IHB FONT. 



tie attainment of these advantages is not incompatible with 

 an easy erect position on horseback, the generality of riders 

 are but too apt to sit on iheir horses in the bent attitude of 

 the last paroxysm of exertion which helped them into ihe saddle. 

 Now when a man ia this toad>like position rides along — say 

 a macadamized road — he traYels always ready at a moment's 

 notice to proceed by himself in the direction in which he is 

 pointing, in case the progress of his horse should be suddenly 

 stopped by his faUing down. Indeed, when a horse without 

 falling down recovers by a violent struggle from a bad trip, 

 a heavy rider in this attitude is very likely to shoot forwards 

 over his head. . . . On the other hand, when a man sits 

 upright, justly balanced in his saddle, any sudden jerk or 

 movement forwards throws his shoulder backwards. If, there- 

 fore, while proceeding in that position, the horse thinks proper 

 to fall, the animal in the first instance is the sole sufferer. 

 He cuts his forehead, hurts his nose, breaks his knees, bruises 

 his chest, while his head, neck, fore legs, and the fore pait of 

 his body, forced into each other lik« the joints of a telescope, 

 form a buffer preventing the concussion the horse has received 

 from injuring in the smallest degree the rider*, or even the watch 

 in his pocket. 



" If a horse be properly dealt with he can gallop down a turf hill 

 with nearly as much rapidity as along a race-course. A tea-table 

 would stand iU at ease on the declivity, because its limbs are 

 immovable ; but a quadruped, by throwing all his legs forwards, 

 and his body backwards, has the power to adjust himself with 

 mathematical precision to almost any descent. To ensure his 

 safety, however, it is essential that he should be encouraged by 

 a loose rein to carry his head as low as posegible, to enable him 

 to take care of his feet, and in case of treading on a rolling 

 stone to recover his balance by throwing it up. Now, when in 

 this position, if the rider, following the instinct and example 

 of the horse, throws his weight backwards — in fact, if from 

 the saddle the backs of the two animals are separated from 

 each other by only a very small angle, both can descend the 

 hill together at considerable speed, and without the smallest 

 danger. The only embarrassment the rider has to contend 

 against is an over-caution an the part of the horse, amounting 

 to fear, which induces him to try to take the slope diagonally, 

 very likely to result in the poor animal slipping up on his side. 

 In keeping his hef.d straight, however, care must be taken not 

 to induce '^™ to raise it up ; and when this little difficulty is 



