teady and immoveable; and we might conclude from hence, that the left
elbow only ought to rest upon the hip; but grace consists in the exact
proportion and symmetry of all the parts of the body, and to have the
arm on one side raised and advanced, and that of the other kept down and
close to the body would present but an aukward and disagreeable
appearance.

It is this which determines the situation of the hand which holds the
whip; the left hand being of an equal heighth with the elbow; so that
the knuckle of the little finger, and the tip of the elbow be both in a
line, this hand then being rounded neither too much nor too little, but
just so that the wrist may direct all its motions, place your right
hand, or the whip hand, lower and more forward than the bridle hand. It
should be lower than the bridle hand because if it was upon a level with
it, it would restrain or obstruct its motions; and were it to be higher,
as it cannot take so great a compass as the bridle hand, which must
always be kept over against the horseman's body: it is absolutely
necessary to keep the proportion of the elbows, that it should be lower
than the other.

The legs and feet make up the second division of what I call the
moveable parts of the body: the legs serve for two purposes, they may
be used as aids or corrections to the horse, they should then be kept
near the sides of the horse, and in a perpendicular line with the
horseman's body; for being near the part of the horse's body where his
feeling is most delicate, they are ready to do their office in the
instant they are wanted. Moreover, as they are an apendix[+] of the
thighs if the thigh is upon its flat in the saddle, they will by a
necessary consequence be turned just as they ought, and will infallibly
give the same turn to the feet, because the feet depend upon them, as
they depend upon the thighs.

The toe should be held a little higher then[+] the heel, for if the toe
was lowest the heel would be too near the sides of his horse and would
be in danger of touching his horse with his spurs at perhaps the very
instant he should avoid such aid or correction.

Many persons notwithstanding, when they raise their toe, bend and twist
their ankle as if they were lame in the part. The reason of this is very
plain; because they make use of the muscles in their legs and thighs,
whereas they should only employ joint of the foot for this purpose,[+]

Such is in short the mechanical disposi