34 



Seats and Saddles. 



removed toward one end of the board, say to /\ it will 

 cause the board to turn on the screwheads, and, if not 

 prevented, slide down toward f; but if the two legs at 

 this end be bent backward to x^ x^^ the board will sup- 



Fig. I. 



port the weight as before. In like manner, if the weight 

 be removed in the other direction to ^'', the legs being 

 square, the same thing will occur, and the board will 

 turn on its legs and slide down toward /i, which, how- 

 ever, may be prevented by adjusting the same pair of 

 legs as before, and which here represent the hind legs 

 of the horse, to the position x^ x\ and in both these 

 cases the board will assume a slanting position, in which 

 the end a b will be lower. Or, the weight being at/^ 

 the board may be made to stand by adjusting the other 

 ■pair of legs, representing the horse's fore legs, to the 

 position oc" x^^ and in this case it will slant the other 

 way, the end c d being lower. 



Now this is just what takes place when a rider is put 

 on a horse's back in analogous positions, leaving out of 

 the question for the moment the influence of the over- 

 hanging head and neck on the stability of the machine. 

 Referring back to Plate I, we see, in fact, that the 

 points a and d of the board correspond with the hip 

 and shoulder joints A and D on the one side of the 

 horse, as b and c do with the same joints on the other, 

 and these are the two points of support of the back, 



