102 RIDING RECOLLECTIONS. 



despising such adventitious aid, began to adopt the open, 

 or plain-flapped saddle ; and, although not universal, it 

 has now come into general use. It would certainly, of 

 the two, have been the better adapted to the automaton 

 I have described, as an inequality of surface was sadly 

 in the way when the figure in its downward perpen- 

 dicular, brought the rider's foot parallel with the point 

 of its shoulders. The man's calf then necessarily slipped 

 over the padding of his saddle, and it was impossible for 

 him to get his leg back to its right place in time for a 

 fresh outbreak when the model rose again to its proper 

 level. 



As I would prefer an open saddle for the artificial, so 

 I do for the natural horse, and I will explain why. 



I take it as a general and elementary rule, there is 

 no better position for a rider than that which brings 

 shoulder, hip, knee, and heel into one perpendicular 

 line. A man thus placed on his horse cannot but sit 

 well down with a bend in his back, and in this attitude, 

 the one into which he would naturally fall, if riding at 

 full speed, he has not only security of seat, but great 

 command over the animal he -bestrides. He will find, 

 nevertheless, in crossing a country, or otherwise prac- 

 tising feats of horsemanship requiring the exercise of 

 strength, that to get his knee an inch or two in advance 



