The Saddle. 6<^ 



rider's seat ; for, putting aside any changes of the 

 position of his own body from the hip upward he may 

 please to make, everything remains as before, and the 

 equilibrium of the horse is not disturbed. In the second 

 case, on the contrary, supposing the stirrups to be placed 

 far forward, and the rider far back in the saddle, stand- 

 ing in the stirrups will at once throw the weight from 

 one end of the saddle to the other ; make this press par- 

 tially on the horse's back instead of equably, as in the 

 first case, which see-sawing must tend to make the sad- 

 dle shift, and must also alter the equilibrium of the 

 horse, throwing its weight more forward, consequently 

 rendering the animal incapable of turning sharply and 

 handily, and, if done suddenly, frequently even bringing 

 it to a dead halt. In hunting, sharp turns are seldom 

 required, whilst speed is ; and, therefore, there is a jus- 

 tillcation for throwing the wxight forward or backward, 

 especially in jumping ; but even this has certain limits, 

 of which more hereafter. Again, in road-riding, the 

 English fashion of trotting requires a man to rise in his 

 stirrups ; but there is really no reason why he should 

 therefore sacrifice the lateral support spoken of above 

 to the extent one often sees, or throw such a surplusage 

 of weight on his horse's forehand. There can be no 

 doubt that he rides less safely by so doing, for a sharp 

 wheel-round of a shying horse is more likely to bring 

 him down ; but this question of trotting must be also 

 reserved for a future chapter. 



For military purposes the stirrups fjiust be placed in 

 the centre of the saddle directly under the rider's seat : 

 there is no alternative. The cavalry soldier is often 

 compelled in the use of his weapons to stand in his stir- 

 rups. If by doing so the equilibrium of his horse be 

 altered, he disables the animal and himself at the most 

 critical moment. The power of turning rapidly to 

 administer or avoid a sword-cut or lance-thrust is seri- 

 6* E 



