OCR Text |
Show BANDA ORIENTA I... Nov. 1833. he utterly impracticable. The Gaucho picks ou: a fullgrown colt ; and as the beast rushes round the circus, he throws his lazo so as to catch both the front le~s._ lnsta~tly the horse rolls over with a heavy shock, and, whilst strugglmg on the ground, the Gaucho, holding the laz.o tight, makes a · 1 so as to catch one of the hind legs, JUSt beneath the ClrC e, . f e tlo c k , and draws it close to the two front. He then hitche.s. th e lazo, so that the three legs are bound together. Then si.ttmg on the horse's neck, he fixes a strong bridle, without a bit, to the lower jaw. This he does by passing a narrow thong through the eye-holes, at the end of the reins, and several times round both jaw and tongue. The two front legs are now tied closely together with a strong leathern thong, fastened by a slip-knot. The lazo, whic~ bo~d t~e three together, being then loosed, the horse nses with diffic~lty. The Gaucho now holding fast the bridle fixed to the lower Jaw, leads the horse outside the corral. If a second man is present (otherwise the trouble is much greater) he holds .the animal's head, whilst the first puts on the horsecloths and saddle, and girths the whole together. During this operation, the horse, from dread and astonishment at thus being bound round the waist, throws himself, over and over again, on the ground, and, till beaten, is unwilling to rise. At last, when the saddling is finished, the poor animal can hardly breat~e from fear, and is white with foam and sweat. The man now prepares to mount, by pressing heavily on the stirrup, so that the horse may not lose its balance ; and at the moment he throws his leg over the animal's back he pulls the slip-knot, and the beast is free. Some " domidors" pull the knot while the animal is lying on the ground, and, standing over the saddle, allow it to rise beneath them. The horse, wild with dread, gives a few most violent bounds, and then starts off at full gallop: when quite exhausted, the man, by patience, brings him back to the corral, where reeking hot, and scarcely alive, the poor beast is let free. Those animals which will not gallop away, but obstinately throw Nov. 1833. HORSEMANSHIP. 177 the.m selves on .t he ground, are by far the most troublesom e. This process IS tremendously severe,* but in two or three trials the horse is tamed. It is not, however, for some weeks that the animal is ridden with the iron bit and solid ring; for it must learn to associate the will of its rider with the feel of the rein, before the most powerful bridle can be of any service. The Gauchos are well known to be perfect riders. The idea of being thrown, let the horse do what it likes never enters their head. Their criterion of a good rider, i; a man w~o can ma~age an untamed colt, or who, if his horse falls, ahghts on his own feet, or can perform other such exploits. I have heard of a man betting that he would throw his horse dmvn twenty times, and that nineteen out of these he would. not fall himself. ~ recollect. seeing a Gaucho riding a very stubborn horse, whiCh three times successively reared so high a~ to fall backwards with great violence. The man judged With un~ommon coolness the proper moment for slipping off, not an mstant before or after the right time. Directly the horse rose the man jumped on his back, and at last they started at a gallop. The Gaucho never appears to exert any muscular force. I was one day watching a good rider, as we were galloping along at a rapid pace, and thought to myself "surely if the horse starts, you appear so careless on your sea: you must fall." At this moment, a male ostrich spranO' from its nest right beneath the horse's nose. The youn~ colt bounded on one side, like a stag; but as for the man, all that . • Animals are so abundant in these countries that humanity and selfInterest are not closely united ; therefore the former is scarcely known. One day,. riding in the Pampas with a very respectable "Estanciero,'' my h?rse, bemg tired, lagged behind. The man often shouted to me to spur h1m. When I remonstrated that it was a pity, for the horse was quite exhausted, he cried out, " Why not ?-never mind-spur him-it is my horse." I had then some difficulty in making him comprehend that it was for the horse's sake, and not on his account, that I did not choose to use my spurs. He exclaimed, with a look of great surprise, "Ah Don Carlos que cosa !" It was clear that such an idea had never before entered . his head. VOL. III. N |