15 MODERN HORSEMANSHIP. 



difficult to mount upon the off side should occasion 

 require it. 



It is of the highest importance that the rider 

 should secure the proper seat, for unless his position 

 upon the horse be easy and secure he cannot have 

 good hands, or apply his legs and heels in aiding his 

 hands. Every man has one seat that Is the best, 

 and any deviation from this is to his disadvantage. 

 To secure this seat the rider will take his weight 

 upon his buttocks, holding his body upright, without 

 rigidity, and, taking every possible point of contact 

 with Xh^Jlat inner surfaces of the knees and thighs, 

 the lower parts of the legs, from the knees down, 

 hanging free and naturally. When the knees are 

 slightly bent there will be found flat surfaces upon 

 the inner sides, and these are the parts with which 

 the grasp of the body of the horse should be made. 

 This will insure the proper position of the body 

 upon the horse ; for if the knees are too high, it will 

 be the under sides of the thiorhs that will take the 



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bearings in the saddle, and the lower parts of the 

 legs will come against the sides of the horse ; if the 

 knees are too low, it will be impossible to bring 

 these flat inner surfaces ao-ainstthe saddle. In this 

 position every advantage is given to the rider, the 

 weight is applied perpendicularly, the greatest 

 amounts of friction and of grasp are given, and the 



