linguistic:paraphrasing
Tercio de Varas

The bull is released into the ring, where he is tested for ferocity by the matador and banderilleros with the magenta and gold capote ("cape"). This is the first stage, the tercio de varas ("the lancing third"). The matador confronts the bull with the capote, performing a series of passes and observing the behavior and quirks of the bull.

Next, a picador enters the arena on horseback armed with a vara (lance). To protect the horse from the bull's horns, the animal wears a protective, padded covering called peto. Prior to 1930, the horses did not wear any protection. Often the bull would disembowel the horse during this stage. Until the use of protection was instituted, the number of horses killed during a fiesta generally exceeded the number of bulls killed.

At this point, the picador stabs just behind the morrillo, a mound of muscle on the fighting bull's neck, weakening the neck muscles and leading to the animal's first loss of blood. The manner in which the bull charges the horse provides important clues to the matador about the bull such as which horn the bull favors. As a result of the injury and also the fatigue of striving to injure the armoured heavy horse, the bull holds its head and horns slightly lower during the following stages of the fight. This ultimately enables the matador to perform the killing thrust later in the performance. The encounter with the picador often fundamentally changes the behavior of a bull; distracted and unengaging bulls will become more focused and stay on a single target instead of charging at everything that moves, conserving their diminished energy reserves.