THE SADDLE. ; 1 



forward. ISTo doubt they do, and this kind of rider 

 always sticks out his legs towards the horse's shoulder 

 on the line Q P ; in other words, he transmits the, 

 shock from the hind legs to the fore ones through the 

 medium of the stirrups (this, by the way, is the reason 

 why stirrup-leathers are broken), of course shoving the 

 saddle constantly forward, and these men's girths can 

 never be drawn tight enough to prevent the saddle 

 tilting up in front. Thirdly, of course his weight is 

 not distributed equably over the whole under surface 

 of the saddle. This is the man that manufactures sit- 

 fasts, or, at the very least, transforms his horse's back 

 from its natural colour into a strange pattern of white 

 and grey blotches. 



Some men would find it inconvenient to sit other- 

 wise than well back in their saddles, and some kinds 

 of riding seem to be more easily done in this form than 

 in any other. Now it is evident enough from the fore- 

 going, that if the part of the saddle occupied by the 

 rider be placed over the line E F, fig. 4, the horse's 

 balance is not necessarily deranged or the centre of 

 motion interfered with so long as the rider keeps 

 this position j but there always remains the difficulty 

 about the unequal distribution of the weight, and the 

 saddle slipping. Most English gentlemen ride more 

 or less in this fashion, and, from our way of rising in 

 the stirrups whilst trotting, are constantly transferring 

 their weight from one end of the saddle to the other. 

 Of course the horse's balance is thereby subjected to 

 constant changes, and not unfrequently a misunder- 

 standing between horse and rider ensues, terminating 

 in a disaster : but we must not anticipate. 



There .is another consideration of great importance 



