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

charleyfarmall · Oct 25, 2011

I mount my tractors from both sides depending on where I am. The loader joystick gets in the way on a couple of them though.

My horses can be mounted from either side and I do. I pay no attention to that convention and neither do they.

Motorcycles too. I usually get on on from the left because I am right handed and it's easier to hold the bike up that way plus most bikes lean on the left side kickstand so you have to be on that side to pick it up. On my bike with a center stand I get on from which ever side I walk out to first.

The above story on the knights is correct as far as I know - same reason we handshake with a right hand. Some conventions stick forever.

fuseboxer · Oct 25, 2011

creekbend said:
In medieval times knights mounted their steeds on the left side so their sword wouldn't get in the way because they used their right arm to swing the weapon. Nothing much has changed. You can train your horse to allow you to mount on the right side though. I was told by a breeder in Kentucky once that over the years the left back side of our horses' backbone skeletons' region became stronger structurally thru time by evolving in regards to the horse being mounted in that way through the ages. I would suggest that is the same way that certain breeds of horses are different. Just like draft horses are quite different from quarter horses. I am not a vet, but that is what the breeder told me. It is correct in regards to the mounting position that the knights used. The Spanish that introduced horses to this Country mounted the same way. As far as mounting tractors, I suppose mankind just got use to the technique in relation to mounting their horse and it was adapted when it came to tractors.

You surpassed your master young grasshopper! You educated all of us.--Fuse

k0ua · Oct 25, 2011

Gale Hawkins said:
The left side has a step about 10 inches closer to mother earth.

That and the FEL joystick is a pain to get by. I have done it a couple of times, but it is definatley made to get on the left side.

James K0UA

jimmyj · Oct 25, 2011

Fel joystick will go up the leg of your shorts and make you fall over if you dismount to the right.

beenthere · Oct 25, 2011

The convenient step is on the left so usually get on and off that side, but if too lazy to walk around then I step up on the right side. Not a good idea if the FEL is in the air as bumping the joy stick is a possibility (and the results could be serious if it is not locked and it never is).
The older Deere would be mounted from behind, stepping on the drawbar and then on the axle and onto the seat. Or just stand on the drawbar and reach up to engage the hand clutch. Fenders were not thought of at that early time.

MossflowerWoods · Oct 25, 2011

charleyfarmall said:
I mount my tractors from both sides depending on where I am. The loader joystick gets in the way on a couple of them though.

My horses can be mounted from either side and I do. I pay no attention to that convention and neither do they.

Motorcycles too. I usually get on on from the left because I am right handed and it's easier to hold the bike up that way plus most bikes lean on the left side kickstand so you have to be on that side to pick it up. On my bike with a center stand I get on from which ever side I walk out to first.

The above story on the knights is correct as far as I know - same reason we handshake with a right hand. Some conventions stick forever.

I mountm & dismount my tractor on either side (more often right as I run the stump grinder from the ground so i can better gauge the depth of each pass).

I mount my harleys from either side based on where I am and what the surroundings are (Left is correct due to kick stand and easier to hold).

I do not yet ride often enough to have a preference.

Most people are still right handed, so most of us reach first with the right hand. :thumbsup:

Be well,
David

fuseboxer · Oct 25, 2011

Originally Posted by creekbend
In medieval times knights mounted their steeds on the left side so their sword wouldn't get in the way because they used their right arm to swing the weapon.

Young grasshopper you do not need to go back to medieval times to find a steed that was trained with a soldier with a sword. You reminded me of a fond memory of my youth as a young lad. I frequently as a young lad rode a US-Cavalry war horse that was very large and when I yelled the order "Charge" it would rise up on to its back honches with its front feet high into the air and spring foward at a dead run. Nothing later ever matched the thrill, no muscle car, no motorcycle. The look on my sisters face standing between me and the fence when the horse stood on end high in the air was priceless. All most all of the old US-Cavalry war horses ended up as dog food. One horse of my youth did not.

troutsqueezer · Oct 25, 2011

I jump on and off my Kubota when it is running (doesn't everybody?). The first time my foot accidentally hit the gas pedals on the right side and the tractor lurched forward is the same time I started to mount and dismount on the left side.

creekbend · Oct 25, 2011

re:fuse That reminds me of a Palomino Stallion- Peanut- that I had from my age of 10 through 16 years. It would rear on its hind legs and then start running fast at times. He only did that when there was a MARE in an adjoining field that was in HEAT. :laughing:

Once he jumped the fence at Gus Christian's property line, which bordered Dad's farm. I was on "Peanut" at the time and fell off faster than I had mounted. Once he caught the scent of that Mare, it was curtains for me and Paradise for him.:laughing: