82 SEATS AND SADDLES. 



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

 total inapphcabiUty 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 repre- 

 sented. 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 horsemanship in general consists in avoiding ex- 

 aggerations 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 construC'x.,- 

 tion cannot be altered by mere fashion. 



Boad-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 



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