414 MANUAL OF MODERN FARRIERY 



on horseback when he uses the lasso. One end of the 

 thong being 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, half of v/hich 

 he holds in his right hand. He then swings this loose 

 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 Gaucho takes a wild horse by first mounting 

 an animal which has been accustomed to the sport, 

 and gallops over the plain in the direction where the 

 herd of wild horses are, and, circling round, by degrees 

 gets near to one of them ; and as soon as he has ap- 

 proached sufficiently near, ''the lasso is thrown round 

 the two hind-legs, and as the Gaucho rides round 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 face. Before the horse can 

 recover the shock, the rider dismounts, and snatching 

 his 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 cloak ; 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." 



There is a remarkable difference in the dispositions 

 of the Asiatic and South American wild horses : 

 those of the former country can never be properly 

 tamed, unless taken and trained very young ; if 



