A buddy of mine who used to make 'em has a wooden tripod like stand which sits directly in front of him a couple of feet out. He then hooks the head (tuner portion) over the middle of the tripod. He plays quite proficiently on the fingerboard moving his hand & arm forward & back. He explained to me once that it takes less muscles to move the arm forward & back than side to side. Thus he can be more dextrous in his lively playing.

   I use straps on my tear drop shaped Mtn. Dulcimers which sort of creep up backwards-or aobut 3/4 of the way facing forward-as I play, so over time I began to adapt to that. It also helps to project the sound.
But if ya wanna have some real fun--when I teach beginner workshops, I strap on a Mtn. Dulc. backwards/upside down so that the beginner is looking at me & seeing what his fingerboard looks like.