282 THE HORSE. 



mane with the finG:er and thumb, the body is raised till the right 

 foot is brought w a level with the left, when the right hand seizes 

 the cantle, and with the left grasping the pommel, the body is 

 steadied for a short time, which, in the ordinary mount, is almost 

 imperceptible, but in a fidgety horse is sometimes of considerable 

 length. The leg is now thrown gently over the saddle, and as it 

 reaches the cantle the hand is withdrawn, after which the body 

 sinks into the saddle in an easy and graceful manner. The right 

 foot is then placed in the stirrup, with or without the aid of the 

 right hand holding it. 



Such is the English method. Mr. Rarey, in opposition to 

 this plan, advises that the right hand and arm shall be thrown over 

 the saddle, the horseman stranding with his back to the quarters, 

 and thus incurring the chance of being severely kicked. 



THE SEAT. 



The position of the rider in the saddle, called " the seat/' 

 admits of several variations according to the purpose to which he 

 is devoted, but it is mainly influenced by the length of the stir- 

 rups. In the military style these are so long that the weight of 

 the body 's conveyed to the saddle by the inside of the thighs, or 

 " fork" alone, while in that adopted in the East this part scarcely 

 touches the saddle, and the breech and feet distribute the weight 

 between them. Colonel Greenwood, w^ho is the only military writer 

 on horsemanship that can be taken as a guide for the road, tells 

 us — " There is one direction which I think applies to all seats. 

 Turn the thigh from the hip, so as to bring the hollow to the sad- 

 dle ; this places the foot straight to the front, with the heel out 

 and the toe in. Trotting without stirrups on the thigh only, with 

 the heel down and the toe up, shoulders back, a snaffle rein in 

 each hand like a rough-rider, is the best possible position for sit- 

 ting.'^ Now the latter part of this is quite true, but the former is 

 not quite consistent with my own experience, for if the short 

 stirrups of the Eastern horseman are adopted, the hollow of the 

 thigh cannot be brought to the saddle, yet this style he admits is 

 •• admirable in its way." Dismissing then the military seat for 

 which Colonel Greenwood's directions may suffice, I may assert 

 that, in the ordinary English style, there are four points necessary 

 to be considered; namely, (1) the position of the weight, which will 

 be mainly influenced by (2) the position of the knees well forward 

 on the flap, (3) the proper length of the stirrup-leathers, and (4) 

 the carriage of the body. If the weight is not laid upon the 

 middle of the saddle, which is the axis of the ''see-saw" motion 

 made in the gallop, it has to be raised at every stride, and thus 

 addition-il labor is thrown on the horse. With long stirrups in the 

 military style this is of necessity done; but, with -hort stirrups. 



