KIDIXG.] 



THE HOESE, AND 



Feidtno. 



Bmall degree outward, being directly coutrary 

 to the form in military equitation. The stirrup 

 leathers should be of such length as to admit 

 of the knee being sufficiently bent to retain a 

 firm hold of the saddle; but not to that degree 

 as to hoist the rider much above it when he 

 stands in his stirrups. Nor should they be so 

 long as to represent him as being a straight- 

 kneed jockey, which detracts from his power 

 on horseback, and is dangerous in respect to 

 that pressure which has sometimes occasioned 

 rupture in the belly of the rider. The foot, for 

 the road or for sporting, indeed for the most 

 secure seat, should be placed home in the 

 stirrup, the toe rather elevated, and turned 

 somewhat outward ; thence arises a centre 

 union of force between the foot and the knee, 

 the toe being turned out, and the knee inward, 

 pressing the saddle, which assures a firm seat. 

 This is the very essence and groundwork of 

 the seat in the speedy trot and gallop ; and 

 when to it are added the firm grasp of the 

 thighs and the hold on the bridle, the stability 

 of the seat is perfectly secured. 



In military riding the seat is said to depend 

 entirely on the equipoise, or balance, a point 

 of consequence, no doubt, but which, on try- 

 ing occasions, can only be maintained as above 

 stated. It has been observed of bad horse- 

 men that they can scarcely keep their spurs 

 from the sides of their horses ; but such can 

 never be the case with the above seat, in 

 which the greater difficulty is to reach their 

 sides with the spurs. The act of spurring, 

 contrary to the military mode, is performed 

 with a kick, the toe being somewhat more 

 turned out. 



In dismounting, the left hand, inclosing the 

 reins, resumes its former place in the mane, 

 and the rider lands from the same side on 

 which he mounted, with his horse safe in hand. 

 Particular situations may render it necessary 

 to mount on the oft" side. The convenience is 

 ■considei able when the animal will stand still, 

 unheld at the head, to be mounted ; a point of 

 •obedience, however, to which some spirited 

 and impatient horses can scarce]}^ be reduced. 

 When a horse is held for mounting, it should 

 be by the checks of the bridle, not tlie reins, 

 and least of all by the curb rein. 



Being mounted, the rider may find the 

 stirrup-leathers too long or too short. In 

 148 



applying the remedy the attendant should be 

 careful to draw the buckle of the stirrup- 

 leather to the top, and to leave the pad of the 

 saddle smooth and even. The arms should 

 hang easily down the waist, and, though the 

 elbows are bent, they must not be awkwardly 

 elevated or protruded. The bridle is held 

 about level with, or rather above the pommel 

 of the saddle, at a length somewhat beyond 

 it, towards the rider. The reins should not 

 be held so long and loose as to diminish the 

 power of the rider in supporting the horse by 

 a pull, in case of a false step. Few are left 

 now of the school of Bakewell, who taught 

 that the rider could afford his animal no pos- 

 sible support in case of stumbling, but that, 

 by pulling at him, would rather accelerate his 

 fall. The horse, well aware of the purpose for 

 which he is mounted, will, in general, proceed, 

 on his head being loosed ; if not, an intima- 

 tion, by gently moving the reins, or pressing 

 his sides witli the calves of the legs, will be 

 sufficient. If a steady and quiet hack — and on 

 such only a tyro should be mounted — he will 

 commence with a walk, and, in all probability, 

 continue that pace till put forward by his 

 rider. Horses, indeed, full of good keep, high 

 spirited, and having had little work, will, at 

 starting, be impatient of a slow pace, and cut 

 a few capers ; on which the rider has nothing 

 to do but to sit quiet with a mild and steady 

 hand, until this merry fit is over. The proper 

 starting pace, the walk, being continued at the 

 rider's option, the intimations above described, 

 or a gentle touch on the buttock with the 

 whip or stick, will cause the animal to advance 

 to his next pace, the slow or jog-trot — the best 

 pace of the horse, perhaps, to those who ride 

 for their health's salce, granting the motion be 

 not too rough. In the walk, the slow trot, 

 and the canter, the rider sits on his saddle as 

 in his easy chair. In reference to the move- 

 ment of the horse in the canter, Mr. Blaine 

 says, " that the hind-legs are thrown in, and 

 while elevated, the oft' fore-leg becomes raised 

 from the ground, but the near fore-leg is not 

 elevated until the hinder ones are replaced; 

 and this constitutes the grand difference be- 

 tween the canter and the gallop. The sensa- 

 tion to the rider is as different as possible, and 

 so is the action to the eye also. If this be 

 established, it will call to mind that the whole 



