any better way to mount?

I recently went on a long hack with a friend and along the bridlepath, there were about 5-6 gates. Which were IMPOSSIBLE to get through on horse back, my horse being managable to mount of the ground meant I was in charge of the gates-.-
However I know that pulling on the saddle without either a leg up/mount/holding opposite stirrup it can damage their back, is there any way I can mount better when none of these are available?

Yep - you can learn to vault! It's really difficult to get the hang of but once you've got it you'll never look back.

Main thing is to make sure you land softly in the saddle if you can.

ETA; would explain how but I'm really bad at explaining HOW things are done, especially when I can't do it myself! My horse is luckily brilliant with gates so I can open/shut most anything.

Get a trail mounting stool. It folds up and attaches to the D ring on your saddle. Great little tool to have if you need to dismount and remount on the trails.

As far as vaulting, yeah, not such a great idea for people who aren't in their teens, or for trying to remount on a trail that is narrow, uneven, and closed in by overgrowth.

Stand on the Gate? You only need the second or third rung most of the time- I do this all the time. And the gate wont be damaged because your not there long enough to do so =)

Or who has a mare like mine. If I tried vaulting on her when we were pointed south, I'd need my passport - 'cuz the border with Mexico is only 60 miles away, and I doubt she'd slow down before we got there!

Then again...I probably wouldn't be WITH her after my attempted vault, so maybe SHE would be the one who needed a passport.

Could teach your horse to how and let you on!
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On a serious note:

"Solo Ground Mounting: Putting physics to work for you rather than against you will take a lot of the torment out of ground mounting. Standing close to your horse facing his rear puts you in the most advantageous position to spring, pivot and land lightly. When mounting a tall horse, lengthen the stirrup leather until your foot can reach the stirrup without straining and swing into the saddle from there; once on board, return the stirrup to its regular length. Out on the trail, a fence or fallen log can elevate your center of gravity and lower the energy cost of mounting. And even placing your horse in a slight depression can give you enough of a lift to make your ground mount graceful. And speaking of graceful, if you're very athletic and coordinated and you get your horse used to it, you can just vault into the saddle with a flawless spring and gentle landing, bypassing the torquing stirrup pressure altogether."

Ease Mounting Pressures on Your Horse

Written from a western perspective, but still a good thread:

Mounting using the horn

Vaulting's not difficult once you can do it right... I can't LOL but I know a lot of people who can, including well into middle age. Also doesn't require any more room than mounting normally, again IF you do it RIGHT. My mother LEARNED to vault on a 16hh horse... she is all of 5'2" and solid built. I can only do it onto ponies, or out of deep enough water, which means I'm not doing it right :)

At 54, I'd probably have better luck climbing a tree and jumping into the saddle than I would vaulting. Probably wouldn't damage anything getting much use anyways...

Some things I don't need to know about my fellow posters.....