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Show 17 BA DA ORJE. 'TAL· oould be aid, was, tt.at he started and took frigh , as part of l~i.H 1 or~ . In Cb ile and Peru more pains are taken with the mouth of tl1e hor. than in La Plata, and this is evidently a con~ ec1uencc of the more intricate nature of the co~ try. In Chile a hcm~e is not considered perfectly broken till he can be brought up standing, in the midst of his full speed, on any particular tspot,-for instance, on a cloak t.hrown on the ground : or, a"ain, will charge a wall, and. reanng, sc~pe ~he surface with his lwofs. I have seen an ammal bounding mth spirit, yet merely reined by a fore-finger and thumb, taken at full gallop across a courtyard, and then made to wheel round the post of a verandah with great speed, but at so equal a distance, that the rider, with outstretched arr~, all the while kept one finger rubbing the post. Then making a demi-voltc in the air, with the other arm outstretched in a like manner, he wheeled round, ·with astonishing force, in an opposite direction. Such a horse is well broken ; and although this at first may appear useless, it is far otherwise. It is only carrying that which is daily necessary into perfection. When a bullock is checked and caught by the lazo, it will sometimes ga11op round and round in a circle, and the horse being alarmed at the great strain, if not well broken, will not readily turn like the pivot of a wheel. In consequence many men have been killed; for if the lazo once takes a twist round a man's body, it will instantly, from the power of the two opposed animals, almost cut him in twain. On the same principle the races are managed; the course is only two or three hundred yards long, the desideratum being to have horses that can make a rapid dash. The race-horses are trained not only to stand with their .hoofs touching a line, but to draw all four feet together, so as at the first spring to bring into play the full action of the hind quarters. In Cl.ile I was told an anecdote, which I believe was true; and it offers a good illustration of the use of a well-broken animal. A respectable man riding one day met two others, one of , -..r Nov. 1833. HORSEMANSHIP. whom was mounted on a horse, which he knew to have been stolen from himself. He challenged them ; they answered him by drawing their sabres and giving chase. The man, on his good and fleet beast kept just ahead : as he passed a thick bush he wheeled round it, and brought up his horse to a dead check. 'fhe pursuers were obliged to shoot on one side and ahead. Then instantly dashing on, right behind them, he buried his knife in the back of one, wounded the other, recovered his horse from the dying robber, and rode home. For these feats of horsemanship two things are necessary : a most severe bit, like the Mameluke, the power of which though seldom used, the horse knows full well; and large blunt spurs, that can be applied either as a mere touch, or as an instrument of extreme pain. I conceive that with English spurs, the slightest touch of which pricks the skin, it would be impossible to break in a horse after the South-American fashion. At an estancia near Las Vacas, large numbers of mares, are weekly slaughtered for the sake of their hides, although worth only five paper dollars, or about half-a-crown apiece. It seems at first strange that it can answer to kill mares for such a trifle ; but as it is thought ridiculous in this country, ever to break in, or to ride a mare, they are of no value, except for breeding. The only thing for which I ever saw mares used was to tread out wheat from the ear; for which purpose they were driven round a circular enclosure, where the wheat-sheaves were strewed. The man employed for slaughtering the mares, happened to be celebrated for his dexterity with the lazo. Standing at the distance of twelve yards from the mouth of the corral, he has laid a wager that he would catch by the legs every animal, without missing one, as it rushed past him. There was another man who said he would enter the corral on foot, catch a mare, fasten her front legs together, drive her out, throw her down, kill, skin, and stake the hide for drying (which latter is a tedious job) ; and he engaged that he would perform this whole operation on twenty-two animals in one day. Or, he would N2 |