266 HORSEMANSHIP. 



you ought to sit — namely, in the middle of your 

 saddle, which should be placed close to the shoulder 

 bones, when your seat will be most secure, from its 

 being just in the centre of motion when your horse 

 springs at his fence ; as, in the rising and falling 

 of a board placed in equilibrio, the centre will be 

 most at rest. Your true seat, indeed, will be found 

 nearly in that part of your saddle into which your 

 body would naturally slide if you mounted without 

 stirrups. But other security than this is required, 

 to insure safety over very high fences. It is not 

 the horse''s rising that tries the rider''s seat ; the 

 lash of his hinder-legs is what ought to be chiefly 

 guarded against, and is best done by the body's 

 being greatly inclined backward. Grasp the saddle 

 lightly with the hollow or inner part of your 

 thighs, but let there be no stiffness in any part of 

 the person at this time, particularly in the loins, 

 which should be as pliant as those of a coachman 

 on his box, when travelling over a rough road. A 

 stiff" seat cannot be a secure one, because it offers 

 resistance to the violent motions of the horse, which 

 is clearly illustrated by the cricket-player. Were 

 he to hold his hand firm and fixed when he catches 

 a ball struck with great force, his hand or arm 

 would be broken by the resistance ; but by yielding 

 his hand gradually, and for a certain distance, to 

 the motion of the ball, by a due mixture of opposi- 

 tion and obedience, he catches it without sustaining 

 injury. Thus it is in the saddle. A good horse- 

 man recovers his poise, by giving some way to the 

 motion, whereas a bad one is flung from his seat, 



