230 HORSEMANSHIP. 



rider; and likewise so much so to horses them- 

 selves, that they will not continue in it long, but 

 generally quit it of their own accord. 



The Seat. — It was well observed by Don Quixote, 

 in one of his lectures to Sancho, that the seat on a 

 horse makes some people look like gentlemen, and 

 others like grooms. But a wonderful improvement 

 has taken place within the last half century in the 

 seat on horseback, of all descriptions of persons, 

 and effected chiefly by the simple act of giving the 

 rider a few more inches of stirrup-leather. No 

 gentleman now, and very few servants, are to be 

 seen with short stirrups, and consequently, a bent- 

 knee, which, independently of its unsightliness, 

 causes uneasiness to the horse as well as to his 

 rider ; whose knees being lifted above the skirts of 

 the saddle, deprive him of the assistance of the clip, 

 by his thighs and legs. The short stirrup-leather, 

 however, was adopted with the idea of its giving 

 relief to the horse, although a moment's considera- 

 tion would have proved the contrary, and for this 

 reason ; the point of union between a man and his 

 horse, as well as the centre of action, lies just be- 

 hind the shoulder-blades, which, as must be ap- 

 parent to every one, is the strongest part of the 

 horse's body, and where the sack of wheat or flour 

 is placed by the farmer, or the miller. With short 

 stirrup-leathers, the seat of the rider is thrown 

 further back on the saddle, instead of being exactly 

 in the centre of it, and consequently his weight 

 thrown upon the part approaching the loins, the 



