354 WESTERN GRAZING GROUNDS AND FOREST RANGES 



knees and thighs; that is, hug the saddle with them, 

 using the knee as if it were a ball and socket joint 

 fastened tight to the saddle. 



Learn to ride this way and you will never have any 

 trouble with your trousers working up above the knees, 

 as happens to most beginners. 



If your knees and legs tire, turn slightly in the saddle, 

 resting your body on the flat of the thigh, one foot re- 

 maining in the stirrup, the knee slightly bent, and let 

 the tired foot hang free for a while. This takes the 

 "kinks" out of the knees and ankles of a beginner and 

 helps even an old rider. 



The American Saddle Horse. The true American 

 saddle horse dates back to 1839. In that year Denmark, 

 a Thoroughbred stallion whose sire was an imported 

 English Thoroughbred, was crossed with several well- 

 bred Kentucky mares. This was the foundation of the 

 American saddler, and the Denmark strain has come 

 down through successive generations and is as jealously 

 guarded by the Kentucky breeders as the Arabs guard 

 the breeding of their horses. The Thoroughbred is sim- 

 ply a highly developed racing machine, with but one 

 gait, while the saddle horse is a many-gaited animal. 

 The average Kentucky saddler weighs about 1,050 

 pounds and is \5 l /> or 15% hands high, bred, built, 

 trained and used exclusively as a saddler. 



