How are criollos broken in?

criollocrazy

criollocrazy

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Jun 12, 2008
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I know that the culture in Argentina is very different from here and that the horses are not treated quite as gently as we would treat them but my farrier has told me in graphic detail how they break in their horses and it was quite horrific...I won't go into the details! Can anyone tell me if it is really as brutal as he made out??? My poor Pepi!!
 
Did you get him in from Argentina or a breeder near you?
I wouldn't doubt that they have some practices that we would consider questionable, but remember that stories grow w/each telling and it's probably not AS severe as you were told.
 
One thing we have always said, is that if a Criollo was broken really harshly, they would have issues with humans, all the Criollos I have met don't seem to have issues at all. They are very laid back & in general very relaxed & calm.:)
 
my mare Portenia who, in her late twenties, when I lost her last winter was very head shy and wary of humans. She had been a Polo pony until I had her 8 - 9 years previously. She had huge unsightly scars on her near hind and I had been led to believe that it had been caused when she was broken in in Argentina as a youngster. Apparently they tie a hind leg to the head collar and then beat them until they submit. This is only what I have been told and may not be true, although I have been told this by two separate people. Although she was nervous with strangers, she was fantastic to ride, calm and always willing to please.
 
Both Pepi and Soli came from Argentina...they are both head shy although Soli not so bad and Pepi is VERY wary of men...just makes me wonder.. One of my sisters' criollos also has issues with men BUT they are all so eager to please and take being messed around by small children completely in their strides...such gentle creatures in spite of whatever they might have been through!
 
Traditional Gaucho breaking involves tieing an unbroken\wild horse to a post and hitting it until it no longer reacts to the hits.

The horse is then broken mentally, still goes on today a lot, the culture is a different world to over here.

This is a pic of how they are tied to the post, this horse was not broken traditionaly but it still not the gentlest.

2zgum1s.jpg


A better explanation

The traditional horse breaking consists in tying up the colt to a post and hitting him. Frightened, the horse hits his head many times before giving in. Then, they cover his eyes, they saddle him up and ride him.
Click to expand...
 
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I worked with polo ponies in my distant youth.
It was well known then that many of the Argentenian ponies were " broken" using these methods.
I would have hoped that 20+ years on things would have changed:confused:
 
That's what my farrier said...tying their head to a post so that they couldn't move and beating them...also covering their eyes...I just can't imagine it!!!:confused:
 
Sadly it's not just criollos that are subject to this.

I know of a few people who halter break youngsters using the 'tie it up and hit it' method.

One of my fillies was halter broken this way; she still bears the scars, physical and mental, from such treatment.
 
pepitpassport.jpg
[/IMG]sorry, didn't mean to imply they're all like that...Pepito is covered in scars which made me wonder...was told they're from work with cattle but lots are where the saddle would've been...also possible from when he was wild but haven't seen another criollo with similar scars...will try to include picture from his passport taken at the time of his export...what do people think?
 
chev said:
Are you sure they're scars? They look like sabino markings...
Click to expand...

that was also my first thought....

in terms of 'breaking them in' argentine/gaucho style - yes - they do still do that and there is worse done too....
i used to work with argentines in the polo world and the stories they told me of how they break horses in used to make me so angry when i heard it...

then again - it is in their culture and how they have always done it - they see no harm in it - it was from my western 'fluffy' perspective that i found it so appauling. pls do not think i justify their cruelty because of their culture - i just understand that different cultures have different practices to ours - i still think it is unnecessary and cruel

all of the criollo ponies that came over were impecibly behaved for one reason only - fear. yes they did become trusting and eventually begin to show perseonalities etc but to begin with they acted only how they knew how to - from fear of humans.
 
How horrid. Why would tying something up and belting it make it good to ride?! How awful - really cannot understand why they do this.
 
Sadly these kind or barbaric practices go on in many countries in the world. However, as others have pointed out, bad apples etc.

take a look at this video, if this horse was trained to these methods then its a testament to the breeds forgiving nature to be able to work with humans who have treated them so badly. This guy really seems to care about this horse, looks like he is talking to him gently and kissing him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmXKHyY_2D0
 
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marieb said:
Sadly these kind or barbaric practices go on in many countries in the world. However, as others have pointed out, bad apples etc.

take a look at this video, if this horse was trained to these methods then its a testament to the breeds forgiving nature to be able to work with humans who have treated them so badly. This guy really seems to care about this horse, looks like he is talking to him gently and kissing him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmXKHyY_2D0
Click to expand...

it does seem a lovely horse - but this is where i am sceptical i'm afraid - i have see argies 'training' a horse to neck rein - and then go onto ride bridleless like this - notice how he holds his hand towards the head and click and the horse moves away from it - they start that reaction by hitting the horse on the head to get it to move away from their hand/stick - eventually they will move away as soon as they see the hand there....

yes there are 'good' non-violent gaucho's - but for me - all the ones i have met use these methods - as i said before - this is how they have done it for years and yes they do create quiet obidient horses from it.

i must say though - once the horse has 'learnt' from their methods they do not over use them - they teach the lessons hard - but usually only once from what i have seen. they are very quiet/caring around horses who are behaving/doing as taught.

i also do not doubt that they love their (favorite) horses - they just have a different views/method to us.

i do love criollo's and their nature - but i'm also sceptical that a horse can forgive - i think it can learn to trust again - but i don't think they have the ability to 'forgive' - that is a human emotion - not a horse one...
 
the white splodges on his belly look like sabino markings but the marks on his back, shoulder and neck are definitely scars although they are less visible now than in the passport photo
 
Rocha too has scars on her back where the saddle would have been across her spine though it doesn't seem to have affectted her physically or mentally in any way.

I'm not too sure what I think of the breaking in process - on the one hand, yes it is a lot more brutal than I would do to my own but horses are brutal to one another, they will keep kicking each other until one backs down and in a way this is all that is being done. And, as it obviously works so well for the gauchos, if it ain't broke don't fix it. Quite hard to express what I am thinking in words so not sure this is coming over how I want it to.
 
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