Is it safer to use a mounting block and does it make the horse lazy or dependent on it?

The concern that using a mounting block will make a horse dependent on it or lazy is addressed directly by Clinton Anderson, who dismisses it as a misconception that causes unnecessary wear on horses and handlers. Anderson's position is straightforward: mounting from the ground with poor leverage pulls the saddle to the left, torques the horse's spine, and over time contributes to back soreness and one-sided muscle development. A horse that is mounted consistently from the ground — especially by a rider who uses the cantle for leverage or who pulls sideways rather than straight up — will often develop back sensitivity on the left side specifically because of the repeated torque from mounting. Using a mounting block eliminates this torque entirely because the rider can step across from a position of height rather than pulling themselves up from below. For horses that are difficult to mount from the ground because of height, age of the rider, or the rider's physical condition, Anderson advocates using a mounting block without apology. He notes that working horses in professional settings routinely use mounting blocks for exactly this reason — it is better horsemanship, not lazy horsemanship. The dependency concern — that a horse will refuse to be mounted without a block — is valid only if the horse is never trained to stand from ground mounting as well. Anderson teaches training both: the horse should stand from ground mounting and from a block, because real-world situations will require both. A horse that has been trained to stand regardless of how or where the rider mounts is more reliable than one trained only in one context.