A FEW HINTS 195 



but roughly speaking the short, round thighed 

 man should not ride with so much slope as the 

 man with the long flat thigh, or to put it in 

 another way the man with a short round thigh 

 must ride comparatively longer than the man 

 with a long flat one. The slope of the thigh and 

 the length of the stirrup leather should be finally 

 settled by the ability with which the rider is 

 enabled to reach the sides of the horse with the 

 lower part of his legs, for it is by these that he 

 controls the horse. 



There is a very heterodox opinion abroad, 

 and one that one hears constantly when horse- 

 manship is the subject of discussion, that a man 

 should sit back. He should do nothing of the 

 kind. To ensure perfect balance the rider should 

 sit forward and lean back, leaning back that is 

 from the hips to the shoulders and he should 

 do this without altering the position of his thighs 

 and knees. When the rider has obtained that 

 perfect balance he is well on the way to becoming 

 an accomplished horseman. 



In sitting on a horse there are several little 

 things to avoid. There should never be daylight 

 between the rider and the saddle. When there 

 is daylight between the saddle and the rider's 

 knees the rider is sitting incorrectly, turning his 

 toes out instead of turning them parallel to the 

 horse's sides. The grip on the saddle should 

 be with the thigh, knee and calf of the leg and 

 the strength of the seat will of course depend on 

 the amount of combined grip which the rider can 



