Vaquero Lingo

A real bridle horse should work with the feel of the rein on his neck. He should carry his head in a natural position, straight, and the top of it no higher than the horn of the saddle. When backing or stopping his head should drop down toward his chest, never come up as this shows poor bitting or rough reining. Above all, he should not open his mouth when either backing or turning. If he is properly trained he will develop a crest instead of throwing his head up. This is the most sought after attitude in horse-breaking and many trainers do not stop to analyze the bone and muscle structure of a horse enough to realize that it can be attained only by keeping his head down. To my mind the use of the hackamore followed by the spade bit is the best way to accomplish this.

A good horse should set down and slide to a stop. At the slightest touch of the rein he should pick up his front feet and pivot to either side. He should back freely. If he will do all these things well he can be shown as a well-reined stock horse. It does not pay to show a horse deficient in any of these points though he might take the “blue” as a trail horse.

For those who do not know the range country, it is often hard to understand the various styles of riding and methods of breaking. The California rider rides straight up with a long stirrup, while the plains rider often uses a short stirrup and sits back in the saddle. Custom is strong in different localities and customs are governed by conditions which often date back to early days. The “tie-hard-and-fast” saddle of Texas has its definite place, just as the “dally” saddle of California has its. The stock horse of Texas is trained in a different manner than the spade bit horse of California, yet they both do the same work and both have their good and bad points. Climate, geography and methods of running cattle are the reasons for these differences.

In the plains country, the cattle outfits were usually large and the work was done by hired cowboys. Consequently the shortest method to develop a horse was adopted. Riders were given strings of horses to use. These were collected off the range each spring and turned out to grass in the fall, only a few of the best horses being kept up the year round. In California, where the climate is mild, fewer horses were ridden by each vaquero and more time was spent in their breaking. Slower methods were adopted, and to my way of thinking, more thorough ones requiring more patience and skill. The reason for this was probably because the vaqueros either rode their own stock or that of the ranchero, whom they regarded as their feudal lord. Time was no object in their opinion so long as a good horse was turned out. With the hackamore spade bit method, very few horses can be finished in less than two years. He spends at least one year in the hackamore and another in taking the bit.

The idea that spade bits are cruel is an absurdity. A good spade bit horse requires no pressure in his mouth at all. Riders of other schools who ride or hang on their horse’s mouths would of course ruin a spade-bit horse in an hour. I have heard this type of rider called a “three-legged” rider, and I believe that is the best name for him.

This article was originally published in the July 1936 issue of Western Horseman.

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