12 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[January, 
learn that thing well, before attempting any 
thing else. As there can be no good riding 
without a good seat, the learner’s whole attention 
should be devoted for days or weeks or months, 
as may be necessary, to acquiring it, giving no 
thought to any thing else. Never mind the man¬ 
agement of the horse, that will come in due 
Fig- 1. —AN INSECURE SEAT. 
time. Learn to be as perfectly at home in a 
constantly moving saddle as in a stationary 
arm-chair,—so that, whether the horse walks, 
trots or canters, shies or jumps, you will either 
remain immovably in the saddle or get back to 
your proper position when disturbed from it, 
without effort or loss of time. Bear in mind 
too, that in acquiring a seat, it is just as easy to 
acquire a good one as a bad one, while only the 
good seat (and there is but one good seat) will 
enable you under all circumstances to ride safely 
and well. Without a good seat, no amount of 
skill in the management of ’a horse will be of 
much use. So begin at the beginning and devote 
your whole attention to acquiring an easy and 
secure position under all circumstances. Do not 
even trouble yourself about the manner of 
mounting and dismounting. 
The proper seat on horseback is one in which 
the crotch and the hips are as firmly attached 
to the saddle as it is possible for them to be; 
the legs below the knees as free and independent 
as possible; and the body, from the waist up¬ 
ward, perfectly supple and pliable. Whatever 
movement the horse makes, the hips must con¬ 
form to it, moving to the right or the left or 
tipping backward or forward as the case may 
be. But while they follow the changing position 
of the saddle, the legs, from the knees down¬ 
ward, must be free to move in obedience to the 
rider’s will; and the upper part of the trunk, 
keeping its perfect balance, must move easily on 
a flexible spine and accommodate itself in¬ 
stinctively to every movement. 
If a man’s body were cut off at the lower part 
of the waist, the natural pressure of the thighs 
against the saddle would easily hold the hips in 
a firm position. If a whalebone rose out of the 
severed trunk, supporting a heavy weight two 
feet above it, the hips would still be free to 
move with the saddle; but if for the whalebone 
we were to substitute a stiff rod, the movement 
of the hips would communicate a movement to 
the weight which in its turn being at the long 
end of a lever, would wrench them from their 
position. 
The spine of the rider represents the whale¬ 
bone or the rod,as the case may be, and the chest, 
head, and arms represent the weight. If the 
lower spine be kept flexible, the upper part of the 
body will not, from a sudden motion of the horse, 
be started from its position 
by the movement of the hips; 
but if it be rigid, it will com¬ 
municate the movement to the 
heavy mass above, and this 
movement once started, will 
be continued, acting on the 
spine as a lever to remove the 
hips from their place. This ef¬ 
fect can be full} 7 illustrated by 
standing erect and throwing 
the weight, first on one leg 
and then on the other, holding 
the lower spine, first supple 
and then rigid I have dwelt 
thus long on this point, whiph 
is probably never thought 
of by one poor horseman out 
of five thousand, because it is 
the foundation of good riding. 
Until the ability to preserve a 
supple loin under all circum¬ 
stances is acquired, the rider is 
in danger of a fall at any mo¬ 
ment; and it will always be im¬ 
possible for him to ride grace¬ 
fully or with comfort. But 
while the supple loin is of the first importance, 
an erect position of the body is hardly less so. 
The position on horseback should resemble the 
position when sitting on a high stool, rather 
than on a low chair. On the chair, the weight 
is supported on the seat, behind the hips, and the 
spine has a tendency to curve outward and 
the shoulders and chest to droop forward. 
Oh the stool, the legs hanging down, the 
weight is supported 
more directly under 
the hips, the spine 
is curved inward 
and the head and 
chest are more easily 
thrown backward. 
This is the posi¬ 
tion assumed by a 
good horseman; the 
weight of the up¬ 
per part of the body 
being supported on 
an inward-curving 
and flexible spine. 
And it is the po¬ 
sition to which the 
learner must so ac¬ 
custom himself that 
it becomes almost 
a second nature to 
assume it whenever 
in the saddle. As 
many of our readers 
are not familiar with 
the wonderful comic 
pictures of John 
Leach, in which the 
good and bad seat 
on horseback are 
better shown than anywhere else, we reproduce 
here two that will answer our purpose. 
Figure 1 shows the stiff and awkward 
bearing of an unaccustomed rider who has 
hired a livery stable horse for a holiday. Fig. 
2 the upright, lithe position of a good horseman 
And now, how to get this seat. Saddle your 
horse, unbuckle the stirrups and take them out; 
let the reins lie on his neck and call in the 
services of a friend to hold and lead him. Divest 
yourself, in this way, of all responsibility as to 
his conduct; get into the saddle in any way you 
please (the manner of mounting is a secondary 
consideration, and it may be learned later). 
Turn your toes inward, press your knees against 
the saddle, but not your calves, and open the 
back part of the thighs as far as possible. 
This will bring the flat of the thighs against the 
saddle and give the largest possible contact with 
it. Curve the spine inward and throw the 
shoulders back. This, being an unaccustomed 
position for you, will seem awkward and will 
look awkward, and you can at first only main¬ 
tain it at an expense of a considerable rigidity 
of the spine. Let your arms hang listlessly by 
your sides. Holding fast mainly by the knees, 
shift your seat from side to side with as little 
swaying as possible to the upper part of the 
body. Vary the exercise by swinging the body 
itself from side to side and from front to rear, 
while the seat is firm. Continue this exercise, 
no matter how long it takes, until your trunk is 
pivoted in your hips so that you can move it in 
any direction while keeping the spine curved 
inward. Do not at any time ling the horse’s 
sides with the calves of the legs, but let the 
lower legs hang loosely. The thighs should 
neither hang too straight up and down nor be 
raised too high at the knee, but should take 
that position which gives the firmest hold on 
the saddle. Having become perfectly at home 
while the horse is quiet, let him be led at a w r alk 
(increasing the speed after a time) and finally 
let him be galloped w 7 ith a long bridle rein, 
until, under all his motions, you feel comfortable 
and easy and have learned to depend only on 
your thighs and the flexibility or your body to 
maintain your position. Boys will learn this in 
Fig. 2.— A SECURE SEAT. 
less time than men, and some boys in less time 
than others; but all must make up their minds 
to learn it, however long it takes, before they 
can become thoroughly good horsemen and 
can really enjoy riding at all paces. 
