On came the troop ...
They stop—they start—they snuff the air,
Gallop a moment here and there,
Approach, retire, wheel round and round,
Then plunging back with sudden bound,
They snort—they foam—neigh—swerve aside,
And backward to the forest fly.”
Of the meeting a troop of Wild Horses in a more thickly inhabited part of the country, Sir F. Head gives some interesting details. He describes some unfortunate captured animals as being forced along by their riders at their very utmost speed: “As they are thus galloping along, urged by the spur, it is interesting to see the groups of Wild Horses one passes. The mares, which are never ridden in South America, seem not to understand what makes the poor Horse carry his head so low and look so weary. The little innocent colts come running to meet him, and then start away frightened; while the old Horses, whose white marks on the flanks and backs betray their acquaintance with the spur and saddle, walk slowly away for some distance, then breaking into a trot as they seek their safety, snort and look behind them, first with one eye and then with the other, turning their noses from right to left, and carrying their long tails high in the air.”
The capture and breaking in of Wild Horses in America are described by Miers as follows:—
“The lasso is a missile weapon, used by every native of the United Provinces and Chili. It is a very strong plaited thong of equal thickness, half an inch in diameter, and forty feet long, made of many strips of green hide, plaited like a whip-thong, and rendered supple by grease. It has at one end an iron ring, above an inch and a half in diameter, through which the thong is passed, and this forms a running noose. The Gaucho, or native peon, is generally mounted on horseback when he uses the lasso. One end of the thong is affixed to his saddle-girth; the remainder he coils carefully in his left hand, leaving about twelve feet belonging to the noose end in a coil, and a half of which he holds in his right hand. He then swings this long noose horizontally round his head, the weight of the iron ring at the end of the noose assisting in giving to it, by a continued circular motion, a sufficient force to project it the whole length of the line.” The Gauchos drive the Wild Horses into a corral, which is a circular space surrounded by rough posts firmly driven into the ground. The corral, relates Miers, “was quite full of Horses, most of which were young ones about two or three years old. The Capitan (chief Gaucho), mounted on a strong, steady Horse, rode into the corral, and threw his lasso over the neck of a young Horse and dragged him to the gate. For some time he was very unwilling to lose his comrades; but the moment he was forced out of the corral his first idea was to gallop away; however, a timely jerk of the lasso checked him in the most effectual way. The peons now ran after him on foot and threw a lasso over his fore legs, just above the fetlock, and twitching it, they pulled his legs from under him so suddenly that I really thought the fall he got had killed him. In an instant a Gaucho was seated on his head, and with his long knife, in a few seconds, cut off the whole of the Horse’s mane, while another cut the hair from the end of his tail: this, they told me, was a mark that the Horse had been once mounted. They then put a piece of hide in his mouth to serve for a bit, and a strong hide halter on his head. The Gaucho who was to mount arranged his spurs, which were unusually long and sharp, and while two men held the Horse by his ears, he put on the saddle, which he girthed extremely tight. He then caught hold of the Horse’s ear, and in an instant vaulted into the saddle; upon which the man who held the Horse by the halter threw the end to the rider, and from that moment no one seemed to take any further notice of him. The Horse instantly began to jump in a manner which made it very difficult for the rider to keep his seat, and quite different from the kick or plunge of an English Horse; however, the Gaucho’s spurs soon set him going, and off he galloped, doing everything in his power to throw his rider. Another Horse was immediately brought from the corral; and so quick was the operation that twelve Gauchos were mounted in a space which, I think, hardly exceeded an hour. It was wonderful to see the different manner in which different Horses behaved. Some would actually scream while the Gauchos were girding the saddle upon their backs; some would instantly lie down and roll upon it; while some would stand without being held, their legs stiff and in unnatural positions, their necks half bent towards their tails, and looking vicious and obstinate; and I could not help thinking that I would not have mounted one of those for any reward that could be offered me, for they were invariably the most difficult to subdue. It was now curious to look around and see the Gauchos on the horizon in different directions, trying to bring their Horses back to the corral, which is the most difficult part of their work, for the poor creatures had been so scared there that they were unwilling to return to the place. It was amusing to see the antics of the Horses; they were jumping and dancing in different ways, while the right arm of the Gauchos was seen flogging them. At last they brought the Horses back, apparently subdued and broken in. The saddles and bridles were taken off, and the young Horses trotted off towards the corral, neighing to one another. When the Gaucho wishes to take a Wild Horse, he mounts one that has been used to the sport and gallops over the plain. As soon as he comes near his victim, the lasso is thrown round the two hind legs, and as the Gaucho rides a little on one side, the jerk pulls the entangled Horse’s feet laterally, so as to throw him on his side without endangering his knees or his face. Before the Horse can recover the shock, the rider dismounts, and snatching his poncho, or cloak, from his shoulders, wraps it round the prostrate animal’s head. He then forces into his mouth one of the powerful bridles of the country, straps a saddle on his back, and bestriding him, removes the poncho; upon which the astonished Horse springs on his legs, and endeavours by a thousand vain efforts to disencumber himself of his new master, who sits quite composedly on his back, and, by a discipline which never fails, reduces the Horse to such complete obedience that he is soon trained to lend his whole speed and strength to the capture of his companions.”