Lore of the Mustang
Mexican mustangers of southern Texas and California stripped their horses of all equipment except a bridle, tied their ropes around their horses' necks, and "got amongst 'em". The Indians of the plains both snared and roped running mustangs, and the gauchos and Indians of South America swung bolos to trangle their feet. Mesteneros everywhere built pens and tried to drive whole bands in at once. The tricks of the trade were many and various.
Occasionally, a dummy man would be tied onto the back of a captive mustang, who would then be released to follow his companions. At the sight of him, the band would stampede, in turn stampeding all the bands in the area. After the horses had run until they were exhausted, the cowboys could pen at least some of them.
The method used most often to capture mustangs on the plains was called "walking down". Three or four riders would work in shifts, following a band of horses. The riders maintained a slow, steady pace, day and night, following until the horses were too exhausted to resist. This method seems to have originated with the American mustanger. The Plains Indians loved to rope running horses too much to enjouy this slow process.
Probably the most efficient, profitable, and sure way of catching mustangs was to drive them into a cleverly disguised pen. Like most ways of handling livestock on the open range, this technique came from Mexico.
