202 THE SEAT. 



THE MILITARY SEAT. 



The position without stirrups is described as follows in 

 Cavalry Drill : " Each man should have his body balanced 

 in the middle of the horse's back, head erect and square to the 

 front, shoulders well thrown back, chest advanced, small of 



the back slightly bent forward The thigh should be 



stretched down from the hip, the flat of the thigh close to the 

 horse's side, the knees a little bent, and the legs hanging down 

 from the knee and near the horse's sides. The heels should 

 be well stretched down, and the toes raised from the insteps, 

 and as near the horse's sides as the heels. A plummet line 

 from the front point of the shoulder should fall one inch 

 behind the heel. 



" While following these instructions, the man must, however, 

 sit easily on his horse, without having his muscles unnaturally 

 braced, and without stiffness. In order to get his toes and 

 heels into a proper position, he should be taught to turn the 

 flat part of the thigh from the hip towards the horse's side, 

 and not merely to twist the foot inwards from the ankle or 

 knee. 



" This is the position halted, or at the walk ; at the trot the 

 body must be inclined a little backward, the whole figure 

 pliant, and accompanying the movements of the horse. The 

 elbows and lower limbs must be kept steady. 



" The position with stirrups is nearly the same as without 

 stirrups, the knee being a little more bent. 



" A plummet line falling from the point of the knee should 

 drop directly on the ball of the foot. The foot should be 

 kept in its place by the play of the ankle and instep, the stirrup 

 being under the ball of the foot. The lower edge of the bar 

 is, as a general rule, to be from two and a half to three and a 

 half fingers' breadths above the upper edge of the heel of the 

 boot, when the man is sitting in the proper position. The 



