Again, as with the events preceeding this, the removal of the lifeless bull rarely went as planned. It is not easy to drag the deadweight of an adult bull across dirt, even for a strong horse. The horse usually gave up just before reaching the exit, and once it has lost its momentum, it can't get started again. Each time it tries, it jerks viciously at the bull's head.
So the harness is detached from the trailer, and the horse is circled back around to regain momentum and be reattached to the bull in stride. Sometimes even this process had to be repeated more than once. Nothing flowed smoothly.
The greatest cheers of the afteroon came when the stubborn horse would finally get the bull out of the plaza.
So what happens once the bull is out of the ring? Well, it is dragged to the stables located immediately outside, and left in the blood-stains of the previous bulls, next to the butchery. A man then slits the bull's throat with a large knife, and stands on the bull to speed the draining of the blood.
A closer view of the previous photo.
When I saw this happen, I saw a random young man of about 20 years place a plastic cup to the free-flowing blood of the bull's neck. He filled the 12-ounce glass to rim, then walked over to walls of the stable. He contemplated his actions for about 30 seconds, proceeded to drink down the cup of warm blood (or perhaps already cold), then walked away without recognition from anyone.
I would later learn that this too, is a tradition. It is a sort of voluntary passage into a certain sector of manhood, which anyone nearby can do if he pleases.
