SEATS. 81 



On the other hand, there can be no doubt of the 

 total inapplicability of the wash-ball seat to military 

 purposes ; and, after all, one comes to the conclusion that 

 the essential difference between any two good forms of 

 seat is not so enormous as is commonly represented. 

 If a man " sits on horse ape-like," as the Hungarian 

 phrase is, he will scarcely succeed in any kind of riding; 

 and we believe that the great secret of good horseman- 

 ship in general consists in avoiding exaggerations of 

 all kinds. The saddle, the position of the stirrup, and 

 the peculiar object in view, may and must induce 

 modifications of the seat ; but riding is still riding, and 

 the mechanism of the horse's construction cannot be 

 altered by mere fashion. 



Road-Riding. The road-rider, although not required 

 to take fences, or permitted to ride at full gallop like 

 the fox-hunter, has his own difficulties to contend with : 

 he has to do his work on a hard inelastic surface, and 

 not on grass fields or ploughed land ; he must be pre- 

 pared to make sharp turns, and to meet all sorts of 

 provocations to shying and restiveness, of which the 

 hunting man knows little or nothing ; in fact, handi- 

 ness, safety for himself, and a due regard for his horse's 

 legs, are much more important considerations for him 

 than great speed. It is all very well to say that a 

 roadster or hack should possess the qualities requisite 

 to insure the above, but all does not depend upon the 

 horse ; if the seat of the rider be faulty, a break-down 

 will ensue sooner or later. 



Let us take the hard road, in the first instance, into 

 consideration. When one body strikes, falls, or im- 

 pinges on another, to use a scientific phrase, it receives 



F 



