THE HUNTING SEAT. 193 



the spinal column, and by maintaining a steady position of the 

 base of support, formed by the thighs and knees. If he 

 carries his feet unduly forward with the knees more or less 

 straight, as is often done with the unconscious object of 

 obtaining an increased bearing on the stirrups, the rider will 

 be liable to be bumped up and down in the saddle at each 

 stride, by reason of the necessarily inelastic nature of the 

 stirrup leathers. Here, the reaction to the downward 

 pressure on the stirrup irons will be transmitted upwards 

 through the legs, with the result of communicating more or 

 less motion to the body. The same thing occurs, though 

 to a greater extent, when a sudden check is given to the 

 speed at which the horse is moving, as for instance, when he 

 lands over a fence in a sticky manner, or " props " after a 

 buck-jump. If on the contrary, the rider keeps his thighs 

 sloped and his legs, from the knee down, in a more or less 

 vertical position, the play of the knee joints will tend to 

 obviate any jerk that may be communicated to the legs by 

 the stirrups, and will greatly save the horse from inconveni- 

 ence, and the rider from falling off, or at least from bumping 

 up and down. 



Apart from the disadvantages of riding with a straight 

 leg which we have just considered, we have the anatomical 

 fact that by straightening the leg, the inner surface of the 

 knee and thigh is rendered rounder than when the knee is 

 bent. For grip we naturally require a flat and not a round 

 bearing surface. 



We often see some of our best performers sticking out 

 their feet a good deal to the front ; but only when they are 

 " taking things easily." No fine horseman sticks his feet out 

 in front when he "jambs " himself into the saddle and rides 

 " all he knows." 



It is evident that the more weight is put on the stirrups, the 

 less there will be on the seat of the saddle. Hence, when a 



13 



