USUAL OR INSTINCTIVE EQUITATION 



disposition to obey or refuse. Only with a good seat 

 is the rider able to use hands and legs, and to alter 

 gait and direction by shifting accurately his weight. 

 As we are all of us too ready to neglect those funda- 

 mental laws which control our lives, forgetting that 

 if these laws of nature were suspended for even a 

 quarter-second, life itself would cease, so as riders 

 we tend to ignore the basal principles of inertia and 

 weight as they affect action and seat. If the horse 

 commit some fault, the result of our own improper 

 disposition of the weight upon his back, we blame 

 the horse. Yet the fault is ours; for the load which 

 we put upon him is really very great when we 

 consider carefully the muscular effort which the 

 animal must put forth in executing our direc- 

 tions. 



The rider, being mounted, should feel the saddle 

 in contact with the coccyx and the two hip bones. 

 These serve as a base, and bear the weight equally. 

 They are the fixed point from which the upper part 

 of the body moves to right or left, backward or 

 forward, without ever ceasing contact, except when 

 rising to the trot. The thighs, inclined at an angle 

 of forty-five degrees, should be turned, without 

 effort, so that their flat sides are against the saddle, 

 which they press equally. If the flat sides of the 

 thighs are not against the saddle, contact and 

 adherence are lost. If they are placed thus with 

 effort, the muscles are tense, and therefore cannot 

 be flat. This not only prevents adherence, but, in 



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