disposition to obey or refuse. Only with a good seat is the rider able to use hands and legs, and to alter gait and direction by shifting accurately his weight. As we are all of us too ready to neglect those fundamental laws which control our lives, forgetting that if these laws of nature were suspended for even a quarter-second, life itself would cease, so as riders we tend to ignore the basal principles of inertia and weight as they affect action and seat. If the horse commit some fault, the result of our own improper disposition of the weight upon his back, we blame the horse. Yet the fault is ours; for the load which we put upon him is really very great when we consider carefully the muscular effort which the animal must put forth in executing our directions.
The rider, being mounted, should feel the saddle in contact with the coccyx and the two hip bones. These serve as a base, and bear the weight equally. They are the fixed point from which the upper part of the body moves to right or left, backward or forward, without ever ceasing contact, except when rising to the trot. The thighs, inclined at an angle of forty-five degrees, should be turned, without effort, so that their flat sides are against the saddle, which they press equally. If the flat sides of the thighs are not against the saddle, contact and adherence are lost. If they are placed thus with effort, the muscles are tense, and therefore cannot be flat. This not only prevents adherence, but, in
