98 SEATS AND SADDLES. 



and need not exceed 14 Ib. ; his doing so must not 

 necessarily give his horse a sore back or bruised withers. 

 On the other hand, the dead weight carried by the 

 troop-horse is most usually equal to, in many cases 

 greater than, that of the rider ; a shifting of the seat 

 will therefore necessarily destroy not only the poise of 

 the horse, but, what is still worse, that of the saddle 

 and this is what kills the horses, or at least sends them 

 into hospital. The cavalry soldier's seat must be there- 

 fore fixed, and not subject to variation ; in charging he 

 must bend his body forwards, from the hips upwards, in 

 order to use his weapons, and stand in his stirrups, and 

 this will suffice to accelerate the speed of his horse. 

 The grand rule is to arrange the saddle itself and the 

 stirrups so that the rider can only sit in the proper 

 position, that he falls naturally into it, and that it re- 

 quires no muscular effort to maintain it. If this be not 

 the case, the moment the man becomes tired, or his 

 horse makes a rapid movement, the whole seat is lost, 

 and the muscular effort that should remain altogether 

 available for the sabre or lance, is expended in en- 

 deavouring to maintain or regain an injudicious seat. 

 The true seat is therefore in the middle of the saddle, 

 whose upper surface should be so formed as not to 

 admit of any other one ; then the stirrup must be under 

 the seat, and not 8 to 12 inches in front of it. The 

 English hussar, Plate VII., is evidently expending mus- 

 cular action to keep his stirrup in a certain position 

 at an angle to its natural fall, instead of the stirrup 

 supporting his leg as the latter falls. Such a position is 

 not maintainable for any length of time, or in sharp 

 movement. In trot, for instance, the soldier, not being 

 permitted to rise in his saddle, must seek a support 



