SEATS. 85 



stumble at the moment the rider is in the air, is tha 

 most common cause of the accidents that occur so fre- 

 quently. 



Now, in truth, there is no reason why this English 

 system of rising in the stirrups (in trotting) should not 

 be practised equally well, not to say better, with the 

 stirrup near the middle of the saddle instead of at one 

 end. The difference is this, that a much less amount 

 of rise will suffice, and the seat is therefore not only 

 less completely abandoned, but also for a shorter time, 

 the horse's balance is not destroyed ; and fine bitting 

 may be resorted to.* There is, however, a furtherN 

 peculiarity belonging to this English method that is 

 worth understanding, because the successful trotting of 

 many horses depends on its being so. The " bobber 

 up and down" rises and falls, witJb each tread of the 

 horse; the English rider only with the intermediate 

 ones : he always comes down on his saddle simulta- 

 neously with one and the same hind leg ; and the con- 

 sequence is, that in trotting after this fashion one dia- 

 gonal pair of legs 'is constantly saved from the recoil, 

 and the other as constantly exposed to it in an aggra- , 

 vated form.t 



* The author has done many a mile of hard work in this way in 

 a military saddle with stirrups exactly central ; and ridden to Eng- 

 lish foxhounds also tolerably well in full military fig in a stiff 

 country. 



+ A friendly criticism in the * Scotsman' objects that we treat 

 the animal too much like a machine, and thinks " that it must be 

 an immense relief to a horse that his rider should occasionally 

 change his position, even to a weaker point, " because, by keeping 

 the weight constantly in one place, " the strongest muscles will get 

 tired." Now, in the first place, there is very Uttle muscular action 

 expended or required for the mere purpose of supporting the rider's 

 weight — this is done chiefly by the bones and tendons ; the great 

 expenditure of muscular action, and consequently the great fatigue. 



