Why do you mount your tractor and your horse only the left side?

[mcd176]

Soundguy,

I love stories like this, You are a great guy for what you did for your horse :thumbsup:

Mike

 

[rasimmo]

Great story, glad to hear your horse is doing well. I like to hear about other people who care about their horses as much as I do. All my friends thought I was crazy when I spent $12,000 in surgeries on a horse that cost $5000 to buy. If you could see my wife's face and know the joy that horse brings her you would have too. The surgeries were for an absessed tooth that had started to decay the jawbone. Your story kinda makes me feel a little less crazy.

 

[DennisFolsom]

Our first tractor as a kid was a Farmall Super A. The ONLY (conveinant) way you could get on it was from the right/front. Look at one and you will know.

James K0UA

I spent a lot of time on a Farmall A as a Kid, too. Mostly raking hay and sometimes spreading manure. I was the loser in a manure spreader drag race with it once.

My recollection is that the ONLY way to mount it was from the right front. It was kind of a fun little tractor, though.

Another memory comes to mind. The A belonged to my grandfather, Thomas Folsom, who was still actively farming past 80. He grew up farming with oxen and horses. When something would go wrong while driving the tractor, he'd get flustered and start yelling "whoa" or "gee" or "haw" and would forget to stomp the clutch for a few seconds. Fortunately, the tractor was tough. He lived through the incidents and didn't do too much damage.

 

[charleyfarmall]

SoundGuy, for what it's worth, i'd have done the same for any of my horses. I've done it for a cat and a dog already. They are my family and my children too and I took on the responsibility for them when they moved home with me. I love them dearly.

 

[charleyfarmall]

Rasimmo, not crazy at all. I was looking at buying a horse when I found he had a tooth abscess and although I chose not to buy him, I did operate on him with the vet ( I'm a plastic surgeon and this is actually the kind of stuff I do) and he is now cured and living in Texas and has turned out to be a fantastic Dressage horse. I took his younger brother and his half brother instead and they are a great pair.

 

[Soundguy]

You are a good man for taking care of your older pasture horse. Nice story, bet you take care of your family and tractor also. --Fuse

try anyway..

soundguy

 

[JB4310]

OK I'm gonna take a stab at this, I'm not a horse person, got a nasty Al Capone scar to prove it.

But when ever it was that stirrups started being used, the natural side to mount a horse would of been the left due to the fact 90% of humans are right handed. You put your left leg in the stirrup and use your right (strong) leg to lift/push yourself up. Simple as that, no swords involved

Anybody?? Think this is a logical explanation, never gave it any thought before now?

Everything like tractors, motorcycles etc that came after where due to force of habit.

JB

 

[Soundguy]

if your left foot is in the stirrup.. that's the leg lifting you up as your right foot hovers in the air and swings over.. unless you have rocket boots on that right foot or something


soundguy

 

[Gary Fowler]

The sword thing is the logical reason for mounting on the left and then as the cowboys came on with their six shooters, mounting on the left leaves their gun hand free for that quick draw. Tradition carries a lot of weight like the right hand shake to show friendliness with the unweaponed strong hand open and the salute which came from the old knights raising their visors with their right hand also so they could be identified

 

[JB4310]

if your left foot is in the stirrup.. that's the leg lifting you up as your right foot hovers in the air and swings over.. unless you have rocket boots on that right foot or something


soundguy

But when your left foot is in the stirrup, all your weight is on your right leg.
Don't you need to push off with that one at the same time as lifting with the left and pulling with one hand? That first push off to get the momentum going comes from the right doesn't it?

I still think it has to do with most people being right handed, the sword does make sense too, but not every horseman carried a sword.

But again I'm no horseman so maybe I should of stayed out of this one

JB