2298 RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 
are covered in front with pieces of thick leather, called tapa- 
deras, which prevent the feet from slipping through. The 
fuste is usually covered by large flaps of leather called mochilus; 
and along the stirrup-straps are pieces of leather called seda- 
deras, to protect the legs of the rider from the sweat of the 
horse’s side. Cruppers and martingales are never used by the 
Spanish-Californians. The bridle is so made that a hard pull 
on the rein hurts the horse, and a severe jerk will throw hin 
back on his haunches. The bit has an arm projecting about 
two inches up in the mouth. On ordinary occasions this arm 
lies flat on the tongue, but when the rein is pulled it rises and 
presses against the roof of the mouth. The slightest pull, 
therefore, on a Spanish bridle is felt by the horse, and he will 
stop instantaneously, though at full speed, if the reins be jerked 
severely. It may be cruel to the horse, but it is very conve- 
nient to the rider, and necessary to the vaquero. 
The common gait of the Californian horse under the saddle 
is the gallop. He never paces or racks, and rarely tries a 
sharp trot, but rests himself with a walk or a slow trot. His 
gallop has an easy motion which does not tire the rider in fifty 
miles. He has an excellent speed for a race of a quarter a mile, 
but he cannot run two-mile heats with the thoroughbred, though 
for a gallop of a hundred miles he has probably no superior. 
‘Many of the Californian horses have of late years been bra- 
ken to the wagon and the plough, and they do very well for 
farm work, though not equal to American horses. 
§ 167. Blood-horses.—The American horses, that is the com- 
mon stock of horses brought from the Atlantic States within 
the last twelve years, and their offspring, are large, fine animals, 
not so healthy and tough as the Californian horses, but larger, 
more active, stronger and more handsome in shape and color. 
A large number of stallions and mares of fine blood have 
been imported, including about fifty thoroughbreds or English 
racers, two dozen Morgans or American trotters, and a dozen 
Clydesdale and Flemish, or heavy cart and truck horses. Some 
of these horses are valued as high as ten thousand dollars 
