4 DIFFERENT STYLES 



extreme seats of the cowboy and the fox -hunter. The 

 cowboy has to be astride his ponies from a dozen hours 

 upwards every day, ropes steers, or drags out mired cows ; 

 has to stick to his saddle under the most abnormal con- 

 ditions, and must if need be have both his hands at liberty. 

 He rides with a short tree, horn pommel, and high cantle. 

 He laughs at any other rig. The fox-hunter has nothing 

 to do but to keep his seat ; he has no occupation for his 

 hands except by the play of the bits to get the very best 

 performance out of his horse a delicate enough operation 

 by-the-bye, and not to be quickly acquired and needs a 

 saddle on which he can not only sit safely and comforta- 

 bly over difficult obstacles, but which is convenient to fall 

 out of if a horse comes down, and will prove the least dan- 

 gerous should his horse come atop of him. He rides the 

 flattest thing known except a pad. The very best author- 

 ity obtainable those men, to wit, who have done duty as 

 cowboys, and have ridden to hounds as well (and many 

 of us know from personal friendship that a man may be 

 equally distinguished on the ranch, with the Meadow 

 Brooks, and in politics and letters, too) unite in pronounc- 

 ing each saddle to be as closely adapted to the needs of 

 each rider as it can be made. Long use will extract what 

 is good from every style. Even the Arab, who would 

 laugh to scorn the long stirrups of the cowboy, or the per- 

 sistent road-trot of the fox-hunter, rides in a fashion which 

 to us seems at first blush inexplicable, but which, when 

 one has long dwelt among them, is found to be by no 

 means ill-adapted to his needs. His entire rig suits the 

 Arabian he rides vastly better than a flat English saddle 

 would do, which latter, indeed, he deems the product of 

 the always more or less insane Frank. 



Leaving out the soldier, who is the lineal descendant of 

 the knight in armor, with seat and saddle modified by his 



