24 HINTS ON HORSEMANSHIP 



he would be foolhardy to stand bolt upright ^vith- 

 out holding on to anything, because directly the 

 brakes were put on he would fall forward at once 

 if he were facing the engine. Supposing he had 

 nothing to hold on to, if he were wise he would 

 certainly keep his body well forward, so as to 

 anticipate the putting on of the brakes. 



And so it is in a similar manner in riding. The 

 laws of dynamics are the same, whether we ride or 

 run, and the rules for maintaining our balance are 

 similar. 



The stirrup iron must always be looked upon as 

 the ground upon which a man stands previous to 

 making a jump. As a man balances himself on 

 the fore part of his feet before making a standing 

 jump, so must the rider balance himself on his 

 stirrup irons before the horse makes his spring. 



Consequently, the first point we have to realize 

 is that the stirrup leather should always hang 

 perpendicularly, so as to ensure a firm foundation 

 for the poise of the body. A leather hanging 'v^dth 

 a forward slope (vide the copy of the photograph on 

 p. 4) ob^dously cannot afford a moment's support 

 for the balance of the body, because directly any 

 weight is placed upon it, it must at once fall to 

 the perpendicular. To have the leather sloping 

 backward is a position that can be only main- 

 tained temporarily. It may occur in moments of 

 extremity, when a horse is "pecking" or falling 

 (vide sketches Nos. 19 and 20), but under all other 

 conditions there is only one position, and that is 

 upright. 



