340 TIIE HORSE. 



and sit still and firm in his seat, witliout any other aid than na- 

 ture has supplied him with ; and it oblig-es him to keep his legs 

 motionless ; for should he hold so loosely by his knees and 

 thighs as to allow his legs to move or swing backward and for- 

 ward on his saddle skirts, they would allow him to roll over 

 the one or other side of his horse, and thus "the hope of 

 the family " might be turned topsy-turvy. The next advantage 

 derived from this plan is, it finally, in riding terras, gives a lad 

 hands ; for so soon as he has learned a firm seat, and got iij full 

 confidence in this respect, his hands are as free and as much at 

 liberty as if standing on the ground. For however firm he may 

 want to hold his horse by the head, to assist, support, or check 

 him, he wants no hold by his own hands, as a support or stay to 

 his own body. In fact, by thus learning to ride in the first in- 

 stance, a seat at once neat and firm is most easily to be acquired 

 without the vile habit of " holding on by the bridle ; " which, 

 if once contracted, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to 

 break a man of; and until that was done, he never could be 

 half a horseman. 



If during the last page or two, or for the next, I write or 

 quote personally, I do so to show that I write from personal 

 practice, and not from mere observation or theory. 



I in no shape mean to infer that continuing to ride without 

 stirrups would be advantageous ; on the contrary, I am clear it 

 would have quite an opposite effect. It is very well, and I hold 

 it as very advantageous, as a groundwork for beginners ; but the 

 artist will require other aids to perfect his work. One of these 

 is the stirrup. Had I gone on riding two or three more seasons 

 without them, the consequence would probably have been, that 

 from practice I should have become so accustomed to ride with- 

 out them, that I should have been unable to avail myself of 

 their assistance ; and though, on any thing that is not as slip- 

 pery as a saddle, a man might sit an unruly horse quite as firm- 

 ly without stirrups as with, still without their aid he could not 

 ride for ordinary purposes to the best advantage, or make the 

 most of his horse without their use. 



An Arab may ride bare-backed, sit firmly, and do something 

 like twenty miles within the hour, on the desert. But he does 

 it in a wild way ; and his horse, ridden by an English jockey, 



