No DOMADORES 1 NSTINCT OF P LATE HoRSES. 145 



manoeuvre of the horse could unseat him, nor was he ever hurt by the horse throwing himself 

 down or backwards. Yet he was, withal, a bad breaker; indeed, he did not know what a 

 really well-broken horse was, and if he had known, I believe he would have preferred a 

 plunger or a buck-jumper to a steady one. He invariably vaulted into the saddle, never 

 using the stirrup, cared not how much they shied, nor how they went. The result was that 

 out of the dozen colts which I gave into his hands, one half were unsafe as hacks, and the 

 others were lamed in the process of breaking. The " Domador " of the present day is vastly 

 inferior in pluck and horsemanship to him of the past, but horses come out of his hands much 

 better broken and in sounder condition than formerly, so that a fair horseman may ride them 

 with moderate safety, if not with pleasure. 



There is a remarkable exemplification of instinct in horses, which may or may not be 

 peculiar to horses bred in the Pampas, but which I have never seen in print. It is the 

 wonderful manner in which horses, taken away from their birthplace, will return as soon 

 as they regain their liberty. I have known horses return two or three hundred miles, 

 swimming rivers, and overcoming every obstacle. It matters not if they be taken away at 

 night, or by a circuitous route, they will find their way back — not indeed by the circuitous 

 way they may have come, but in a direct line. It always appeared to me a marvellous in- 

 stinct which could guide them so unerringly over such long distances, over immense open 

 plains, with scarcely a landmark to assist them. This instinct, though common to all horses 

 that are taken from one breeding-ground to another, is, however, much stronger in some than 

 in others. For instance, horses reared on rich pasture have the instinct much stronger, or at 

 least they retain it much longer, than those reared on poorer lands. Those bred in the 

 districts of the Montes Grandes, where the grasses are especially luxuriant, scarcely ever lose 

 this home-pining ; and though they are the finest-looking horses in the Republic, they are 

 of little value to farmers, as it is next to impossible to keep them from straying. As hacks, 

 in the city of Buenos Ayres, they soon lose this instinct, probably owing to total change of 

 diet and the comforts of a stable. A very marked exception to this instinct is to be found 

 in the " Bagual " — strictly speaking the wild horse of the Pampas, as distinguished from his 

 domesticated or semi-wild brethren of the settled districts. The " Bagual," when captured, 

 tamed, and taken to the settled districts, seems to lose this instinct entirely. He has also 

 another very singular peculiarity — the transformation from a wild to a domesticated state 

 causes him to lose his gregarious habits. He will stray away here, there, and everywhere, 

 but seldom will he associate with other horses, and never with the same for any length of 

 time. This horse is popularly supposed never to become thoroughly confidential for riding, being 

 it is said, apt to buck-jump and plunge when least expected. I, however, had one for five or six 

 years. He was very quiet and steady, and a good useful horse fur general purposes. He 

 would not have the head-collar at any price, but would stand saddled loose all day long, with 

 the reins put behind the stirrup leathers. 



Horses of the Batida Oriental, or east coast of the river Uruguay, are much the same in 

 general characteristics as those of the Argentine Republic. In size they are a trifle smaller 

 than those bred in the southern districts of Buenos Ayres, but they stand almost unrivalled 

 in powers of endurance, frequently compassing journeys of lOO miles in the day. Owing to 

 civil wars, revolutions, and petty broils, few attempts have been made to improve the existing 

 breed by the introduction of European sires. 



Horses of the West Coast (Cliili). The republic of Chili, on the west coast of the southern 

 continent, produces a breed of horses superior in size, quality, and shapeliness to those of the 

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