Extreme Length of Stirrups. i6i 



and does, carry the leg as it naturally falls when 

 sitting on his breech, not his crotch, on the bare 

 back of a horse. The steeple-chaser, or cross- 

 country rider, for perfectly satisfactory reasons, 

 has a much shorter stirrup. But on the road, 

 he should, and generally does, come back more 

 nearly to the natural length. The main advan- 

 tage in the very long stirrup which obtains among 

 so many peoples lies in the possibility of sitting 

 close on a trot with greater ease, and of using 

 the lasso or whip, or in having a free hand for 

 their sundry sports or duties. And a high pom- 

 mel and cantle are advantageous in helping the 

 rider preserve his seat when he might be dragged 

 — not thrown — from it in some of his peculiar 

 experiences. But the perfectly straight leg al- 

 ways bears a suggestion of the parting advice of 

 the groom to a Sunday rider just leaving the sta- 

 ble : " Look straight between his hears, sir, and 

 keep your balance, and you cant come hoff." On 

 the other hand, the advantages of an extremely 

 short stirrup, such as prevails in the Orient, are 

 very difficult to be understood at all. 



The military riders of every civilized country, 

 where enlistments are long enough, and where 

 proper care is given to the instruction in eques- 

 trianism, are excellent. It would be curious in- 

 deed if men who devote their lives to the art 

 should not be so. Some of our old army cavalry 



