Bullfight on Horseback April 17, 2013

Posted by cantueso in bullfight, Spain.
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The bull is fought by a rider on horseback.

The horse is a daredevil beauty worth a fortune.

The horses are trained to dance and swivel in front of the bull, letting him get nearer and nearer to their beautiful behinds, tease him …. and yet accidents are rare.

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Saluting,  enhanced by not so very discreet advertising, for this is Ciudad Acuña, Mexico.

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Parading.

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Full speed while putting in the banderillas, the “little flags”.

(Speed lessens the danger. The bull becomes more dangerous or more thoughtful when he slows down)

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This could be Madrid. The rider is placing a banderilla, with the bull at full speed.

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Doesn’t it look like the horse hasn’t got a chance?

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Joao Moura training at his farm. The photo is from his web page, formerly  at http://www.joaomourajr.com/campo.html.

If you look closely, on the left of the picture you see the bull’s horn.

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Joao Moura at home and in the ring. His father was a famous rejoneador, too.

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Moura challenging the bull. The horse cooperates by waving its tail in front of the bull’s nose.

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Moura training a horse. The man watching him at the back could be his father.

All the photos are from Moura’s former web at http://www.joaomourajr.com/corridas.html

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Fighting the bull on horseback is expensive and rare.

Don’t mix it up with that scene that you watch in the first part of a corrida :

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In the beginning of the fight an old horse is brought in all covered with heavy blankets. The bull is expected to charge that horse full force, while the picador drives a very big pole into the bull’s neck.

The idea is to lower the bull’s head.

In the past there were several horses and they were not protected : the bull was allowed to tear them up one by one to tire him out.

However, now, with all those covers protecting him, the same old horse can be used again and again, never mind his awful fear and anticipation.

The wounds and the cruelty have become less visible.

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So since Goya’s time the bullfight has changed very much.

Hornwounds are as painful, but much less dangerous now, and so there is more playing around with the bull and less drama in the kill, and the bullfight would look more “humane”, but  may  have become  more cruel.

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the large red and gold cloth used in a fight is called a capote, a cape.

the much smaller red cloth is called a muleta, more dangerous to use than the capote.

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http://www.joaomourajr.com/quadra.html

This is  Moura’s stable. There are 19 horses, and  they are specialized. Notice that to kill the bull there are only two horses.

And of course there are drawings:

and paintings

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