52 SEATS AND SADDLES. 



the muscles of the horse's fore and back hand. Look- 

 ing at Plate II., we see the back covered with a broad 

 tendon, into which, as has been already pointed out, 

 the muscles of these two parts are inserted, and on 

 which their contractile action is exercised. The saddle 

 should not extend much, if at all, beyond the limits of 

 this flat tendon, because, by doing so, it will be sure to 

 impede more or less the free action of the muscles, 

 whereas the tendon is rather assisted than impeded in 

 its functions by a weight being placed on it ; and it is 

 also evident that a rider, sitting at one end of his saddle 

 instead of in the centre, will produce the same injurious 

 effect. 



The next question to be determined is To what part 

 of the saddle should the girths be attached? Now it 

 is very evident that, if the placing of the weight in the 

 centre of the saddle has the effect of transmitting an 

 equal amount of pressure to all that part of the horse's 

 back with which the latter is in contact, the attaching 

 the girths so as to act directly on the centre of the 

 saddle will have precisely the same effect ; and the 

 friction that results that is, the adhesiveness produced 

 by pressure will be equable throughout, and of course 

 least likely to injure any one particular point. It was 

 a very prevalent idea some years ago, that "the point - 

 strap " that is to say, the girth that was placed well 

 forward in the saddle was the thing to depend on to 

 prevent the saddle slipping, but experience has proved 

 this notion to be erroneous ; and Sir Francis Head, a 

 very good authority on these matters, has pointed out, 

 if we mistake not, that the proper place for attaching 

 the girths is in the middle of the saddle. It is, no 

 doubt, quite possible, by placing the girths forward, 



