THE LENGTH OF THE STIRRUP 



The balance of the body very largely depends 

 upon the length of the stirrup, and upon its 

 accurate adjustment, so it is essential that we 

 understand everything connected with this some- 

 what complicated matter before we proceed to 

 discuss anything else. I propose, therefore, to 

 deal with this at some length. Generally speaking, 

 the novice rides too long, and many such examples 

 are to be found in our hunting fields, while on 

 the other hand, many of our " thrusters," espe- 

 cially those who have ridden in a steeplechase or 

 two, ride too short when out hunting. In the first 

 instance the fault is due to not having studied the 

 matter at all, and in the second case it is the 

 result of a little knowledge, which means that 

 they haven't studied the matter enough. We will, 

 therefore, attempt to make the matter perfectly 

 clear, so that all that "run may read" — and 

 perhaps ride too ! 



There are three distinct categories into which 

 the subject naturally divides itself. Firstly, there 

 is the " long " length, to be used only when walk- 

 ing or going for a gentle hack on a quiet horse ; 

 secondly, there is the hunting length, which should 

 be about two holes shorter; and finally, there is 



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