168 HANDBOOK OF THE TURF. 



family," says Mr. J. H. Sanders, " at one time was unbounded ; 



and no blood, excepting that of the thoroughbred, has been so 



generally disseminated and so highly esteemed throughout the 



United States." 



Motion, Center of. A point of the horse's back 



directly over the fourteenth vertebra, or in other words, half 



way between the withers and the coupling, or top of the ribs. 



It is the central point from which the forces of the horse when 



carrying weight may be said to radiate ; and is the point 



on which weight can be most easily carried, the least motion 



being imparted to it, and where its distribution will be most 



equal over all foiu" of the horse's feet — hence it is over this 



point that the rider's center of gravity should fall. 



The only muscular power required to keep a body in motion, at what- 

 ever speeil, is tliat wliicli is necessary to resist the action of gravity 

 and overcome resistance. It is plain, tliat in order to niaintain a 

 uniform support of gravity, and a continuous impulse in the direc- 

 tion of motion, the limbs" must move, at whatever pace, in such 

 manner as best to attain tliat end; that the more rapid the motion, 

 the more uniform must be the supj^ort.— The Horse in Motion, J. 

 D. B. Stillman. 



Mount. [Eq.] The act of gaining the seat in horse- 

 back riding. Stand opposite the cantle of the saddle with the 

 face to the front, the right hand holding the rein sufficiently 

 taut to feel the horse's mouth over the right side of the cantle ; 

 with the left hand hold the stirrup-strap while placing the left 

 foot in the stirrup ; give a spring upward and forward, throw- 

 ing the weight of the body as evenly as possible on the left 

 foot and right hand, so as to avoid turning the saddle ; grasp 

 the lower part of the mane with the left hand in rising, stand 

 erect in the stirrup with the feet touching each other; throw 

 the right leg, without bending the knee, over the horse's 

 croup, and settle into the saddle ; at this instant, as the right 

 hand is raised from the cantle, let go of the mane, grasp the 

 Tejns between the fingers of the left hand, and adjust them 

 with the aid of the right hand which has just been released 

 from the cantle. The stability of the seat is dependent upon 

 the weight of the body, the erect balance and the grasp of the 

 saddle with the inside of the thighs. The horse should be 

 taught that the act of mounting is no signal for him to go on. 

 The pressure of the legs and shortening of the reins are signals 

 that the rider is ready for the horse to move. 



We are all taught to mount and dismount exclusively on the left or 

 near side of the horse, because the military horseman, whether 

 Oriental or European, ancient or niorlern, requires to mount and 

 dismount witli his sword or spear in his hand ready for attack or 

 defence.— The Book of the Horse, Samuel Sidney. 



"We commend readiness in mounting, for this reason, that the rider, as 

 soon as he is seated on his horse, is in every way prepared for 

 action if it should be necessary to encounter an enemy on a sudden. 

 — Xenoplion. 



