St. Landry democrat., 1891-08-08
THE BUCKING BRONCHC
HIS TOUGHNESS AND ENDu2-
ANCE UNSURPASSED.
"A Somewhat Desp:sed but tx rr,n,'y
Ialthfhl and Useful Animal-I:i.
indians Care little io-
the Hnas'.

There is no horse superior 70 tie
bronch0 for endurance: few ara hi:
equals, says the Nalti!E IRE Amrri:atl.
He came by it naturally from the
spanish stock of Moorish de:cant the
individuals Of which race abandoned
IN the sixteenth century wero his ln-
MEDIATE ancestors and his hardy life
has, by The survival of the tittest i'll
creased this endurance tenfold. lie Is
not handsome. His middle piece is
dlstendod by grass food: it IS loosely
P1lneI to hl' quarters, and his hip IS
very short. He has il hammer head
! and the pronounced ewo neck which
all plains or stcppes horses seem 10
acquire. His legs arc naturally por-
feet, but they finally give way at the
knees from sharp stopping with a gag
DIT, for an Indian will turn Oh 4 TO-
| cent piece. One form OF racing il to
pace two long parallel strips OF BAT
falo hide on the ground ut an interval
OF but few feet. and starting from II
distance, to ride UP to these strips,
cross the first, turn between the two,
and gallop back to the starting point.
Another Is to ride up to Il leg hung
horizontally and just high enough to
allow the pong to get under, bat not
the rider, touch it and return. II the
pony is stopped 100 soon the Indian
loses time in touching the log: If too
l2te he gets scrapeI off. Tho sudden
Jerking OF the pony on its haunrh,~ is
apt both 10 start curhs and br1;k his |
knees,
The toughncsa and strength Of the
pony can scarcely be exaggerated. lie |
VIII live through winter TINT Will KIN |
the hardest cattle. H. worries
through the long months when the
snow iia5 covered Up the bunch grass
On a diet OF cottonwood bouyhs. which
the Indian cuts down for him: and in
the spring it takes but few weeks for
him to scdur out into splendid condi-
uon. He can go unheard ofdistancc1,
Col. Il. /. Dodge records an instance
coming under his observation whore
a pony carried the mails 300 miles in
[htee consecutive nights, and back
over the same road the next week, and
Kept this up for six months without
oas OF condition, lie can carry any
weight. Mr., Palkman speaks OF q
'ilief knGTn as La. Cuohon. Oh account
u MS 5JO pounds aVoruupos, WHO
nevertheless rode his ponies as brave
y as a man of half his bulk He has {
'ften carried two people as one.
here is simply no end to this wonder !
al product of the praries lie works :
many years. SO long as he will fat up :
4 ths sirlig his age Ia immaterial
ho absence OF crest in the pony i
oggests the curious query Of what c
as become Of the proud arching neck t
his ancestors, the b.lrh. There y
re- two ways Of accounting for this. V
he Indians gag bit invariably appli- =
with a jerk, throws up the pony's t
cad instead of bringing it down, as
lie slow and light application of the
'hool curb will do, and this tends to n
7velop the eve neck. Or more 81
efficient reason may be found in tn. tt
ct that the starvation which the pony st
|
deplete him of every superhuous y.
nee of flesh. The crest in the horse y
mostly meat. and its annual deple- ,s'
ia has finally brought down the ponv's e
ok nearer to the outline of skelo- =
n. 1t was with much ado that the Of
my held onto life during the winter; r
could not find enough food TO flesh di
a merely ornamental appendage b.
;e crest. The Moors and Arabs
lze the beauty of the high arched -
elk and breed for it. and their steeds ~
well fed. The Indian cares for his ]
ny only for what he can do for him, Of Of
d. once lost the crest would not be
to be regained, for few
1hns have any conception of breed mi
:: The bronchos mean crest is to-
tressing, but it is in inverse ratio to p
endurance and usefulness Vol CT
and cared for, he will regain his s
st to marked extent. rim