RIDING RECOLLECTIONS 



I have heard it asserted, usually by persons of 



lean and wiry frames, that with short legs and 



round thighs, it is impossible to acquire a firm 



seat on horseback ; but in this, as in most matters 



of skill, I believe nature can be rendered obedient 



to education. Few men are so clumsily shaped 



but that they may learn to become strong and 



skilful riders if they will adopt a good system, 



and from the first resolve to sit in the right place ; 



this, I think, should be in the very middle of the 



saddle, while bending the small of the back 



inwards, so that the weight of the body rests on 



that part of a horse's spine immediately behind 



his withers, under which his fore feet are placed, 



and on which, it has been ascertained, he can 



bear the heaviest load. When the animal stands 



perfectly still, or when it is extended at full speed, 



the most inexperienced horseman seems to fall 



naturally into the required position ; but to 



preserve it, even through the regulated paces of 



the riding- school, demands constant effort and 



attention. The back-board is here, in my opinion, 



of great assistance to the beginner, as it forces 



him into an attitude that causes him to sit on the 



right part of his own person and his horse's back. 



It compels him also to carry his hands at a 



considerable distance off the horse's head, and 



thus entails also the desideratum of long reins. 



The shortest and surest way, however, of 



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