SEAT 



horse as much as possible, in dread, maybe, lest 

 the point of an adversary's lance should hoist him 

 fairly out of his place over a cantle six inches 

 high, and send him clanging- to the ground, in 

 mail and plate, surcoat, helmet and plumes, with 

 his lady - love, squires, yeomen, the marshals of 

 the lists, and all his feudal enemies looking on ! 



Now the length of stirrup with which a man 

 should ride, and in its adjustment consists much 

 of the ease, grace, and security of his position, 

 depends on the conformation of his lower limbs. 

 If his thighs are long in proportion to his frame, 

 flat and somewhat curved inwards, he will sit 

 very comfortably at the exact length that raises 

 him clear of his horse's withers, when he stands 

 up in his stirrups with his feet home, and the 

 majority of men thus limbed, on the majority of 

 horses, will find this a good general rule. But 

 when the legs are short and muscular, the thighs 

 round and thick, the whole frame square and 

 strong, more like wrestling than dancing, and 

 many very superior riders are of this figure, the 

 leathers must be pulled up a couple of holes and 

 the foot thrust a little more forward, to obtain the 

 necessary security of seat, at a certain sacrifice 

 of grace and even ease. To look as neat as one 

 can is a compliment to society ; to be safe and 

 comfortable is a duty to oneself 



Much also depends on the animal we bestride. 



91 



