The balance in riding preserves the body from that inclination to
one side or the other which even the ordinary paces of the horse,
in the trot or gallop, would otherwise occasion. It accompanies and
corresponds with every motion of the animal, without any employment of
strength, and consequently, the rider sits so firmly that nothing can
move his seat. His skill consists essentially in balancing himself on
the horse in such a manner as not to fetter the animal’s movements. To
illustrate this, if the horse work straight and upright on his legs,
the body must be in the same upright direction: as the horse moves
into a trot, the body must be inclined a little more back; in the
gallop, also in leaping, or in any violent movements, the body must
chiefly be kept back; and, when the horse bends and leans, as he does
when on a circle, or trotting briskly round a corner, the body must
lean similarly, or the balance will be lost. Throughout the whole, the
figure must be pliant to every action of the horse; for the balance can
be maintained only by as many different positions as he is capable of
working in.
To help his balance, the rider must never take the slightest assistance
from the reins. Whatever the position of the body, the hand must be
fixed, and the reins of such a length as to feel and support the horse,
but never to hold on. To acquire the balance, the practice on circles,
or the longe, is useful; working equally to both hands, and not
using stirrups till the pupil has acquired the balance without them.
Experience proves that the body, if in the manège seat and fundamental
position, almost involuntarily takes the corresponding motion, whether
the horse stumbles, rears, springs forward, or kicks.