198 THE SEAT. 



steady, and should not be allowed to work backwards and 

 forwards ; because they should be ready at any moment to be 

 applied with precision to the animal's sides. The shoulders 

 should be kept square to the front and " down " ; and the 

 head and body more or less erect, but without any hollowing 

 of the back or other approach to stiffness in the attitude. 

 The rider will then be in the best position to conform to the 

 movements of his mount, and to see where he and his horse 

 are going, and will be in a comparatively difficult one from 

 which to be dislodged. The muscles of the hands, arms and 

 shoulders, should be free from all stiffness, except when the 

 animal is pulling hard, and the elbows should work close to 

 the sides. The act of sticking out the elbows is not only 

 ungraceful, but it also causes the arms to work at a mechani- 

 cal disadvantage, and obliges the rider to " round " his 

 shoulders, the doing of which will interfere with the free 

 play of the body. 



A rider should pay particular attention to the distribution 

 of his weight, with the object of favouring the movements of 

 the horse, in attempting to do which, the body should be free 

 to bend forward, to the rear, or to either side ; although the 

 position of the thighs and knees should remain unchanged. 

 As a great rule, too large a proportion of the rider's weight 

 is put on the animal's fore-hand ; consequently, the rider 

 should generally lean somewhat back, especially when going 

 through heavy ground, down hill, over fences, or across 

 ridge and furrow. 



As the head and neck of the animal act in concert with the 

 movements of the hind limbs ; an intelligent rider will soon 

 learn from the " feel " of the reins when he is going fast, to 

 move with the horse, so that his weight may be carried 

 smoothly. The fact that this act of conforming to the move- 

 ments of the animal is mechanically advantageous, is amply 

 proved by the injurious effect " dead weight " has on a horse's 



