I have never had a problem with laughing at my own stupidity. I rode bareback all my life, but never owned a horse of my own till I reached 45 yrs. old. I am 52 now and just adopted a lrg draft mix. After a few weeks after a grooming session I decided to go for a ride. Suffering from arthritis and not having a saddle the right size I was hard pressed to find a way up. I tried several approaches, but no luck. Since he was very laid back and never spooked, I got a "great idea". HAAA HAA!! I asked my niece to hold him while I pulled up a six foot ladder. After climbing the ladder I went to mount him"forgetting all the Show Sheen I had brushed on him". I sliiped on and over to the far side so fast my niece never saw it. I saw her looking from the ladder to the horses back, then looking back to the ladder again . She was looking so puzzled when she couldn't find me that I burst into histerical laughter even though every inch of my body was racked with pain from hitting the ground. And the horse could care less. He just nibbled my hair and went back to grazing.