AIOUNTED INSTRUCTION 125 



Posting", or rising' to the trot, greatly diminishes the concussion pro- 

 duced by the driver's weight on tlie back and joints of the horse. It 

 also makes breathing easier and facilitates the im])ulsion from the 

 engagement of the hintl feet. It is also less fatiguing to the driver than 

 sitting" down to the trot. I'osting is habitually employed by the Field 

 Artillery driver and should be learned during" this period of the instruc- 

 tion. 



It is executed as follows : The horse moving at a trot, rider inclines 

 the upper part of his. body forward, then supporting himself on the 

 stirrups wdiile maintaining the grip of the knees, he rises under the 

 impulsion of the horse, maintaining his position detached from the 

 saddle while the succeeding" impulse is produced, again sits down in the 

 saddle shoving his buttocks forward in doing so, and continues in this 

 w^ay, always avoiding every other impulse. 



At the beginning the mechanism of posting is made easier to the 

 driver by causing him to stroke the horse's neck or to grasp a lock of 

 the mane or the pommel with either hand, thus determining the for- 

 ward inclination of the body. 



Its proper execution requires that the seat shall be raised moder- 

 ately; that contact with the saddle shall be resumed gently and without 

 shock; that the full support of the stirrup is obtained, while keeping 

 the lower leg steady; that the ankle joint shall be supple ; and that the 

 heel shall be kept lower than the toe. Above all, the driver must be 

 supple in the loins and convex them backward. 



CHANGING THE DIAGONAL IN POSTING 



In posting the driver is said to post on the right diagonal when after 

 rising" he sits down in the saddle at the instant the right fore foot comes 

 to the ground. 



It is important to instruct the driver to post for a time on one diago- 

 nal and then change to the other, so that the horses legs will each per- 

 form the same amount of work and the chance of injury from the equip- 

 ment will be reduced. 



In the riding school the rider should always rise on the inside hind 

 foot, because this foot, in response to the inner leg aid, is the only one 

 that can properly place itself under the mass of the horse and support 

 the w^eight during the ghange of direction in the corners: hence to in- 

 sure automatically that the posting is done as much on one diagonal as 

 on the other, the riders may be required to post on the left diagonal 

 when riding to the left. 



The instructor occasionally requires each driver to inform him on 

 which diagonal he is posting. 



To teach the driver to change the diagonal the instructor directs him 

 to diminish the weight borne on the stirrups and to retain his seat in 

 the saddle for two successive beats of the horse's feet instead of one, 

 then to rise as before. 



