THE SADDLE. 51 



forward. No doubt they do, and this kind of rider 

 always sticks out his legs toward's 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 saddl 

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

 not distributed equably over the whole under siu'face/ 

 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 gTcy 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 an}^ 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 ; but there always remains the difficulty about 

 the unequal distribution of the weight, and the saddle 

 slipping. ]\Iost 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 con- 

 stant changes, and not unfrequently a misunderstand- 

 ing between horse and rider ensues, terminating in a 

 disaster : but we must not anticipate. 



There is another consideration of great importance 



