POSITION OF THE FOOT. 233 



The position of the foot in the stirrup, however, 

 varies with the pursuits of the horseman. The 

 soldier always, the rider for pleasure, or on the 

 road, generally, rests on the ball of the foot, with 

 a gentle play of the instep. But the man who rides 

 after hounds, and the jockey when he rides a race, 

 find it necessary to have the foot more home in the 

 stirrup, with the toes turned a little upward, as 

 well as a little outward. The advantages of all this 

 are two-fold. First, it gives them more power over 

 their horses, by furnishing them with a more sub- 

 stantial fulcrum ; and, secondly, to the man follow- 

 ing hounds, it is a great security against the foot 

 being chucked out of the stirrup, by the seat being 

 disturbed in a leap, or from any of those causes 

 which perpetually occur in crossing a country. 



Great as has been the alteration for the better 

 in the seat of Englishmen, in general, by increas- 

 ing the length of the stirrup-leathers, and thereby 

 placing them more properly in the saddle ; yet, in 

 the schools of the military this system has been 

 said to have been carried too far, so as to endanger 

 the safety of the rider. Indeed, both Hippocrates 

 and Galen speak of a disease which, in their time, 

 was occasioned by long and frequent riding, with 

 the legs hanging down without any support, stir- 

 rups then not being in use. How it happened that 

 an advantage so obvious was so long in being made 

 available, is not for us here to inquire ; but we con- 

 sider the support of the stirrup to be the sine qua 

 non of the management and services of the saddle 

 horse, for all essential purposes. Nevertheless its 



