How to Build a Mounting Block

Mounting blocks enable young and shorter riders to mount a horse on their own without someone to give them a leg up. Mounting blocks also provide stability in stepping up to reach the stirrup from a solid structure. Older riders or riders with knee and ankle injuries benefit from this mounting system so they do not injure themselves. A standard-size two-step mounting block is 24 inches deep, 16 1/2 inches tall and 15 inches wide.

Things You'll Need

  • Measuring tape
  • Marking pencil
  • 4-by-4-foot plywood, ¾-inch thickness
  • Jigsaw
  • Wood glue
  • No. 8 galvanized nails
  • Hammer
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Instructions

    • 1

      Measure 24 inches from one corner of the sheet of plywood, using a measuring tape, and mark it with a marking pencil. Measure 24 inches from an adjacent corner and mark the wood. Draw a line down the center of the plywood connecting the two marks so that it creates two pieces 2 feet wide and 4 feet long. Cut the plywood with a jigsaw, following the centerline while wearing safety glasses.

    • 2

      Measure, mark and cut the following pieces on one of the two pieces of playwood--one 15-by-12-inch piece, one 15-by-13 1/2-inch piece and two 15-by-8¼-inch pieces. Make the cuts with a jigsaw. Set these aside.

    • 3

      Measure, mark and cut out three additional pieces from the other 2-by-4-foot piece of plywood. Cut one 15-by-12-inch piece and set aside. Make the two sides of the mounting block by marking and cutting a piece that is 16½ inches wide by 39¾ inches long. Measure 24 inches across the bottom from the left side and mark the piece with a vertical line 12 inches long. Measure 12 inches horizontally back to the left and mark with a line. Measure 8¼ inches vertically to the top of the piece and mark it. Cut along the lines with a jigsaw to form two identical pieces for the left and right side of the mounting block.

    • 4

      Lay the two sides on the ground and hold one of the 15-by-12-inch pieces in between the two sides at the back. Glue the pieces together with wood glue and nail them together with a hammer and No. 8 galvanized nails. Place the other 15-by-12-inch piece on top of the top step for the tread. Glue and nail in place. Place a 15-by-8¼-inch piece below the top step. Attach with glue and nails. Attach the 15-by-13½-inch piece flat on top of the sides for the bottom stair tread. Attach the last 15-by-8 1/4-inch piece below the bottom step.