74 Sea/s and Saddles. 



balance to the rider himself. Why does anything tum- 

 ble down from the position it has hitherto occupied? 

 Because it loses its balance : and the rider that does so 

 is sure to meet the same fate, unless the friction of his 

 seat, the stirrup or the hoi'se's mane is called to the 

 rescue. Can there be any doubt as to the great value 

 of poise or balance? We think not. 



As to friction, this depends, in the case of two inani- 

 mate bodies coming in contact, ^ri^/, on the nature of 

 their respective surfaces, which we must leave altogether 

 out of question here ;* and, secondly^ on the absolute 

 weight with which the upper one presses on the lower 

 one. The amount of surface of contact does 7iot increase 

 friction, but, of course, if the whole weight be brought 

 to bear on one or two points of a rider's seat, these will 

 soon require soap-plaster. Here, however, we have to 

 do with an inanimate body, the saddle, on the one 

 hand, and a very lively one, the rider's seat and legs, on 

 the other, whose muscular action may form a very im- 

 portant adjunct to the dead weight in increasing fric- 

 tion ; and the amount of this action does increase with 

 the surfaces in contact, because a greater number of 

 muscles are brought into action ; therefore, w^e can 

 never bring too great an amount of the surfaces of our 

 seat and legs into contact with the saddle. The friction 

 arisino^ from absolute weio^ht no rider will be inclined 

 to increase by loading himself. Whether that derived 

 from muscular action shall become an important ad- 

 dition to the former, or merely an independent alterna- 

 tive, is, after all, the great point at issue, and that which 

 constitutes the real difference between seats. Muscu- 

 lar action will prove an addition to the friction derived 



* A very smooth surface to the saddle lessens the friction, for 

 which reason school saddles are usually covered with tan-colored 

 buckskin, whilst many Orientals adopt sheepskins with wool on, 

 coarse rugs or mats, etc. 



