It is easy to prove by experiment, that when we sit in an unconstrained position on a chair or saddle for instance, the direction of our shoulders will be at right angles to that of our legs, or, more correctly speaking, at right angles to a line bisecting the angle formed by our legs. Hence, when riding, we cannot continue to sit absolutely “square” (having our shoulders at right angles to the direction of our mount) without keeping our body in a stiff position, which in a short time will be productive of discomfort and fatigue. Although the maintenance of a twisted position of the body to the right is incompatible with ease, no discomfort will arise from looking more or less straight to the front, because the muscles which regulate the direction of the neck and eyes are gifted with great mobility, and their respective periods of contraction and relaxation are comparatively short, when we are looking to the front. Even when walking at ease, the direction of the shoulders, which alters at every step, in no way affects that of our line of sight; and it certainly would not do so, when we are riding. The continued maintenance of a perfectly square seat entails so much muscular rigidity, that it is unsuitable for ’cross-country work, or for the riding of “difficult” horses. In any case, it causes the body to assume a twisted and therefore an unnatural position; because the fact of the right hip joint being more advanced than the left one, will prevent the lower and posterior part of the trunk (the pelvis) from being parallel, as it ought to be, with the line connecting the shoulders. To facilitate the attainment of a “square seat,” some saddlers incline the upper crutch a good deal towards the off side, and thus curtail the space between that crutch and the near side of the horse’s shoulder and neck so much, that the rider is unable to get her right leg into proper position, and is consequently obliged to “hook it back.” I need hardly say that such saddles do not suit good horsewomen.
An absurd fallacy of some of the “square seat” school is that the right thigh (from hip joint to knee) should be kept parallel to the horse’s backbone, a position which would put a great deal more weight on the near side of the saddle than on the off, and would consequently be liable to give the horse a sore back. On the contrary, the even distribution of the rider’s weight is an essential condition of comfort to the animal and of security of seat to the rider, and is of infinitely greater importance than the attainment of a conventional and unnatural attitude.
The majority of riding-masters are such admirers of the “square seat,” that when giving a lady her first few lessons, they will as a rule keep constantly telling her to keep her right shoulder back, which she cannot do without twisting and stiffening her body.
For practical requirements, as out hunting or on a long journey, the seat should be free from all constraint and rigidity, so that it can be maintained without undue fatigue for several hours, during which time the rider should be able at any moment to utilise the grip of her legs with promptness, precision and strength. A lady, with a good seat and properly made saddle, will ride quite square enough ([Fig. 81]) to avoid any lack of elegance in her appearance without having to adopt a conventional twist.
PRACTICAL DETAILS.
The first thing for a rider to do is to place herself in a thoroughly comfortable position on the saddle. She should sit well down in it, in the same manner as she would sit on a chair in which she wished to lean back, and would thus get her seat well under her, and would be able to obtain, when required, a strong grip of the crutches. In this position she will be able to increase her stability by bringing her shoulders back, which she could not do with the same facility, if, instead of leaning back, she sat back. In order to see where she is going, she should sit more or less erect. Her left foot should be placed in the stirrup only as far as the ball of the foot, so as to allow the ankle joint full play. The stirrup leather should be long enough to enable the left thigh to clear the leaping head, when the lady rises at the trot; and short enough for it to exert full pressure against the leaping head, by the action of the ankle joint. A correct compromise between these two opposing conditions is obtained when the length of the leather will just allow the flat of the hand to be easily placed between the leg and the leaping head ([Fig. 82]).