Columbus Day & Don E. Worcester on Wild Horses (Arizona and The West 1960)

 Salvete Omnes,

 

today we have quite a bit of the anniversary: 530years ago  on 12th of October 1492 Colon (American Columbus) and his three ships reached the New World.  The Columbian Exchange was started back then and continues to this day and age. 

First native people to independently  ride and perform horse husbandry were the Mapuche in Chile and  Chichimecos in northern Mexico in the second half of the 1500s. Indians of the present US territory started using horses for war and chase sometime in 1630s.
With the Spanish arrival on the American continents immediately some horses strayed from their herds and thus started the cimarron, bagual, mesteno herds aka wild horses or mustangs.

 

American historian and prolific writer Don (Donald) E. Worcester wrote this article on the wild horse - fact and fancy-   for Arizona and the West Journal in 1960 (vol 2, issue 2 ) accessible  via Archive.org :

vivat Columbus Dy and el Dia de la Raza - the Day of Sorrows for the native Amerindians.

Valete

Criollo and gaucho

 
Salvete Omnes,
a short summer entry -  the subject will be mostly several video links to the Argentine way of horses, that is their fabulous criollo horse and gaucho equestrian culture.
 


Argentina is still the horse country - the big fairs - eg Festival de Jesus Maria in the Cordoba province with the entry of the tropillas of fillies or castrated colts led by a gaucho astride a gelding and la Madrina(a bell mare) (or here in Buenos Aires) -  are held every year in various parts of the country, as different provinces have different gaucho costumes and differences in horse horse tack, including the saddles and saddle pads.

here - starting a colt  by the Centro de Domo el Potrero.
a little program on the Pampa Indians horse ways and its current application - Tehuelches, Ranqueles, Mapuches/Araucanos, and others of more northern regions of the pampa  etc.
Argentina is where the best polo horses are bred - and in this link we have an example of polo horse preparation - a young 3 yo filly after 6 months of training.
I hope to explore the primary sources related to the horses on the pamapas, the Pampa Indians, gauchos etc in the future.
In Chile, (where gauchos are called los huasos)
 
Uruguay,
 
Paraguay,
 
and Brazil criollo horses are bred and ridden, and in Brazil the province of Rio Grande do Sul is the most famous for the criollo horses.

Finally, a curiosity: los baguales - los cimarrones or the wild horses of the Tierra del Fuego and southern Patagonia of Chile and Argentina.
Valete
ps
while writing this entry I have been drinking a strong yerba mate  - saludos a todos
most of the links are in Spanish - ole!
ps' all images are from wiki commons