I 9 2 THE SEAT. 



one or both legs as an " aid." Having only one hand on 

 the reins, he has to rely more on the legs to guide his 

 horse than a hunting man would have to do. As the 

 assumption of the initiative is never allowed to the high school 

 horse, and but seldom to the trooper, both have to be kept 

 far more in hand by reins and legs than an ordinary riding 

 horse, whose cleverness and intelligence will often extricate 

 his rider out of a difficulty. In polo, the demands for control 

 over the horse are nearly similar to those in military riding ; 

 hence there is little difference in the seat for either of these 

 two purposes, except that at polo, as in hunting, uniformity 

 of appearance is not a matter for consideration. As our 

 Cavalry have to perform over rough ground in the open, 

 as well as on parade and in the school, they are now taught, 

 as far as possible, to vary their seat according to circum- 

 stances ; but as this is not always practicable, our military 

 authorities have wisely introduced a seat which is a com- 

 promise between the academic school seat and the hunting 

 seat. The modern system of instructing the recruit is 

 far more practicable than the old cut and dried methods 

 of the past. Thus we find set forth in Cavalry Training 

 that " men must be encouraged to use their brains and to 

 act on their own initiative. They must be taught the why 

 and wherefore of things. On service they will constantly 

 find themselves in positions where they must act on their 

 own initiative, and if they are not trained to think and act 

 for themselves, they will be powerless in an emergency." 



In hunting and race riding, the great object is to enable 

 the horse to do his work with the least possible fatigue to 

 himself. Consequently, the rider should not only interfere 

 with him as little as practicable, but should also conform to 

 the animal's movements, which he could not do if he were 

 obliged to maintain a rigidly uniform kind of seat, to say 

 nothing about the resulting fatigue to himself. There is no 



