New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-10-06
TRAINING POLO PONIES.
HOW THEY ARE TAUGHT TO CHASE THE
BALL.
TRAINERS HAVE TO BE EXPERT. AND THEIR
WORK Is OFTEN FRAUGHT
WITH PERIL.

WITH PERIL
To those who watched the recent polo games at
Prospect Park between the Boston and RocKaway
teams the clevsrness and enthusiasm dispiayeu ny
the ponies in following the bal and aiding tneir
riders have proved Almost as lhtereS''"s 90
the game Itself These ponies are taken from
among the widest and most intractable oroncos
which the West produces. The wilder the horse
originally the better polo pony he makes, as a rue'
because he Is likely to possess consiuerape "'e
and dash. besides plenty of endurance-thlhss al
important in polo. To change wild Duchlhs' o'
ing bronco into a tractabe polo pony obedient to
the ghtest hint Of his rider Is undertaking re-
ouiring consido rabIe skill and frauGht with not
little danger The preliminary breaking In Is similar
TO the method employed in training an ordinary co"
pony Most OF the ponies Used In polo come from
Texas and are broken In before being shipped Fast
san Antonio and Houston Tex, are the principal
markets where broken ponies may be purchased.
Before breaking pony Is worth SD or So put "hen
perfectly trained ne will easily bring 500 or SS"
The large ranchmen have a roundup every year.
and pick out the promising-looking horses Which
are then turned to the trainers TncKset'
chunky animals chosen for poo as being peter
abe to stand the extremely hard work which Is re-
aured Of the ponies In good. stin POLO game Inc
trainers get s. a head for breaking in the ponies
and they earn IT before they get through Tne
trainer selects horse and assoes't throwing II 10
the ground IL very unruy. He then puts on a rope
bride and halter. known a hackamore Inc
hackamore consists of a combination of slipknots
and c.ose bitches. which can be tied with one hand
The other hand Is occupied with holding the anil
mails nose One part Of the hackamore goes
around the nose, acting as a bride ana bit WINE
the rope going around the neck OF the horse IL USED
a bride rein. The hackamore. though simple IN
operation IL almost impossible to describe. owing
to the nricacy Of the knots and the TACT tnat IL
bears no resemblance to any bride or halter used
In the East AZ soon the hackamore Is ad-
tusted a sliding binder is attached to the point OF
the bride which completely b,ndfolds the animal
Ii consists Of a broad flap Of leather which slides up
and down the ropes OF the hackamore. When
wild horse is blndfo.ded he is afraid TO move, ana
stands trembling with fear The heavy saddle
weighing some fifty or sixty pounds. is then put on
and grthed up tight There is not buckle in the
whole outfit everything being done with knots. and
only one hand being required to tie them AS soon
a. the saddle is adjusted the trainer leaps OH the
animals back and leaning over. pulls up the
binder This is where the rider begins to earn his
money
TRYING TO DIsLODGE THE RIDER.
The instant the horse can in front OF him he
IS off ike fash kicking. biting. screaming and do
ing al he knows how to dislodge his rider First
he dashes the eft. then to the right, his head
down between his front ,egs and his heels knock
Ing large hoes in the atmosphere. Then he varies
the performance by bucking or Jumping straight up
sim az ,okers hitting the ground with jolt that
almost lars the Ife out OF his rider He will do this
five six times In succession. then stand up on MS
hind legs then on his fore legs ali the time biting,
kicking and screaming with fury. 1t IL Impossible
TO exaggerate the performance OF a really Wild
bronco mounted for the first time. for his antics
almost defy description. When all these tactics
fai some ponies try the only thing by which the
trainers sometimes get hurt. or even killed After
vigorous round OF buckIng the vicious little animal
like lightning filings himself on the ground and rolls
over and The on.y thing the trainer can do
10 to slide off quickly ne can. before the ami
nal has time TO roll over, and when the horse gets
I'D II is only to find the hated rider again on his
back. little Of this Bort oi thing soon tires out
the pony and he gradually becomes more and more
tractable. When he becomes in measure docile-
a COW pony can be- called really doce-the
hackamore Is taken off an, Spanish bit substitute
ed This bit is somewhat like curb. but has no
curb chain and is made OF twisted rawhidc. 1t Is a
very bit, and effectuaily checks any IN
subordlnaton the part OF the stubborn little
beast Most good polo ponies are trained to follow
cattle and allow their riders 10 use the lasso from
their backs. Nothing teaches pony quckness and
Obedience better than be used for little while in
what is called cutting our cattle. AS the
lasso il thrown they will plant their feet In the
ground and pull for all they are worth. The cattle
soon learn to fear them sheep do dog for they
will bite the when rounding them up just as a
n
drove full second before their riders and be after
1t like a fash When they become completely under
control and will to the pressure OF the
hand on their necks the trainer takes polo stick
out with him and teaches them to chase a ball IN
the same way that they would COW. very big
ball is used, and the sasacious little animals soon
learn to follow the ball like lighting wherever
1t goes. They usually taught three gaits. the
lope the 'singlefoot and the gaiop The single
foot gait is taught by just forcing them of pace
just pacing is taught by forcing horse off fast
IN A TRIAL POLO GAME
Wher the ponies are proficient they put to-
gether in a sort OF rough polo game and taught to
chase the ball without paying attention to one
another This is no easy task, because when a
pony finds another close beside him and after the
same bali mis- first instinct is to bite him, and
ne can be relied upon to make a frst-class
attempt at il. When lot of ponies punched
the riders likely 10 get their legs severely torn
the little animals snap az each other They put
their ears back and snap just like dog. and unless
a rider watches mis- mount closely his neighbor is
likely to get severe bite As soon az these vicious
biting tendencies overcome, the animals are
ready for shipment trained polo ponies It takes
four or five months to tram them thoroughly' PUT
when perfectly trained they are marvelousiy ODE
dent to the slightest pressure OF the hand OF the
times show the absolute control that he has over his
sure-fooed little steed by galloP.ng full speed tow
ART a precipice When perllousy near the edge he
will wheel the pony around 50 close TO the edge
thai one step more would mean the death OF ANNA
and rider. This Is one OF the chef REQUIREMENTS IN
polo pony. perfect obedience TO his riders VIII
ln.ess his mount Is under compete control polo
player could never hit the small ball with any pre-
cison, IL indeed he could hit IL at all.
Polo is not played in NewYOrk to the extent II
was. and the game has langulshed somewhat
for the last few years all over the country. Eng
land IS still the great market for polo ponies which
broken partially broken before shipment. and
their training completed on the other side First
class ponies which have proved their intelligence
and obedience in many games bring astonishing
prices in England. At a recent sale In London one
POLO pony. renowned for his cleverness and en-
durance. brought so under the hammer. This is
an exceptional price. but $500 and 500 are not un-
commonly paid for first-class animals.
STEVENS FRATERNITY MEN DEFEATED