150 England's horses, 



less able to compete with the pull of the reins ; or if in the leap 

 his person were more exposed to the tilt of the hind quarters, and 

 so his seat less secure, then it might be doubted whether it were 

 worth while, for the preservation of a perfect balance, to subject 

 the rider to these inconveniences. But as it always happens where 

 a true principle is the foundation of our reasoning, whatever is 

 pointed out by that principle will be found consistent with every- 

 thing else that properly connects itself with the subject ; so here 

 we find the seat indicated by the necessity of balance to be that 

 in which all the powers of man and horse act together with the 

 greatest amount of ease and efficiency in the performance of every- 

 thing that appertains to perfect horsemanship. 



At first sight, it might appear as if those postures which pupils 

 in riding schools, or elsewhere, are prone to assume, from the 

 analogy that naturally suggests itself between sitting upon an 

 ordinary seat and upon a saddle, and in which the legs are 

 stretched forward in an extended state, with the stirrups pushed 

 up towards the horse's shoulders, would afford the means of offer- 

 ing the most resistance to the pull of the reins, however awkward 

 and insecure it might be in other respects ; for here the resistance 

 from the stirrups is nearly on a line with the direction of the pull, 

 while in the perpendicular posture it is nearly at right angles to it. 

 But when we consider that action and reaction are equal and 

 opposite, we shall easily perceive that any oblique action on the 

 stirrups, communicating its reaction through the outstretched 

 limbs, has a direct tendency to tilt the figure back upon the 

 saddle, in a direction which neither gravitation nor muscular 

 action can oppose ; so that before the rider can avail himself of 

 the resistance of his foot in such a position, he may be said to 

 have already lost his seat. 



But the perpendicular position of the vertical reaction of the 

 stiri-up, supposing it to be communicated in full force to the per- 

 son, is directly met by the downward pressure of the ridej's 

 weight, and this alone is sufficient to reinstate the figure in its 

 proper position. But that upward tilt, even before it comes into 

 opposition to the gravity of the body, is broken and carried off by 



