THE HUNTING SEAT. 191 



In order to obtain all the adherence that is possible from 

 friction between the thighs and saddle, the rider should get 

 down into the saddle as much as he can. In fact, one of the 

 great advantages of practising riding bare-backed, or on a 

 saddle without stirrups, is that it forces the rider into the 

 saddle. As the ribs of a horse swell out behind the girths, 

 the rider who gets well down into the saddle will sit forward 

 in it. We may often hear people say that a man ought to sit 

 well back when going over fence ; but the fact is, that in such 

 a case he should sit forward and lean back. 



Both for security of seat and for ability to accommodate 

 himself to the movements of his mount, the rider should 

 be able to bring his weight back with the utmost facility ; 

 but of course without having to alter the position of his 

 thighs and knees, because that has been adopted with the 

 object of obtaining the best possible grip. If we examine 

 the mechanism by which the rider can adjust the position 

 of his centre of gravity, we shall find that the upper part 

 of the body can freely revolve on the lower edge of the 

 pelvis as a pivot (its connection with the legs being main- 

 tained by the hip joints) ; and that a much smaller amount 

 of backward and forward rotation can be obtained by the 

 working of the joints of the spinal column (those of the loins, 

 back and neck). Hence it is well for the rider to sit with 

 his rump well under him, and the pelvis sloped a little to the 

 rear (Fig. 182), in the natural and unconstrained position 

 a man would sit on a chair or stool. The more the rider 

 gets into the saddle, the greater will be the backward slope 

 of the pelvis, and consequently the stronger the seat. If, 

 on the contrary, he sticks his rump out behind him (Fig. 183) 

 — instead of sitting on it as he ought to do — he will naturally 

 decrease his stability by bringing his centre of gravity for- 

 ward. Any attempt to correct the position of the centre of 

 gravity by hollowing out the back (Fig. 183), can be made 



