Buck-jumping.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 942, 21 March 1890, Page 8

Buck-jumping.

(Correspondent of The Field.) Sir, —I have read with great interest several letters in your columns on 4 buckjumpers.’ Perhaps you might find space for a few words on the subject from one who has had some experience in horses in the Pampas of South America. I have often heard it said that the ‘ gauchos ’ of this country are the finest horsemen in tho world. As to that I cannot pass an opinion, as I have had no opportunity of judging of the riders of Mexico, Australia, or other place, but I have certainly seen the natives out here perform some startling feats of horsemanship. . I believe the horses of Australia and the Mexican ‘mustangs’ are reputed to be the worst buck-jumpers known ; bat it is quite possible for anyone to find horses out here who buck as voickediy and determinedly as any horse that could be found in those countries. Here there are two kinds of buck jumpers—viz., those who jump straight ahead, which are by far the easiest for a man to stick on, and those that jump, as the natives term it, ‘a vueltaa ’ —i.e., from side to side, without advancing at all; and this last requires a man not only to be a good rider, but to be in constant practice if he wishes to keep his seat, as he has to have a very firm grip with his knees, and, if not in the habit of taming constantly, he will soon tire or take cramp in his legs. The usual mode of taming out here is as follows : —The 4 domador,’ or tamer, is generally paid at so much per head, the price varying from 10a to a sovereign for each animal; but in cases where the animal is of value a higher price is given, with the express understanding that more cage shall be taken with him than with the rest of his companions. The tamer, who is usually attended by an assistant, drives in the troop of mares and colts early in the morning, and either catches the animal he wishes to tame by entangling his fore feet in the noose or 4 lazo ’ while the animal is going round the corral, or mounted on a tame horse accustomed to the work, he catcheo him round the neck with the unerring lazo, the other end of which is attached to the raw hide girth of his 4 recado ’ (Eng., Baddle). The animal is then dragged till he falls half choked, or till the tamer’s assistant has succeeded in entangling his fore feet with another lazo, and thus brings him to the ground. A strong halter of raw hide, with another piece of raw hide attached to it to tie him with is then placed on his head, and another fine plaited piece ‘ bocado ’ is firmly tied to his lower jaw, and in this the reins are fastened. The colt is then allowed to rise, and is led to a strong post firmly planted in the ground. To this he is tied up short, and is then made to sit back with all his weight, so as to make him soft in the neck. His hind legs are then oaught and well secured, so as to prevent him kicking, and then the tamer, after handling him all over, proceeds to saddle him, generally tying a coiled up rope to the head of his saddle, to give him a firmer hold with his knees. During this time the assistant holds him by the ear on the mounting side, covering the colt’s eye with his arm, so that the animal cannot see the operation of saddling. He is then led out a little distance into the clear camp, when the helper again covers bis eye, to enable the tamer to mount. Once in the saddle, the assistant mounts the tamo horse, and follows the colt with alopg whip to urge

him on if be is inclined to sulk or stop, and also to assist the tamer to bring him back to the house after having galloped him a short distance. He is then unsaddled, and again tied to the post the whole day, and made to sit back repeatedly. In the evening he is given another gallop, aud then is either collared to another tame animal, or let loose in the camp until Dext day, when the operation is repeated. In two days the colt is able to be turned alone to either one side or another, if properly pulled in the mouth, the most of the pulling being doDe in the first and second gallop. An unbroken filly gives in sooner than a colt, and ib nearly alwaya tamed much quicker. I have seen two tamers catch no less than seventeen animals in one morning, eaoh one assisting the other, and of this number only three made any attempt to buck-jump ; but sometimes one meets with a ‘ manada ’ (troop) of mares where nearly all the colts turn out 4 buck-jumpers,’ whioh, in my opinion, is mainly owing to the stallion of the drove being a buck-jumper himself. As a case in point, I knew a young Irishman, born in this country, and a large, landowqejr, who had a drove of mares nearly all confirmed buck.jumpers. He had the stallion, a fine brown with a blaze face, castrated, and on his recovery gave him to a tamer to saddle, the animal being at that time about twelve years old. He turned out to be a veritable devil, aud threw all the rough riders around, till at last nobody could be found willing to tackleJiim, after bo many had had a trial at him. He was quite tame to handle, and his owner, who was of a sporting turn, used to lead him to camp races, or any place where the gauchos resorted, and challenge anyone to mount him fora wager of £sor£lo withoutbeingthrown. 11 was present once when he was mounted by a 4 black,’ a noted rough rider from.a neighbouring district, who had been brought on purpose to mount him. The wager was for SIOOO (nearly £10), but there was a good lot of betting on the result. The ‘ blacky ’ was certainly a splendid rider, but in this.case he was beaten by the ‘brown,’ who threw him after a prolonged contest, the rider, I thiqk, at last falling from sheer exhaustion.— On measuring the distance afterwards we found the animal had gone a little more than twenty-two squares before he succeeded in dislodging his rider, each square being 150 Spanish yards. Of coarse, he did not jump all the way ; sometimes he would trot about fifty orßixty yards, but on his rider attempt-' ing to make him gallop- he would begin to buck again. As a rule, he jumped straight enough, heading direct for his home ; but sometimes he would give some extraordinary side leaps, thiee or four of whioh seemed to disturb bis rider much more, than if be bad jumped 100 yards straight. Where the man ( was at length thrown he had not jumped half so badly as he bad done in other places ; but the poor fellow was greatly exhausted, and refused to mount him again. The horae . stood still about four times, generally after some of those terrible side leaps, and he would remain so for two or three minntes, and then commence to buck again. I have since heard that the same horse has Been tamed by a rider from th,e Upper Provinces, but that he was first tied into alcart until half-tired, and even then he gave the mau all he could do to sit him. . ~ / These animals are called here 4 jreservados ’ (reserved), and although I have seen many wicked animals saddled, I never saw one jump like the animal I. have just described. I have also seen other S—horses of fifteen years and upwards—running about loose in the droves, which have been given up as untamable for riding, although most of these are used either for the carts or the tramways. Many colts learn to buck from being first backed by a would-beTameiy and, having thrown him, they become proficient in the art of jumping. I once saddled abay colt myself, who for two gallops never attempted to buck ; but in the third, on account of a slack girth, he got the * recado’ too forward, and, beginning to jump, threw me. After two more trials I found myself unable to cope with bimqand then J made him over to a good native Horseman. He threw him several times, and on his giving him up, another who took him met with the same fate ; and at last 1 was obliged to look for a noted rough rider to tame him, and pay him more than three times the price asked by the others. This last man mounted him with an enormous pair of spars, and regularly cowed the animal, so that—for the time at least—he was perfectly tame, and I was able to ride him myself ; but, on letting him out to grass for a few weeks he took to jumping again, and I had to dispose of him for a carthorse. Natives, aB a rule, are very unwilling to tame horses that have thrown other riders, unless they are paid double or treble the usual price; and they know at once, on catching the animal, whether he has been saddled before or not. The man I got to saddle the bay preferred to mount him, as many do, with spurs, the rpw6ls of \vhich are so large that one is able to make , them meet and clinch them under the horse’s belly, thus obtaining a firmer grip with the legs ; and he told me that without them ha would never mount a buck-jumper. Even with this advantage, he had a hard fight with my colt, who gave him one fail, mainly owing, I believe, as I was not present myself, to the breakiag of a stirrup leather. The general opinion out here is that horses of a chestnut or brown colour are most likely to buck-jump, but they also turn out the best horses ; and it is an old saying among the natives, that 4 a dark chestnut tostado, if he does not jump when first saddled, will never turn out a good horse.’ The piebalds, on the contrary,y although generally much quieter to tame, as a rule do not make such good horses as those of ons colour, and are to-day iu much less demand. Small horses are often more liable to jump than big ones, and also much harder to sit, as they buck very quickly, and one can hardly get a firm grip ob them. There are some cases out here when the horse, when buoking, finds he cannot get rid of his rider iu any usual fashion, and after bucking some distance, suddenly throws himself on the ground ; but even then he is very rarely able to injure his rider, as nearly all the natives who have any pretensions to horsemanship have a trick of coming off on their feet, and a tamer is pretty sure to do so, whatever way the animal may fall with him. I have.Beeu

a man set out at full gallop, and allow another to * pialar,’ or catch the fore feet of his horse, and turn him over while going at full speed, the rider coming off running on his feet. This they would do for a trifling wager, or oven for a cigar, or the fun of the thing. Of course, tho man on foot requires also to be dexterous in the use of the laz', for, if not, he would not be able to throw the aoimal. These feats, however, are not so ranch practised now as they used to be fifteen or twenty years ago, as the younger generation of Argentines are neither each fine horsemen nor bo proficient in the use of the lazo. as their forefathers , and horseflesh, too, is much more valuable in these days. The crossing off this country’s mares with -. imported sires, has, I think, an effect not only of increasing the price of horses, but also of rendering their produce tamer, as 1 have never seea any quarter or half bred colts buck as much as those whose sire and dam were natives of this country. There are many expedients used out here to cure a horse of bucking ; some use the spurs, and others, directly a horse begins to jump, begin to belabour him across the jaws and nose with tho punishing native whip they always carry, and continue doing so until tho horse leaves off bucking and breaks into a gallop. Id some cases, when the horse is a bad buck-jumper, they catch the whip by the thong, and striking the horse between the ears with the heavy handle, either bring him on his knees or fell him to the ground altogether. This does not require a very heavy blow, as it is astonishing how slight a stroke given to the horse between the ears will bring him to the ground. This is a sovereign cure for buckjumpers, as a horse so treated will rarely buok again; but it is discountenanced now-a-days, and justly, by many owners, who do not allow their tamers to strike their horses over the head. To put this in practice, however, a man requires to be a first-rate horseman, so as to be able when the horse falls to come oat on his feet—a knack which is not very difficult to learn if one has the presence of mind to throw all the weight of his body back/ and open his legs when he feels the horse falling with him. Among the tame Indians there is also a plan of pouring some strong spirit, such as cana or aguardiete, into one of the ears of a wicked animal, which renders him perfectly passive and silly for the time being, and while in that state they make him docile and soft in the mouth by hard pulling, that they are able afterwards to prevent him from buck-jump-ing by not allowing him to get down his head. But animals so tamed are often liable to taka their rider unawares, either from some sudden fright or other causes, and begin to jump when they are least expected. I have also heard that doubling down a horse’s ear and tying it tightly renders the animal much more docile, and less inclined to buck ; but 1 have never seen it tried on an unbroken colt, although I know os a fact that down the ear of a wild mare eoables one to drive her wherever one pleases, and even to cut her out from her own drove a feat one would scarcely perform alone if her ear was not tied down. An unbroken colt is most likely to buck when ho feels the first poll of the reins at bis mouth—an operation which ought always to be performed when the oolt is at full gallop. If once, however, he becomes soft and tractable in tho mouth, it is very hard for him to get his head down to begiß, unless his rider leaves tho reins slack. Tame horses are also apt to back if they have been tied up all night fasting, especially when the weather is cold, and are any way. tightly girthed in the morning ; but this is easily remedied by not giving them their head, or allowing them to gallop for a few hundred yards on first mounting ; and anyone who .has had any experience will know whether a horse is inclined to jump by the way he puts up his back directly one throws his leg across him. The slipping back of the girths to the flanks, or allowing a horse to run away saddled, is often sufficient to teach a young horse, however tame he may be, to buck-jump, especially if he is at all fresh. A neighbour of mine had an old black horse, perfectly qniet to ride and a splendid horse for a long journey, who would never suffer himself to be mounted bare back, or allow any rope or laio to touch his heels. Directly

he felt anything touch his hind fe-t, he wonld down his head and jump until he threw his rider, or, failing to dislodge him, he wonld throw himself against the ground. I once got the loan of him, and went about twelve leagues one afternoon to visit a friend. The horse was tied up that night, and in the morning a native boy, who was servant in the house, asked me to lend him to drive in a troop of horses. I did so, but warned him to saddle him ; but the boy, either to avoid the trouble of saddling him, ur imagining that he could ride any horse a foreigner or ‘ gringo ’ (for whose abilities as a horseman they have a great contempt) had mounted him barebacked. The conßequence was, the old horse immediately put down h's head and despatched him before he had gone twenty 'yards, disabling him for some days. On saddling him afterwards for my homeward journey, I mounted him with some misgiviugs, and for tho first half-mile went very gently, but the horse never made any sign of jumping, and galloped strongly and well the whole way home. I never heard of more than one native who was able to mount the same horse bare-back, and he did bo one day half drunk at a cattle-mark-ing, and allowed his companions to throw their, lazos against the horse's heels ; but he was a first-class horseman, and the horse, when he found he could not throw him, flung himself three times against the ground, his rider coming off on his feet each time. Old horses will generally buck more wickedly than a colt, and they also seem to have some sort of an idea what kind of rider they have got on their backs, and whether he is afraid of them or not, and will act accordingly.

A native recado is a much better seat for a bucking horse than any kind of saddle, especially when one has something tied to the front - a small -coil of rope, for instance —to give a firm purchase to the knees, and it also assists one greatly In pulling a horse in the mouth. I have heard from a Texan that the plan of putting a small stone under the girth, and then pulling it as tight as possible, is a good plan to prevent a horse bucking ; and, although I have never seoD it tried, I can perfectly understand the reason, as it will always hurt him whenever he attempts to put up his back. Mules, although they nearly always jump straight, jump much quicker than horses, and if one therefore once loses a firm hold of his knees on a mule, the animal jumps so quickly that he will have no time to right himself, as he is often able to do on a colt; besides, the mules of this country are very vicious, and will often kick their rider after throwing him. I once saw a mule break the wooden stirrup of the recado with a kick while bucking. Tho best and readiest way of curing a confirmed buck-jumper in this country is to tie him into a heavy cart, at the side of the shaft horse, and fasten him by a rope or chain from the girth to the cart ; he can there jump as much as he likes without doing any harm, and after having been tied In two or three times, and made to work hard, nearly all the devilment will be taken out of him. As a rule, horses or colts that are mounted bare-back will not jump as much as one that is saddled, ag the girth often provokes them to jump. I have seen several times natives hanging from a rope stretched from two high posts over the gate of the corral, and, when the troop is going out, dropping down on the baok of a wild animal without anything in their hand except a native whip with an iron handle. In every case except one the animal never attempted to jump, but only clean d out with the drove to the open camp, the man holding on by the mane, and when he wished to dismount he felled the animal by a blow between the ears with the butt-end of his whip, and came off running on his feet. The exception I allude to was once when a young native, for a bet, let himself down on the baok of the stallion of the herd, but did not fall straight down on his back, according to his own account. At any rate, the animal set out bucking, and he was thrown ; but even then he managed to come off on his hands and feel. This feat is now dying out. as few care to perform it to-day; but I believe it was often done with success by the late Dictator l)on Juan Manuel Rosas, who, before ho became President of the Republic,

was a great gaticho, and one of the best horaetnen in the country; A very good account of Argentine horse taming is given by the late Lady Brassey in hor ‘Voyage of the Sunbeam,’ where she has most truthfully depicted a rough rider as she sftw him while out in this country. Native horses have no doubt been greatly improved out hero by the introduction of imported Sirin ; but although I have never heavd of a horse out here galloping tho distance quoted by your Australian correspondent in Tue Field of October 18, 1887 (viz., 144 miles), 1 have f'equeutly seen and heard of them going thirty to thirty-five leagues in one day, and then being let loose in the camp that night to shift for themselves. I also knew an old roau, belonging to an English settler of C haacomus, who, before the days of railroads out here, used to go from (Jhascomus to Buenos Ayres, a distance of twenty-five leagues, in one day, and back the next ; but that horse, who was always kept in the •pink of condition, was fed on corn and dry hay, ami was seldom or never turned loose in the camp. The feat, however, speaks well for the gnineuess and bottom of the Argentine horse.-.