THE JOCKEY'S SEAT. 373 



down-hill, or level — he will know how he can adapt the posi- 

 tion of his weight to the best advantage, by bringing it 

 forward, by leaning back, or by keeping it evenly divided 

 between the fore and hind quarters of the horse. 



In Chapter III. I have discussed the subject of a jockey 

 bringing his weight forward, as much as possible, in order 

 to increase the speed of his mount. When he finds (as he 

 will often do towards the end of a long race) that his 

 horse, instead of going level, puts too much weight on 

 his forehand, he should of course try to relieve the tired 

 muscles of that part by bringing his weight back, and 

 by taking a good hold of his horse's head. The neces- 

 sity, in ordinary cases, of leaning well forward when 

 going up a hill, and of leaning back when going down a 

 descent, is evident. Through heavy ground, which is very 

 rarely met with on flat racecourses, the weight of the jockey's 

 body should be kept farther back than on ordinary turf ; 

 because the heavier the ground, the greater difficulty will the 

 muscles of the fore limbs experience in raising the forehand at 

 each stride. 



For convenience of description we may consider the jockey's 

 seat under three varieties, namely, (i) the ordinary or hunting 

 seat, in which a man sits down in the saddle ; (2) standing in 

 the stirrups ; and (3) the " crouching seat." We have seen that 

 any of these seats may be used, according as circumstances 

 demand. 



Standing in the stirrups is an old-fashioned term which I 

 use in default of a better. This seat is assumed in order to 

 enable the rider to conform to the movements of the horse in 

 the best manner, while carrying the weight more forward than 

 could be done when sitting down. In it, the body should 

 be slightly bent forward, and should be free from stiffness. 

 The seat should be somewhat raised from the saddle — not 

 stuck out over the cantle — without any up-and-down motion. 



