MANUAL FOR NONCOMMISSIONED OFFICERS. 123 



198. Position of the trooper, or attention (mounted): The 



position described below sbould be considered a standard 

 toward which all troopers should gradually approximate. 



The buttocks bearing equally upon and well forward in the 

 middle of the saddle. 



The thighs turned without constraint upon their flat side, 

 clasping the horse evenly and stretched only by their own 

 weight and that of the lower legs. 



The knees bent and flexible. 



The lower legs falling naturally, the calves in contact with 

 the horse without pressure, the toes dropping naturally when 

 the trooper is without stirrups. 



The back supple and never hollowed. 



The upper part of the body easy, free, and erect. 



The shoulders thrown back evenly. 



The arms free, the elbows falling naturally. 



The head erect and turned to the front,. but without stiffness. 



Eyes alert, well up, and directed to the trooper's front. 



The reins held as heretofore prescribed. 



This position may be modified by the instructor to suit 

 varying conditions and unusual conformations. When not at 

 attention, the head and eyes are directed so as best to favor 

 alertness and observation. In other respects the position 

 should be practically unchanged. 



199. The body and lower legs are movable and should be 

 under the control of the trooper, either acting intermittently 

 as aids for guiding the horse or as a means of binding the 

 rider to the horse while following his movements. 



The thighs, on the other hand, should remain fixed im- 

 movably to the saddle, except while posting at the trot. This 

 fixity should be obtained not by the pressure of the knees 

 but by the clinging of the buttocks, which is secured by the 

 suppleness of the loins and the relaxation of the thighs. It 

 is acquired very rapidly by daily ".rotation of the thighs" 

 which gradually presses the large thigh muscles to the rear 

 and permits the femur to rest solidly against the saddle. 



The trooper should sit with his buttocks well under the 

 upper part of his body and especially avoid bowing the back 

 by thrusting the buttocks to the rear and the lower part of 

 the spine to the front. Sitting well forward in the middle 



