T H E -:- H O R 



CHAPTER II. 



Balance — How to keep it — Experience with bucking horses — 

 Correct length of stirrup — Grip — How it counteracts inertia — 

 European cavalry man's experiment — Seat — What it means in 

 the saddle— "The End of the Trail." 



Balance depends upon the proper adjust- 

 ment of weight, and is arrived at by the em- 

 ployment of stirrups, seat and hands. The 

 reins should never be used as an aid to balance. 

 If they are used for this purpose it is an evi- 

 dence of very bad horsemanship. Unfortu- 

 nately, this evidence is not rare. 



The reins being attached to the bit, if pres- 

 sure is brought upon them, for any purpose 

 other than guiding or steadying one's mount, 

 it naturally has a disorganizing and confusing 

 effect upon the horse; also, frequent pressure 

 in this way has a tendency to make the ani- 

 mal's mouth less sensitive, and upsets the gen- 

 eral well-being of the horse when in use. 



From a standing position, if the horse jumps 

 forward, balance is best achieved by leaning 

 the weight forward at the moment of move- 

 ment, with the legs forcing the stirrups in the 

 general direction of the horse's tail, and at 

 this moment by pressure in the stirrups the 

 rider's body is held forward on the horse's 

 back. This counteracts the tendency of the 

 rder to become unseated by the horse jumping 

 forward from under him. 



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