missed, and had a Fentynal laced ambulance ride to the hospital. No broken bones, but severe muscle contusions, cramping so bad I couldn’t straighten my leg for days, and a torn hamstring. Twenty PT sessions. I will never dismount using a mounting block again. I do the left foot in stirrup, swing right leg over while taking left foot out, and slide off method.
I have used a mounting block to dismount. One of my trail ride destinations has a huge platform for disabled riders (the park has a therapeutic riding center next door). I’ve also used a larger block at my home barn. But I’m always worried about slipping off somehow
When I’m using a platform to dismount I don’t trust myself to kick both legs out and drop even if it’s only a foot. So I leave my left foot in the stirrup until I swing my right leg over. And my mare makes a pissy face at the weight shift. She really really prefers the both legs out vault off.
This is my method, adding my left foot has only the toe in the iron, most of my weight in both arms on the pommel, holding reins. As soon as my right leg clears the cantle, left toe leaves the iron & I slide off.
@Demerara_Stables if I bent my crappy knees to land, I’d land in a heap. Not stiff-legged, but as straight as I can manage, or I’ll fall & knees protest loudly anyhow.
Sux getting aged
Both feet out of the stirrups, learn forward, grab mane, grunt a bit, swing leg over the (high) cantle of my dressage saddle, getting it right the first time if I’m lucky, grab cantle while draped ungracefully over the back of the horse, and let myself down carefully onto my left foot while bending the knees, landing facing the front.
I think. I need to actually analyze it.
I’ve always found it more jarring to get down off a short horse than a tall one.
Given the above answers, I’m surprised any of us are surviving dismounting. Hahahahaa
This, and I look down to make sure my right foot hits the mounting block.
Outside of when I rode Western, I always kick both feet out and swing over while pushing myself away from the horse.
I’ve done all three of these ways. The amount of times I’ve missed the mounting block and fallen in a heap convinced me never to do that again. Trying to keep my left foot in didn’t seem to give me the same power to swing my right leg over and I sometimes caught the cantle with my knee pit and get stupid stuck, usually resulting in falling in a heap. Very embarrassing for poor horse. And, even with my preferred way, I have knee problems and more than once my knees forget to absorb the impact and I, you guessed it, fall in a heap.
I have the least issues with both feet out, but I think we can all agree you can end up in a heap regardless of method
I do the right foot loose, swing it over gently, then drop the left stirrup, balance a bit and drop slowly. Still, this is not a long process. It’s quick. But I drop softer on my bad ankle this way. Plus, honestly, doing it with both feet out for me would be an accident waiting to happen. I’d smack my horse in the rear, or fall under it…I just know it. I’m not that graceful. I need to be able to stand up a bit, and I doubt I could do that without the left stirrup. Also, I don’t see it being much different than mounting. It’s just in reverse. To mount, you have one foot in the stirrup, you balance as you swing that right leg over, then sit gently. If the one-foot dismount is risky, it’s the same as mounting. I do use Acavallo safety release stirrups, though.
This is how I dissmount as well and I also started western.
For others the left foot only stays in until your right leg is swung over. You don’t keep the left foot in and up as you land.
I do it in like 1 sec, and you (if watching) would probably think I’d kicked both feet out.
A friend had the misfortune of doing this when asked to swap horses in a medal workoff. This was in the then-AHSA medal at “the” Del Mar show in the early 1970s. There were something like 50 in the class. Victor Hugo-Vidal was judging. He was aghast and she placed last of the four that worked off. But she did at least get to ride Hap Hansen’s horse Green Dolphin.
I’ve never been anywhere close to being a rider at that level! I’d love to think that it’s only been my method of dismounting that’s been holding me back, but that’s pretty doubtful.
Western I always slid the left foot almost out of the stirrup then swung right leg over, kicked the left foot out and dropped. Too short to ever consider stepping off like a tall cowboy. I could mount from the ground if need be but got to prefer stepping up off something and think that easier on the horse.
Hunt seat still got off the same way, as I got older it took me longer to sort of slither down the side of the horse but I still got that left foot out quick, never had any issues.
Back when I started riding out of, basically backyards rode the trails bareback quite a bit. Learned very early just how important mounting manners are in a horse. Something I installed early on in anything I rode, even in the HJ show barns. Mine wait for me to get settled…they might try to ditch me afterwards but not during the mounting process.
I never have/would leave the left foot in. All of the trainers in my past would beat me up in my head over it. At this point, I think my muscle memory wouldn’t allow it.
However, I have trashed my shoulders too many times and they’re now super loose and can dislocate if I drop from my 16.2 to 17 hand horses. Between my shoulders and my knees being problematic, the horses have learned to accommodate me, and half the time I lean forward, kick off both stirrups, wrap my arms around their necks and slide off still holding onto the neck, so I land directly in front of them. This makes my pony club hairs stand up on the back of my neck, but I would much rather do that then have to deal with a semi dislocated shoulder. It actually is a version of the pony club emergency dismount, so there is that.
Just here to add that I’m another one that typically leaves the left foot in the stirrup until my whole body is on the same side of the horse. Yes, I use my hands/upper body to keep the majority of my weight over the top of him. I then push back a little to drop down and promptly provide a cookie to the 17.1/17.2 hh saint who deigns to stand quietly while I may or may not land on my @ss. If at all possible, I line up to a mounting block on use that to dismount… still providing a cookie to the boy. The mount/dismount cookie has become a key part to motivating my big, sometimes spooky horse still for the whole process.