The Saddle. 69 



others they absolutely diminish, the surface of contact 

 between the rider and horse ; their chief use is to pro- 

 tect the man's legs from injury by the girth-buckles, 

 straps, etc. For military saddles nothing can be more 

 preposterous than a stiff flap interposed between the 

 rider's legs and horse's side, because the surcingle and 

 shabrack cover all these things effectually, and perfectly 

 attain this object of the flap of the English civilian 

 saddle. This stiff flap is therefore an unnecessary 

 additional weight, and it keeps, moreover, the leg out 

 of its proper position. To sum up the whole of the 

 foregoing, we may describe the general rule for seats to 

 be this — the saddle in the centre of the horse^s back ; 

 the girths., stirrups a?id rider about the centre 0/ 

 the saddle; in short, 



" The maxim for the horsy tribe is 

 Horatian — ' Medio tulissimus ibis.' " 



There are certain appendages to the saddle that re- 

 quire a short notice. And first of all, which is better, 

 the bhuiket or the feltplate under the light cavalry 

 saddle? The advantages of the former are, that by 

 folding it in different ways you may vary its thickness 

 at difierent points, and by this means adjust the saddle 

 not only to all the different peculiarities presented by 

 the backs of various horses, but also equally to the 

 changes of form of one and the same back, induced by 

 changes of condition. You can do nothing of the sort 

 with the feltplate ; this presupposes all horses' backs 

 alike, which is very wide of the mark ; and, moreover, 

 each incHvidual back permanent in its form, whatever 

 change the condition may have undergone — which is 

 equally so. The blanket men say "Yes; and, more- 

 over, you can defend your horse from the cold in winter 

 bivouacs, and keep him serviceable for a much longer 



