Читать книгу The Horsewoman: A Practical Guide to Side-Saddle Riding, 2nd. Ed - Alice M. Hayes - Страница 18

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This is a leather strap which is attached to the off side of the rear part of the saddle, at one end; and to a strap close to the girth straps of the near side, at the other end. Before the days of safety bars, its near side end was usually buckled on to the stirrup leather, which was a faulty arrangement, not only as regards the leather (p. 36), but also because its degree of tightness was a constantly varying quantity which entirely depended on the amount of pressure that the rider put on her stirrup. The presence of a properly tightened balance strap helps to prevent lateral movement on the part of the saddle. Also it counteracts, to some extent, the excess of weight which almost every rider puts on the near side of her saddle; this good effect being due to the fact that the off attachment of the balance strap is farther away from the centre line (axis) of the animal’s body than the near attachment; and consequently the pull of the balance strap on the off side acts to greater mechanical advantage than the pull on the near side.