EARLY HISTORY OF HORSEMANSHIP 217 



the representations of horsemen in the Greek sculpture, we must 

 place the Greeks among the best riders of any age. 



I think that those critics are in error who understand that 

 by his instructions (' but with parted legs chiefly the upright 

 position is to be kept ') l Xenophon meant that the rider should 

 take the extreme ' fork ' seat ; for not only would such a posi- 

 tion be very insecure upon the simple saddles of the Greeks, but 

 it is inconsistent with the graceful and firm positions exhibited 

 by the marbles. From the sculptures and from Xenophon's 

 description of the seat considered proper in his time, 2 I take 

 it that the position of the Greek on horseback was the same 

 as that now considered the best the body upright, and the 

 inside of the thighs taking as many points of contact with the 

 horse as possible, while the legs, from the knee down, hang 

 free. In his work upon cavalry 3 the Greek author gives in- 

 structions that seem to be incompatible with the seat upon the 

 fork. 



With this view of the seat Xenophon's system of horseman- 

 ship is perfectly consistent with the methods of the best modern 

 writers, and in many cases it is recalled in reading Baucher's 

 excellent work, particularly in the instructions for the grasp of 

 the thighs and the natural bearing of the lower leg, 4 and in all 

 that refers to the hand. 



From the description that Xenophon gives of the bits in 

 use at his time, I think that we must arrive at the conclusion 

 that they had mouth-pieces made of flat links. Two bits were 

 employed. The less severe one had a smooth chain mouth- 

 piece 5 of varying width, depending upon the power required, 

 that by the leverage of the branches forced the mouth open, 

 and so compelled the horse to yield his jaw and give up all 

 opposition to the hand. But this mouth-piece lay flat upon the 

 tongue, and was easy to the horse when not operated upon by 



1 Horsemanship, chap. vii. sect. 5. 



2 Xenophon was born about 46 years after Pheidias. 



3 Hipparchus, chap. iii. sect. 14. 



* Horsemanship, chap. vii. sect. 6. ' 5 Ibid. chap. x. sect. 7. 



