I20 THE COMPLETE FOXHUNTER 



care less, but no one can attain a proper hunting seat 

 unless he grips the horse firmly between his legs at 

 first. As time wears on the grip naturally relaxes, and 

 when a man finds himself thoroughly at home in the 

 saddle he will discover that though he has what is in 

 reality a grip seat, he is only using pressure at certain 

 times, say when he is galloping over rough ground or 

 negotiating a jump. As he approaches a fence he will 

 find that his legs are mechanically closing on his 

 horse, and that he is, in point of fact, holding the 

 horse tight between his knees. 



It is practically impossible to ride over a big fence, 

 with a drop on the far side, without a strong grip, and 

 we have witnessed endless ''voluntaries" incurred by 

 men who had not recognised this fact. Some of these 

 had been taught to ride by balance, but as far as we 

 can judge this must be almost an acrobatic perform- 

 ance, and, anyhow, it is quite out of place in the 

 hunting field. Shortish stirrups should be used, and 

 a very simple guide to the length which best suits nine 

 men out of ten is to have them so that when one 

 gallops the foot is well home (or well through the 

 stirrup), and when one trots the pressure comes from 

 the ball of the foot, and not from under the instep as 

 in galloping. 



Some men, of course, ride shorter than others, but 

 a long seat is seldom seen on a man who is really good 

 across country, for if knee-pressure is used at fences 

 the long stirrup will slip off the foot. And, by the 

 way, some men with the strongest leg-grip will often 

 lose an iron when jumping, merely because they are 

 in the habit of almost curling their legs round their 

 horse's body. We remember a new huntsman coming 

 into a country, and we quickly heard some one say that 



