-0 BOW TO BIDE. 



The saddle-flaps serve in some cases to increase, in others they absolutely 

 diminish, the surface of contact between the rider and horse ; their chief 

 use is to protect the man's legs from injury by the girth-buckles, straps, etc. 



To sum up the whole of the foregoing, we may describe the general rule 

 for seats to be this, — the saddle in the centre of the horse's back ; the girths, 

 stirrups, and rider in the centre of the saddle. 



SEATS. 



When one observes the great variety of seats on horseback that present 

 themselves to our notice every day, and their totally contradictory character 

 in the most important respects, a certain amount of bewilderment necessarily 

 ensues. What, for instance, can be more contradictory than to see one man 

 sitting at one end of the saddle, as in an easy-chair, with his legs tucked up 

 at the other, till his knees are nearly on a level with the pommel, called 

 "the wash-ball-seat ; " whilst a second, sitting in his fork, sticks out his legs 

 as stiff and as far away from his horse as he can, taking for his model what 

 is very aptly named " the pair-of-tongs-across-a-stone-wall seat." 



We start out with the declaration that we have no desire or intention 

 to set up any one kind of seat as a model, but this is no reason Avhy we 

 should not try to find out and lay before our readers what are the real essen- 

 tials, leaving them to adopt whatever suits their purpose best. Now, the 

 seat on horseback is maintained by balance, by friction, and by the support 

 given by the stirrup; and it is easy to perceive that such a combination of 

 all three will necessarily secure a much greater amount of stability than 

 can be attained by depending on one to the neglect of the other two, or even 

 depending on two in such a manner as to sacrifice the third. The best and 

 safest seat will be always that which depends exclusively on no one means 

 of support, but uses them all in the best manner. 



It has been shown that the stability of the saddle and the safety of the 



