Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1894-01-26
BROKEN TO THE SADDLE
WHAT THAT TERM MEANS AP-
Piled TO BRONCOS.
They Have Been Ridden Thrice-After
That Westerners or Fasteners Are
Expected to Manage tho Most Con-
firmed of Buck Jumpers.

| When broncos "broken to the
saddle" are offered for sale in the
East it is we'll for the tenderfoot pur-
chaser to learn the exact significance
OF the phrase. The bronco, as he
is known in the high valleys of
Western Colorado, is a beast of
strange qualities. He often roams
the mountain pastures until he is
three or four years old, nearly as
wild as the elks that find pasture in
theshigher and more difficult parts OF
the same region. Then somebody
catches him with lasso and fetches
him home. After that comes the
breaking process, and when done by
hired professional horse breaker it
is simplicity itself The phrase
'broken" implies that the breaker
has saddled and ridden the broncS
three times. The theory is that
after bronco has been coerced upon
three successive days into letting a
rider stay on his back, any rider may
thereafter ride the beast OF course.
that means any Rocky mountain
rider.
The Western Coloradoan performs
marvels with broncos scarcely better
broken than this indicates, says the
New York Sun. An Eastern hunyer
was accompanied by guide riding a
freshly-broken bronco and that half
wild creature was made to carry him
over miles of the toughest magma
BILE mountain wilderness. After the
newly broken bronco was relieved of
his masters weight and the guide
had transferred himself to another
horse that docile little beast patient
ly followed the party for miles over
the mountain and through woodland.
The bronco quickly learns to fol-
low and to stand. The patience
with which he does the latter seems
inexplicable until one has learned
the secret OF his training. When
hunters go after the grizzly bear or
elk they commonly ride on horse
back up to the point on the noun
tain side whore the evergreens be-
gin. Here they leave their broncos
unhitched, sure of finding them on
the return, perhaps six or eight
hours later. This is done with
horses only few months broken. 1t
is sometimes safer with them than
with older beasts. for the latter have
often been trained TO go straight
home when turned loose.
The secret OF the bronco's docility
in standing where he is left lies in
the fact that he has been broken to
bit with a "spade." Now, the
spade is broad piece OF metal so
placed IN the middle of the bit that
when the curb rein is drawn the
spade comes hard against the roof Of
the bronco's mouth. The rider
teaches the bronco the use of the
spade in this fashion: Having dis
mounted, the breaker throws the
curb rein over the bronco's head sc
that the rein lies partly on the
ground. Then the breaker waits
until the bronco moves The move
ment Is usually sudden and impetu-
Gus The breaker, with equal sud
denness places his foot hard upon
the dragging end OF the rein, and
the spade is driver into the roof Of
the bronco's mouth. 1t is a stubborn
beast that does not stop short when
he feels the spade.
This discipline is repeated again
and again, until the beast learns that
TO move while his rein hangs over
his head and trails on the ground is
to stir the spade into activity When
the breaker is sure that the bronco
has learned his lesson it is pretty
safe TO turn the beast loose with the
rein over his head. Should the bron-
co attempt TO leave the place where
he is left he must sooner or later
tread on the dragging rein and drive
the spade upward inUo the roof of his
mouth. When left TO himself, there
fore, he is extremely careful how he
moves about. and he seldom attempts
to trot away lest he incur the cruel
retribution Of the spade
The bronco as broken TO the pack
saddle is q most intelligent creature.
If there is party of two or more
accompanied by pack horse at least
one rides behind him so as to watch
his movements The pack horse as
a rule patiently follows his leader,
scrambling up the rough mountain
sides and carefully picking his way
through difficult places. If the pack
horse hesitates at an unusually large
fallen tree, the man behind him gives
him an admonitory stroke and over
he goes. If there be two such
trees near together the pack
horse calculates TO nicely how
he shall best land beyond the one
in order to take the other
to best advantage. THUS he
goes all day, hating when
his leader halts, steadfast, obedient,
Almost tireless. doing his work if
need be on scant food. too busy to
exhibit the vicious traits with which
the tenderfoot imagination has i'm
vested him He comes of an ancestry
accustomed TO short fare and bred tc
hardness from the fact that the
weaklings OF the race have perished
The consequence is that the bronco
is tough, strong for his size, endur-
/ inc moro than halter hred horeas