now TO BIDE. 27 



himself over the middle of the horse's back, he will save his bearer and 

 himself a large amount of recoil. If, however, in this position he thrusts 

 his whole foot into the stirrup, he thereby throws away a further chance ; 

 for, by merely resting with the ball of his foot on the bar of the stirrup, 

 his knee being slightly bent, he superadds the elastic action of his own legs 

 at knee and ankle to that of the horse's, and this is the legitimate and 

 proper way of riding " close seat." 



A wholly useless and absurd method of performing this feat is when 

 the stirrup is ever so far away from the part of the saddle on which the 

 rider sits, for then there is an end of the elastic action of the rider's leg. 



The plan adopted in England is to avoid the recoil of the " close seat " 

 by rising in the stirrups, which, of course, is the most sensible way for a 

 man who has to ride long distances and is not encumbered with weapons. 

 It has, however, its inconveniences, especially if the stirrup is placed very 

 far forward ; for then, in the first place, the foot being thrust home in the 

 stirrup, the elasticity of the rider's leg is not utilized ; and even when this 

 is not the case, the " tread " being oblique cannot have the effect intended ; 

 secondly, the whole seat is abandoned for a certain time, nothing remaining 

 in contact with the horse except the leg from the knee downwards, which is 

 of little use ; thirdly, the horse learns to lean on the hand, for the rider 

 must depend on his reins, for a moment of time at least, which, of course, 

 renders correct bitting impossible ; finally, the rider's weight is being con- 

 stantly transferred from the hind to the fore quarters of the horse. There 

 may be average equilibrium, but it is never permanently in the right place, 

 and hence the danger ; for a sudden start or stumble at the moment the 

 rider is in the air is the most common cause of the accidents that occur. 



There is, however, a further peculiarity belonging to this English 

 method, or rising in the saddle, that is worth understanding, because the 

 successful trotting of many horses depends on its being so. The man riding 

 " close seat " rises and falls with each tread of the horse ; the English rider 

 only with the intermediate ones ; he always conies down on his saddle 

 simultaneously with one and the same hind leg ; and the consequence is, 

 that in trotting after this fashion one diagonal pair of legs is constantly 

 saved from the recoil, and the other as constantly exposed to it. 



Every practical rider must have observed that with certain horses there 

 is a difficulty in starting to trot, in the accommodation of the rider's rise in 



