CORRESPONDENCE. 199 



art of riding from balance. This can be 

 acquired by sitting on a saddle, but never by 

 sitting in one. Secondly, she can, when 

 riding upon a straight saddle, change and 

 shift her position, which as a necessary con- 

 sequence changes her weight upon the horse's 

 back, and saves him from being galled. A 

 noble lady wrote to me some time since, '^ I 

 know not how it is ; all my horses are laid up 

 with sore backs ; and yet my saddle is well 

 padded." I guessed the secret at once ; she 

 was riding in a sort of well, or chair, from 

 which her heavy weight could never for an 

 instant shift, and hence the trouble of which 

 she complained. I sent her a sketch of my 

 saddle, with the address of the man who had 

 made it, and she has since been a staunch 

 upholder of my theory. Thirdly, the best 

 figure in the world would look to disadvantage 

 if seated in a saddle with a dip or slope ; 

 whereas a well-made woman, attired in a 

 habit properly fitted about the waist and hips, 

 never looks to such complete advantage as 

 when sitting gracefully and at ease upon 

 a well constructed straight-made saddle. 



