232 HORSEMANSHIP. 



essential part of the horseman in giving him a good, 

 graceful, and strong seat, as on the form of them 

 depends greatly the good or bad position of the 

 knee, which is a point of the utmost importance, 

 not only to the eye, but to the firmness of his seat. 

 The thighs, in fact, should be applied to the saddle 

 and to the sides of the horse, chiefly by their inner 

 surfaces, or the knees and toes would be too much 

 out ; and although the line is by no means re- 

 quired to be perpendicular, yet the shoulder, the 

 hip, the knee, and the foot, should not deviate too 

 far from it, to render a seat perfect. When this 

 is the case, we may be certain the disposition of 

 the thighs and legs is correct, as they will hang 

 down sufiiciently straight, and without force or re- 

 straint ; which can never be the case, unless the 

 body of the rider is placed evenly on the saddle, 

 opening his knees a little, whereby his fork will 

 come lower in the saddle, giving him the appear- 

 ance, as Shakspeare expresses it, of being " in- 

 corpsed and demi-natured with the brave beast." 



The position of the foot of the horseman is ma- 

 terial both to comfort, safety, and elegance. In the 

 old style of riding, the heels were turned outwards, 

 which, of course, threw the toes inwards, and very 

 near to, as well as parallel with, the shoulders of 

 the horse ; but this is all wrong. The toes should 

 be turned a little outward and upward, which the 

 slight opening of the knee induces. No animal, 

 human or brute, can look well, or exert its strength 

 well, with toes turned in, and the position is con- 

 trary to every thing approaching to elegance. 



