34 The Art of Biding. 



Apart from the ungainly appearance such a 

 position or posture presents, it is impossible for 

 the movements of the body to harmonise with 

 those of the horse, which is the great secret in 

 riding well. With such a seat almost every 

 movement of the rider will be antagonistic to the 

 movements of the horse; and both horse and 

 rider will, in consequence, use far more energy 

 than is necessary, resulting, of course, in a corres- 

 ponding amount of unpleasantness and fatigue. 

 The rider should sit well on and into the saddle, 

 so to speak, and not on the back part of it. The 

 weight of the body should rest firmly on the 

 horse's back, head and shoulders erect, or slightly 

 inclined backward. There should be no leaning, 

 hanging, dragging or straining of the body at all, 

 but a perfect sense of rest in all the muscles. 



