mount them it is always quietly and always with the same mouthpiece, so as to later go trying out which type is more comfortable for each mare. We always take our time and start swinging the mallet a little on the right side always. We enter the exercising pen with two or three others so that they begin to cross each other. And we always give them clear orders, which I think is the main thing. We break horses in at the age of three years.
Claudio Pérez
I began my experience with Gordo( Héctor) Barrantes, and then I went on to work at Ellerstina.
I believe that if we understand what the tamer does, one must try to go on his way. I love working with the horses, but I think that horses learn through repetition. And that is how I learned and we then went improving things. In time, break-in took its course and nowadays horses are tamer; I don’ t know whether it’ s easier.
I love working on them; I love swinging the mallet and using the exercising pen or small corral to work in, or ride off another horse and not let it get frightened, so that it becomes as docile as possible. That is my experience.
If you are handed a well tamed horse and later it doesn’ t work, the most likely reason is that the mistake is in this change. It is not all one to the horses, because if you get a horse that was broken in from a stable, the horse is quieter, whereas if it was broken in in the open field, it is a little less adaptable to changes and one must be a bit more patient.
I’ ve never had bad experiences with the tamers who have delivered their ponies to me. There are many polo ponies nowadays. At the place where I work, all the horses are given more time now. There was a time in which we had to hurry on the new ones and although they were great horses, they didn’ t get the opportunity to be in training for two years … as occurs today.
What I do think is a good thing is that from day one the horse starts playing polo. The problem centers on speed. I’ ve always had a very strong temperament when dealing with horses, but I would make them work out myself and then turned them over to people who played with a lighter hand. And in time I would catch them up again and play them more roughly.
Gastón Laulhe
I think young players today try to learn more about the horses before they start playing them. In my case when I receive a pony that’ s been broken in I work with the tamer during those first steps, during the months of January, February and March, and I think that by then they are ready to start playing more roughly. I take advantage of this time to float their molars and finish off the first stage so that they then go to rest with all they have learned.
Claudio In my case I wouldn’ t float their molars during the first stage because we receive most of them with a proper bit and try to continue with the same mouthpiece until we know them better. We float their upper molars properly and not the lower ones, so that during the second stage we may apply a gag. In my hands it wasn’ t very good for the horse if I handled it without gag.
Tomás There is something that the four of us are agreed upon, which is that at this stage the horse must not be too fat or too thin. We all consider this obvious, but I want to make this point clear. In my case, at La Aguada we come from a school that uses a Pelham mouthpiece which I like because I have a light hand and I like that the bit
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