204 THE SEAT. 



proved by the injurious effect " dead weight " has on a horse's 

 staying power. For instance, suppose that two horses of equal 

 merits were to be ridden against each other in a long race 

 by two capable and equally good jockeys, and that although 

 they were to carry the same weight, one being lighter than 

 the other, had to put up, say, two stone of lead, it is abso- 

 lutely certain, if both were to ride the race in the same way, 

 that the jockey who had to put up dead weight would lose. 



It is manifest that the best seat for ordinary riding is a 

 combination of convenience for the rider and of mechanical 

 advantage for the animal which has to carry the weight. The 



Fig. 187. Hunting Seat at the gallop. 



former condition can of course be readily determined and may 

 be assumed as that in which the body and head is held more 

 or less erect in an easy manner. But the latter, owing to the 

 varying nature of the special circumstances in each case, does 

 not admit of exact definition. On referring to Chapter III., we 

 see that the forward motion of the horse consists essentially of 

 propulsion by the hind legs, and raising of the weight by 

 the fore legs, which act in the gallop more or less like the 

 spokes of a wheel without a tire. Although the production 

 of instability of equilibrium (pp. 17 and 18) favours speed, 



