the invention of the leaping head, ladies
had to rely entirely on the right leg for grip, and consequently few, if
any of them, were able to hunt. Mr. John Allen, who wrote _Modern
Riding_, in 1825, tells us that "the left leg is nearly, if not wholly
useless; for though a stirrup is placed on the foot, the only use of it
is to ease the leg a little, which, for want of practice, might ache by
dangling and suspension."

The following are the chief points to be considered about a leaping
head:--

* * * * *

1. Its curve should be so arranged that the harder a lady presses
against it, the more will her left leg be carried inwards, so that the
flat (inside) of her knee may be brought in contact with the flap of the
saddle (Fig. 12). An ordinary leaping head is curved, as a rule, in such
a manner that when a rider seeks to obtain support from it by the
pressure of her left leg, this limb is carried outwards, and she is able
to get a _point d'appui_ only at the extreme end of this projection
(Fig. 13). It is evident that the closer the left leg is to the saddle,
the firmer will be the seat. Besides, the more the left leg is brought
outwards, the more weight will be put on the near side, which, as we
shall see further on, is the very thing a rider ought to avoid.

2. The leaping head should be close to the upper crutch (Figs. 12 and
16). The usual plan of putting it much lower down (Fig. 15) tends to
bring the weight to the near side, a fact which can be easily tested,
especially in trotting, by trying the improvement in question, which was
suggested to me by Mr. Ford of Rugby, who is a very competent and
experienced saddler.

[Illustration: Fig. 12.--Grip with improved leaping head.]

3. Usually, the leaping head is attached to the tree by means of a
screw, which is an arrangement that has the disadvantage of not allowing
the leaping head to be placed close to the upper crutch. If the leaping
head is riveted on to the tree (as in Figs. 10 and 16), which is the
better plan, it can be placed as near as we like to the upper crutch,
and it will have no tendency to wobble about, as it would be apt to do,
if it was fixed by a screw. As the screws of the leaping heads of cheap
saddles are almost always made of annealed iron, which is a form of
cast-iron, it is not an uncommon occurrence for the screw of one of
these saddles to break, which is more apt to occur at a critical moment,
as for instan