Horse mounting stool

My wife has acquired a new horse that is a bit taller than her old one. She asked me if I could make a stool that would make it easier for her to mount the horse. 

The requirements were that the stool should be fairly lightweight and very stable, approximately 1 foot high and the top should be 10 x 20 inches.

I decided for a canted design, with the same angle on the sides and the ends. The slope is 1:5 

The material is larch. the top and the stretchers were milled to 20 mm thickness (3/4"), the corners were initially square, but I made a rabbet to lighten the weight as much as possible.

After cutting the pieces to size it was down to making 16 mortises and 16 tenons. Despite being at a slight angle, it went pretty well. The tenons are 8 mm thick, and about an inch wide. The mortises are (not surprisingly) the same size. 

I drawbored all the joints which added a little extra time to the build.

The top was attached by means of buttons screwed on from the underside. These are seated in a groove that I cut in the top stretchers before assembling the base.

I made a hole in the top to facilitate handling of the stool.

Since the stool will be placed on the riding court most of the time, I didn't bother with a lot of sanding or planing. It will look scruffy in a very short time anyway. 

As an experiment I finished it with a blend of Tung oil and Camelia oil, approximately 2 parts Tung oil to 1 part of Camelia oil.

Since SWMBO wanted to ride her horse this afternoon, I said that she could use it even though the oil had not cured yet. She was able to mount the horse without any problems, so all in all a the project has been a success.

Stable and lightweight.

Fnug testing the taste of the oil finish.

The buttons and the grooves.

SWMBO and the new horse (Bernie)