The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1889-01-25
POINTS FOR {
An Old Cavalryman's Advice to an Ine1
perienced Uorseman.

An Ola Cavairynan's ADVICE 10 an mex
perienced Uorseman.
1.-THE best riders in the world said
an old ~cavalryman, who was giving Il
greenhorn some points on equestrian
ism, eare the Mexicans. Buffalo Bills
cowboys are splendid riders, but the
Mexicans are better still. And their
superiority is in part due to the kind Of
saddle they use. That low English
saddle you've got there" he continued,
Il couldn't ride in. 1t isn't fit for Il
man to ride in. Now, the great beauty
of the Mexican saddle is that q man sit
ting in it has his legs almost straight
down beside the horse, like a clothes
pin. A Mexican on horseback keeps
his heels and shoulders nearly in Il line,
his feet planted firmly in his stirrups
underneath him and pointing straight
ahead, parallel with the horse. Our
Mcclellan saddle would be a good as
the Mexican saddle if it only had the
stirrups placed a couple of inches fur
ther back. As it is, Il man riding in Il
Mcclellan saddle has to bend his leg at
the knee in the English style. Now,
with the knee bent it IS almost impossi-
BILE to keep your feet pointed straight
ahead.
s.This position of the feet, the I'M
promptu riding-master continued, after
pausing a moment to allow his casual
pupil to absorb what he had already
said, sis a very important thing in
learning to ride properly. In fact, it's
the thing. And yet nine-tenths of the
riders you see about the street and
country roads every day have their toes
turned at an angle of forty-tive degrees
from the sides of the horse. As a con-
sequence, these riders can't have a firm
seat, and don't enjoy the exercise half
as much as they would If they rode
properly
How is it the way the toes point hts
so much to do with good riding:9' a re-
porter who happened TO be on hand in-
quired.
ITO sit firmly on q horse and at the
same time to have the body erect and
free to give with the horses notion"
the cavalryman said, you must grip
the animals sides with your knees.
Not with the calves of the legs, mind,
not 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 will find at once that you grip the
horse with the calves of your legs and
that your body is thrown forward from
the hips instead of being erect. Ex-
pertinent a little when you get on your
horse and you'll see it works just as |
say. But if 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 irmer and riding will not tire
you near SO quickly. If you will
notice old cayalrymen when they
walk the gentleman continued, .'you
will see that instead of spreading their
feetapartt they keep them parallel. This
is the result of their habit of riding, and
it often makes them very |ungraceful OF
their feet. The best and most graceful
rider ! knew was General Ashby, who
was killed during the war. | never saw
any man who looked so handsome on
horseback. Off a horse, however, he
walked like a duck and was SO clumsy
that he couldn't get into a parlor with
out falling over all the furniture in
sight. A Mexican astride his high
curved saddle, with his legs hanging
straight down, rides as easily as if he
were sitting in q roeking-chair, and AZ
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 a man riding ON a flat
English saddle with short stirrups, his
legs bent at the knee and his toes turn
ed out, has no chance when his horse
jumps suddenly. He is in a cramped
positions and is almost sure to be
thrown forward on the horses neck
or over his head. Washington Star.