THE SEAT 



addition, tires the muscles so that they cannot act 

 when most needed. (Frontispiece.) 



The thighs are sloped forty-five degrees, because 

 in that position they grip most forcibly. They are 

 held evenly against the sides of the horse, since 

 otherwise the adhesion is unequal and the seat not 

 steady, the rider having disturbed it by his own 

 fault. The knees should be kept free from all 

 stiffness, so that the full length of the femoral 

 muscles may be in close and permanent contact 

 with the horse's sides, and the knees themselves, 

 when necessary, may grip the saddle strongly and 

 quickly. They should not, however, press con- 

 stantly and strongly, lest as in the case of the 

 thighs, the muscles become too fatigued to act 

 when called upon. 



Such is the first part of the position of the seat, 

 the immovable part, the foundation of all the rest. 

 Two remaining portions of the rider's body are 

 movable, the trunk above the hips and the legs 

 below the knee. 



THE POSITION OF THE TRUNK 



THE loins should be braced, but free from stiffness. 

 Otherwise, they will communicate their rigidity to 

 the entire upper part of the body, which will in 

 consequence be less ready to respond to unexpected 

 movements of the horse. The rest of the trunk, 

 also, should be upright, easy, and free. It must be 

 flexible, else it cannot be handled as a free mass, 



17 



