50 PRINCIPLES OF P. III. 



employ no force or strength to keep himself 

 in the saddle, but trust to his weight. 



The horseman never avails himself of the 

 strength of his thighs, because, besides that 

 they would then be less steady, the closer he 

 pressed them to the saddle, the more would 

 he be lifted above it. 



The muscles of the thighs however act as 

 springs, taking a moderate and pleasant hold, 

 and by practice they act involuntarily in pre- 

 serving the seat. Thus, when the body is a 

 little thrown to one side, the next motion the 

 body receives, the muscles in the opposite 

 thigh recover the seat again, and by this nice 

 action of the muscles the seat is continually 

 preserved. 



The knees must be stretched down and 

 kept back, so as to place the thighs about 

 twenty-five or thirty degrees short of a per- 

 pendicular. This will cause the rider to sit 

 on his fork. 



