60 SEATS AND SADDLES, 



centre the seat will be also central, and for military 

 purposes enough has been said to show that this is its 

 proper position. Nothing can be more certain than 

 this, that it is the saddler, and not the instructor of 

 equitation, that can most effectually and certainly pro- 

 duce the uniformity of seat which is so desirable j but 

 unfortunately few people ever think of this. The suna 

 of the whole matter is this — the larger the surfaces oj^, 

 the rider and saddle brought into j^^rmanent contact, \ 

 the firmer will he the seat, and the less loill it dejyendj 

 on the stirrups or — the reikis. 



The saddle-flaps serve in some cases to increase, in 

 others they absolutely diminish, the surface of con- 

 tact between the rider and horse : their chief use is , 

 to protect the man's legs from injury by the girthy' 

 buckles, straps, &c. For military saddles nothing can 

 be more preposterous than a stiff flap interposed be- 

 tween the rider's legs and horse's side, because the sur- 

 cingle and shabrack cover all these things effectually, 

 and perfectly attain this object of the flap of the 

 English civilian saddle. This stiff flap is therefore an 

 unnecessary additional weight, and it keeps, moreover, 

 the leg out of its proper position. To sum up the 

 whole of the foregoing, we may describe the general 

 rule for seats to be this, — the saddle in the centre of 

 the horse's back ; thu girths, stirrujjs, and rider in iliffl 

 centre of the saddle ; in short, — * 



*' The maxim for the horsy tribe is 

 Horatian, * Medio tutissimus ibis,' " 



There are certain appendages to the saddle that re- 



* In the original manuscript stood the words, ' ' in the centre 

 of the saddle," which was altered to '^ about,'' kc, in the press. 

 The truth is, we were afraid of shocking weak nerves, but so 



