The St. Johns herald., 1888-12-06
How to sit a Horse.

have got there" he continued, couldn't ride in. It isn't fit for q man to ride in. Now, the great beauty of the Mexican saddle IS, that a man sitting in it has his les almost straight down beside hls horse, like clothes-pin. A Me1i, can on horseback his heels aii shoulders are nearly in line, his he.' planted firmly in his stirrups h derneatnl llimand pointing strail ll ahead uslIe|lsl04'' llis ll6rs zfc( ISA 661|lB would b, <. 6ba as the Mexican 4sd f f 6i'P E.sIll the stirrups placed a couple of inch es further back. As it is, man riding in Mcclellan saddle has to bend his leg at the knee in the Eng fish style. Now, with the knee bent it is almost impossible to keep your feet pointed straight ahead.
 "This position of the feet" the impromptu riding-master contin- ued, after pausing moment to al- low his casual pupil to absorb what he had already said, lis very inn portant thing. And yet nine-tenths of the riders you see about the streets and country roads every day have their toes turned at an angle of 45 degrees from the sides of the horse. As consequence, these ri- ders can't have a firm seat, and do not enjoy the exercise half as much as they would if they rode prop erly."
 "How is it the way the toes point has so much to do with good ri- ding?" Star reporter who happen ed to be on hand inquired.
 "To sit firmly on horse and at the same time have the body erect and free to give with the horses mo- tion," the cavalryman said, 'you must grip the animals sides with your knees. Not with the calves of your legs, mind, nor with the thighs, but with the knees alone. Now if you don't keep your toes pointing straight ahead, or nearly so, it is impossible to get this grip with the knees. Turn your toes out, and you Twill find at once that you grip the ? horse with the calves of your legs, and that your body is thrown for ward from the hips, instead of be- ing erect. Experiment little when you get on your horse, and you'll see it works just as 1 say. But il you keep your feet straight, hold tight with your knees and sit erect, you will find you can accommodate yourself to the motions of the horse more readily and gracefully, your seat will be firmer and riding will not tire you near so quickly.
 "If you will notice old cavalry men when they walk" the gentle man continued, "You will sec that instead of spreading their feet apart they keep them parallel. This is the result of their habit of riding, and it often makes them very un- graceful on their feet. The best and most graceful rider I knew was Gen, Ashby. who was killed during the war. I never saw any man who looked so handsome on horseback of of horse, however, he walked like a duck and was so clumsy that he couldn't get into parlor with. out falling oyer all the furniture in sight.
 "A Mexican -astride his high. curved saddle with his legs hanging straight down rides as easily as il he were sitting in a rocking chair and at the same time it is almost impossible to unseat him. He is clothes-pinned on to the horse and the latter can't get from under him But man riding on flat English saddle with short-stirrups, his legs bent at the knee and his toes turn ed out, has no chance when hi: horse jumps suddenly. He is in 2 cramped position, and is almosr