28 Horse and Man. 



attitude. I believe, moreover, that the best 

 judges are now of the same opinion, and 

 that there is no longer any really important 

 difference between the seat of an average 

 fox-hunter and that of an average dragoon. 



I know that there are certain mysteries of 

 iockeyship which may possibly require, for 

 the convenience of the horse and not of the 

 rider, a peculiar attitude in the saddle. I 

 also know that, if a horseman's body is but 

 perfectly poised, there is no conceivable posi- 

 tion into which he may not, with comparative 

 security, torture his lower limbs. There were 

 fine horsemen in the antique manege* where 



1 O ' 



the legs of the cavalier were placed like a pair 

 of tongs ; and there are fine horsemen now in 

 India, whose legs are placed like those of a 

 tailor at work. But remember that, if such 

 seats can be made secure, they must be so by 

 what would otherwise be a superfluous nicety 

 of balance. The rational horseman will place 

 his body and legs so as to assist each other as 

 much as possible, instead of having to correct 

 the awkwardness of the one posture by the 

 extraordinary excellence of the other. 



Whoever wishes to find the true model of 



