VIII BREAKING-IN WILD HORSES i6i 



three are bound together. Then sitting on the horse's neck, he 

 fixes a strong bridle, without a bit, to the lower jaw : this he 

 does by passing a narrow thong through the eye-holes at the 

 end of the reins, and several times round both jaw and tongue. 

 The two front legs are now tied closely together with a strong 

 leathern thong, fastened by a slip-knot. The lazo, which bound 

 the three together, being then loosed, the horse rises with 

 difficulty. The Gaucho, now holding fast the bridle fixed to the 

 lower jaw, leads the horse outside the corral. If a second man 

 is present (otherwise the trouble is much greater) he holds the 

 animal's head, whilst the first puts on the horsecloths and saddle, 

 and girths the whole together. During this operation, the 

 horse, from dread and astonishment at thus being bound round 

 the waist, throws himself over and over again on the ground, 

 and, till beaten, is unwilling to rise. At last, when the saddling 

 is finished, the poor animal can hardly breathe from fear, and 

 is white with foam and sweat. The man now prepares to 

 mount by pressing heavily on the stirrup, so that the horse may 

 not lose its balance ; and at the moment that he throws his leg 

 over the animal's back, he pulls the slip-knot binding the front 

 legs, and the beast is free. Some "domidors" pull the knot 

 while the animal is lying on the ground, and, standing over the 

 saddle, allow him to rise beneath them. The horse, wild with 

 dread, gives a few most violent bounds, and then starts off at 

 full gallop : when quite exhausted, the man, by patience, brings 

 him back to the corral, where, reeking hot and scarcely alive, 

 the poor beast is let free. Those animals which will not gallop 

 away, but obstinately throw themselves on the ground, are by 

 far the most troublesome. This process is tremendously severe, 

 but in two or three trials the horse is tamed. It is not, how- 

 ever, for some weeks that the animal is ridden with the iron 

 bit and solid ring, for it must learn to associate the will of its 

 rider with the feel of the rein, before the most powerful bridle 

 can be of any service. 



Animals are so abundant in these countries, that humanity 

 and self-interest are not closely united ; therefore I fear it is 

 that the former is here scarcely known. One day, riding in the 

 Pampas with a very respectable " Estanciero," my horse, being 

 tired, lagged behind. The man often shouted to me to spur 

 him. When I remonstrated that it was a pity, for the horse 



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