I04 Seats and Saddles, 



somewhat forward in order to get his balance, while 

 b strains them backward. At c the lowest part of the 

 bearing-strap is in the middle of the saddle, all of which 

 variation depends on the lacing, supposing the length 

 of the strap itself to be the same ; c therefore sits on 

 his triangle with his body upright and his legs coming 

 down in their natural fall, his whole weight being 

 spread over the entire under-surface of the saddle- 

 blades ; while it is evident that the weight of «, being 

 far to the rear, will press down the hinder ends of the 

 saddle-blades into the horse's back, tilting up the front 

 ends ; <5, on the contrary, drives the saddle-blade ends 

 into the horse's withers ; «'s saddle will probably run 

 forward, (5's horse run through the girths. 



The place of the stirrup and its influence on the seat 

 is here altogether left out of consideration. It should 

 be made to accord with the seat, and not the seat with 

 it, otherwise the rider is always "contending against'* 

 his stirrups, instead of" depending on them." 



How the bearing-strap of the saddle should be ex- 

 actly laced will depend altogether on the "plenitude" 

 or "poverty" of the seat of honor of each individual 

 rider. A very full-sized sitting part requires the lacing 

 to approach that shown at a in order to make the rider 

 sit like c; a very spare man, on the contrary, will re- 

 quire something like b for the same purpose ; for most 

 young men it will do best as at c* 



* The bearing-strap of the seat is best made of a piece of good 

 girthing-web, doubled together so as to form, with its central portion, 

 a collar to embrace neatly the hinder knob of the saddle, the two 

 branches being sewed by their edges together down the middle of 

 the seat, and ending, the one with a strap, the other with a buckle, 

 which, when united, form a corresponding collar for the front knob. 

 Brass eyelet-holes stamped into the outer edges at certain intervals 

 would be an improvement. Of course a movable pad covers this 

 bearing-strap, the lacings and the side-plate of the saddle, as far down 

 as the tops of the girth at each side, but it is on the length of the 



