16 RIDIl^G AI^D TEAIKIi^G SADDLE-HORSES. 



saddle would easily hold the hips in a firm position. If 

 a whalebone rose out of the severed trunk, supporting a 

 heavy weight two feet above it, the hips would still be 

 free to move with the saddle ; but if for the whalebone 

 we were to substitute a stiff rod, the movement of the 

 hips would communicate a movement to the weight, 

 which in its turn, being at the long end of a lever, would 

 wrench them from their position. 



The spine of the rider represents the whalebone or the 

 rod, as the case may be, and the chest, head, and arms 

 represent the weight. If the lower spine be kept flexible, 

 the upper part of the body will not, from a sudden 

 motion of the horse, be started from its position by the 

 movement of the hips ; but if it be rigid, it will commu- 

 nicate the movement to the heavy mass above, and this 

 movement, once started, will be continued, acting on the 

 spine as a lever to remove the hips from their place. 

 This effect can be fully illustrated by standing erect and 

 throwing the weight, first on one leg and then on the 

 other, holding the lower spine, first supple and then 

 rigid. 'Sfe have dwelt thus long on this point, which is 

 probably never thought of Dy one poor horseman out of 

 five thousand, because it is the foundation of good riding. 

 Until the ability to preserve a supple loin under all cir- 

 cumstances is acquired, the rider is in danger of a fall at 

 any moment ; and it will always be impossible for hmi 

 to ride gracefully or with comfort. But while the supple 

 loin is of the first importance, an erect position of the 

 body is hardly less so. The position on horseback 

 should resemble the position when sitting on a high 

 stood, rather than on a low chair. On the chair, the 



