472 



THE MODERN SYSTEM 



and groundwork of the seat in the speedy 

 trot and gallop ; this, with the firm grasp of 

 the thighs and the hold on the bridle, assures 

 the stability of the seat on horseback. 



In military riding the seat is said to depend 

 entirely on the equipoise, or balance, a point 

 of consequence, no doubt, but which, on 

 trying occasions, can only be maintained as 

 above stated. It has been observed of bad 

 horsemen, that they can scarcely keep their 

 spurs from their Horse's sides, but such can 

 never be the case with the above seat, in 

 which the greater difficulty is to reach tlie 

 Horse's sides with the spurs. The act of 

 spurring, contrary to the military mode, is 

 performed with a kick, the toe being some- 

 what more turned out. 



In dismounting, the left hand inclosing the 

 reins, resumes its former place in the Horse's 

 mane, and the rider lands from the same side 

 on which he mounted, with his Horse safe in 

 hand. Particular situations may render it 

 necessary to mount on the off side. The con- 

 venience is considerable when a Horse will 

 stand still, unheld at the head, to be mounted ; 

 a point of obedience, however, to which some 

 spirited and impatient Horses can scarcely be 

 reduced. When a Horse is held for mounting, 

 it should be by the checks of the bridle, not 

 the reins, least of all by the curb rein. 



Being mounted, the rider may find the 

 stirrup leathers too long or too short. In 

 applying the remedy the attendant should be 

 careful to draw the buckle of the stirrup 

 leather to the top, and to leave the pad of the 

 saddle smooth and even. The arms should 

 hang easily down the waist, and, though the 

 elbows be bent, they must not be awkwardly 

 elevated or protruded. The bridle is held 

 about level with, or rather above the pommel 



of the saddle, at a length somewhat beyond 

 it, towards the rider. The reins should not 

 be held so long and loose as to diminish the 

 rider's power of supporting the Horse by a 

 pull, in case of a false step. Few are left 

 now, I apprehend, of the school of Bakewell, 

 who taught that the rider, being upon the 

 Horse, could afford him no possible support 

 in case of stumbling, but that, by pulling at 

 him, would rather accelerate his fall. The 

 Horse, well aware of the purpose for which 

 he is mounted, will, in general, proceed, on 

 his head being loosed ; if not, an intimation 

 by the rider gently moving the reins, or press- 

 ing the Horse's sides with the calves of his 

 legs, will be sufficient. If a steady and quiet 

 hack, and on such only should a tyro be 

 mounted, he will commence with a walk, and, 

 in all probability, continue that pace till put 

 forward by his rider. Horses, indeed, full of 

 good keep, high spirited, and having had little 

 work, will, at starting, be impatient of a slow 

 pace and cut a few capers, on which the rider 

 has nothing to do but to sit quiet with a mild 

 and steady hand, until his nag's merry fit be 

 over. The proper starting pace, the walk, 

 being continued at the rider's option, the inti- 

 mations above described, or a gentle touch on 

 the Horse's buttock with the whip or stick, 

 will cause him to advance to his next pace, 

 the slow or jog-trot, the best pace of the 

 Horse perhaps, to those who ride for their 

 health's sake, grantina: the motion be not too 

 rough. In the walk, the slow trot, and the 

 canter or slow gallop, the rider sits on his 

 saddle as in his easy chair ; in the speedy trot 

 he makes more use of his knees, hitching, or 

 his body riding and falling in unison with the 

 motion of the Horse : in the swift gallop the 

 rider stands in his stirrups, chiefly depending 



