THE SEAT. 21 



though not quite, at the same moment ; hence the 

 necessity of the weight being off the loins at that 

 instant (see page 185). When sitting down, at the 

 gallop, the body should be slightly inclined forward, 

 as in Plate I. (over-leaf), and should yield to the 

 movement of the horse, so that the seat may not 

 move up and down in the saddle. Mr. Berkley has 

 endeavoured to depict in Plate I. the action of a horse 

 as it actually is in the gallop, and not according to 

 the usual conventional rendering. 



When a rider is shifted in his seat, or falls off in 

 the ordinary manner, he has a tendency to go, more 

 or less, heels over head, as many of us know from 

 practical experience. This is naturally caused by the 

 portion of the body which is free to go forward, being 

 above the centre of gravity of the body, while that 

 — the legs — from which the grip is obtained, is well 

 below it. The more, therefore, at any untoward move- 

 ment of the horse, the rider brings his shoulders back, 

 gets his seat beneath, not behind, the centre of gravity, 

 and grips with his legs, so that the line of resistance to 

 the onward motion may be as near the centre of gravity 

 of the body as possible, the better chance will he have 

 of remaining unshifted in his saddle. Hence the neces- 



