10 ROAD, PARK, AND SCHOOL 



supported by the buttocks. The upper part of the 

 body must be held without stiffness, and should be 

 ready to bend in any direction upon the hips ; but 

 the grasp of the thighs is not to be disturbed, and 

 from the hips to the knees there should be no 

 motion or changes. The lower part of the legs, 

 from the knees down, should fall naturally, and 

 should be completely under the control of the rider, 

 in order that the indications of the calf and heel 

 may be given with precision. 



From this seat the rider should practise bending 

 the body forward, to either side and backward, with- 

 out disturbing the grasp of the thighs or moving 

 the feet. Then, with the body erect, he should, 

 keeping the thighs close to the saddle, exercise the 

 lower parts of the legs, until he finds that he can 

 use them without interfering with the seat or dis- 

 turbing the carriage of the body. 



The stirrups must be adapted to the seat, not 

 the seat to the stirrups. The right length of the 

 stirrup-leathers will be found when the toes, placed 

 in the irons no farther than the balls of the feet, 

 are slightly higher than the heels. The object in 

 elevating the toes is not to make rigid the muscles 

 of the legs, but to permit the calves of the legs to 

 be applied to the sides of the horse without giving 

 unintentional scratches with the spur. 



