24 Introductory Chapter. 



horse's back, on the other with the rider's seat ; partly 

 on the way in which the weight of the latter is ad- 

 justed on the saddle — that is to say, whether it presses 

 more on one part than another, and consequently chiefly 

 on one or two points of the horse's back, or whether it 

 be distributed equably over the whole surface in contact 

 with the latter — in other words, what part of the saddle 

 the rider should occupy in order to secure the objects 

 he has in view, as stated above. It will further depend 

 on the general shape of those parts of its under and 

 upper surfaces that come in contact with the horse's 

 back and rider's seat respectively, which, of course, in- 

 cludes the question of its proper place, its mode of at- 

 tachment — that is to say, where and how the girths 

 should be fixed — and the causes of its displacement, 

 which depend partly on its own shape favoring, partly 

 on the rider's seat producing, lever action, which again 

 depends to a great extent on the exact point from which 

 the stirrups are suspended. 



This will furnish data fo an estimate, not so much 

 of the relative value of different kinds of seats — which 

 would only divert attention from the real object and 

 provoke controversy — as of their absolute fitness for the 

 particular purpose they are intended to fulfill ; and will 

 also afford an opportunity of pointing out the danger 

 of exaggerations and the gross absurdity of applying a 

 style of riding more or less specially adapted to one 

 purpose to others that have no analogy with it ; in fact, 

 it will be shown that diflerent styles of riding are not 

 only inevitable but legitimate, because the ends to be 

 attained vary considerably. But at the same time, 

 although the general principles may be adapted to cir- 

 cumstances, they can never be absolutely violated with 

 impunity. Let each particular style of riding be as 

 perfect in itself as possible, without being made antago- 

 nistic to others or losing sight of the general conditions 



