THE SEAT.
The seat must be understood in an extended sense as the disposition of the various parts of the body, in conformity with the action of the horse; and its effect is the rider’s being firm in the saddle, when he might be otherwise thrown forward over the horse’s head, or backward over his tail.
The fundamental seat is that intermediate one of which all others are modifications, and in which the rider sits when the horse is going straight forward, without any bend in his position. In describing this, it is first necessary to consider the rider’s relation to the horse.—He must sit on that part of the animal’s body which, as he springs in his paces, is the centre of motion: from which, of course, any weight would be most difficultly shaken. The place of this seat is that part of the saddle into which the rider’s body would naturally slide were he to ride without stirrups. This seat is to be preserved only by a proper balance of his body, and its adaptation to even the most violent counteractions of the horse. Turf jockeys necessarily sit further back, that they may employ the pulls.
It is necessary to consider the horseman in various parts, and to explain their different functions: 1st, the lower part, as being here the principal one, namely, the thighs, with the legs as dependent on them; 2dly, the upper part, namely, the body, with the arms dependent on it. The thighs, from the fork to the knees, are commonly called the immovable parts, and upon them the whole attitude depends. They must not wriggle or roll, so as either to disturb the horse, or render the seat loose; but they may be relaxed when the horse hesitates to advance. The legs occasionally strengthen the hold of the thighs by a grasp with the calves; and they likewise aid, support, and chastise the horse. The body, from the fork upwards, must always be in a situation to take the corresponding motion, and preserve the balance. The position of the arms is dependent on that of the body, but they also exercise new functions.
As a good seat is the basis of all excellence in riding, we shall consider these parts in detail.
In relation to the thighs, the rider, sitting in the middle of the saddle, must rest chiefly upon their division, vulgarly called the fork, and very slightly upon the hips. The thighs, turned inward, must rest flat upon the sides of the saddle, without grasping; for the rider’s weight gives sufficient hold, and the pressure of the thighs on the saddle would only lift him above it. The knees must be stretched down and kept back, so as to place the thighs several degrees short of a perpendicular; but no gripe must be made with them, unless there be danger of losing all other hold. If the thighs are upon their inner or flat side in the saddle, both the legs and the feet will be turned as they ought to be. Thus turned, they must be on a line parallel to that of the rider’s body, and hang near the horse’s sides, but must not touch; yet they may give an additional hold to the seat, when necessary, and the calves must act in support of the aids of the hands. The heels are to be sunk, and the toes to be raised, and as near the horse as the heels, which prevents the heel touching the horse.
As to the body.—The head must be firm, yet free. The shoulders thrown back, and kept square, so that no pull of the bridle may bring them forward. The chest must be advanced, and the small of the back bent a little forward.
The upper parts of the arms must hang perpendicularly from the shoulders, the lower parts at right angles with the upper, so as to form a horizontal line from the elbow to the little finger. The elbows must be lightly closed to the hips, and, without stiffness, kept steady, or they destroy the hand. The wrist must be rounded a little outwards. The hands should be about three inches from the body, and from the pommel of the saddle, and from four to six inches apart; the thumbs and knuckles pointing towards each other, and the finger nails towards the body.[65]
[65] When in motion round the manège, or the circle, the inward hand, or that towards which we turn, is to be a little lower than the outward one.
When the rider is in the proper position on horseback without stirrups, his nose, breast, knee, and instep are nearly in a line; and, with stirrups, his nose, breast, knee, and toe, are in a line.—([Pl XXXVI.]) The man and the horse throughout are to be of a piece. When the horse is at liberty, or disunited, as it is termed, the rider sits at his ease; and, as he collects and unites his horse, so he collects and unites himself. There must, however, be no stiffness of manner, more than in sitting on a chair; for it is ease and elegance which distinguish the gentleman.