Horses hold a special place in the hearts of those who live in the Maipo Valley. When cars aren’t available, or when goods need to go somewhere hard to access, horses are called upon. In my Spanish 3 class, we spent time learning about horse’s habits, needs, and how they are trained at the Astorga’s animal reserve. Below is an outline, in Spanish and English, of what we learned.
Horses are magnificent animals. They communicate with their body by moving their ears, tails, and heads. When their ears flatten on their heads, they are mad. They think that we, humans, are always mad because our ears are always on our heads. They have very good senses. They can see 500 meters and hear sounds from a kilometer away. Horses are emotional and intelligent animals. They can feel people’s fear. Interestingly, horses can’t throw up, so they are very susceptible to stomach diseases. For this reason, they eat very slowly and are very selective with what they eat. Horses sleep 3 hours everyday. The sleep standing up, and during the daytime. The can sleep for just minutes at a time. Horses forgive people who hurt them (which is why “breaking” horses by force is a common practice). The “amanse rational” is a way to tame horses that is gaining popularity in Chile. It is a gentle, gradual process that teaches horses to trust humans over a matter of a few days. Stallions are called “potros.” And mares are called “yeguas.”
Caballos son animales magnificos. Se comunican a traves del cuerpo. Moviendo las orejas, la cola, y la cabeza. Cuando pegan las orejas a la cabeza es cuando estan enojados. Ellos piensan que nosotros los humanos, estamos siempre enojados porque tenemos las orejas pegadas a la cabeza. Tienen muy buen olfato. Ven a quinientos metros y escuchan a un kilometro. Los caballos son animales emocionales e inteligentes. Sienten el miedo de las personas. Lo que es interesante de los caballos, es que no pueden vomitar, ellos mueren por colicos. Por esa razon, ellos comen muy lento y son muy selectivos con lo que comen. Los caballos duermen tres horas todos los dias. Ellos duermen parados durante el dia. Pueden dormir un minuto o dos minutos. Los caballos son animales que perdonan a las personas que les pegan. El amanse racional es una manera de domar al caballo, donde no le pegas, y se esta haciendo muy popular en el mundo. Stallions se les llama los potros, y mares se les llama a las yeguas.
(all photos courtesy of Carla Astorga)
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- Horses at the Maichin River
