Tag Archives: writing

Ropes go on, guns go off

In the book “Trails Plowed Under” Charlie Russell spoke of cowboy danger and said the two big dangers were ropes and guns. Ropes go on, Guns go off. It’s a great book that I need to read again.

I had a little time today before lunch and decided this would be a good time to get John Grady Cole, the nice young horse I’ve been working with used to roping something, and this Yearling colt named Jonny Ringo needed roped a little so it was a good opportunity to rope two horses with one reata (kill two birds with one stone).

I was happy with my pressure and how it went. I think they were both better when I finished than when I started and it should be good next time by the way they learned.

If there was to much fear and panic in either horse at any time, even if it ends up good, it never carries through as good as keeping them on the thinking side of the brain rather than the reacting side.

I should have done some with my right hand, but it was past dinner time and I was getting hungry. I’ll get it next time.

like ol’ Charlie said, it’s easy to get in a jackpot with a rope and horses. The worst is when the animal you have roped is going one direction and the horse your riding is stopped or heading the other direction. Things get tight quick. The important thing for safety is most always “ride to the wreck” as it will keep the rope from coming tight and make things very dangerous.

At first keep a lot of forward movement and try to keep your rope of the ground to keep your horse from stepping over it. There is nothing that says you can’t throw your rope and coils at the wreck and just start over.

There gets to be lots of things to see and thing about when doing this, but it’s great learning opportunity for you, your horse and what you have rope, if it’s all done right.

Do your animals like to see you come or fear it?

An animals or humans environment is what creates quality of life and productivity in the whole big picture of the world we all share.

When you create something that hinders an animal or human from choosing their own environment, like a fence, then you are in control of that animals environment and it becomes your responsibility.

In the human world when we really need to control someone we put a fence around them and call it prison. That person is now under control of the system. Many movies and books have been made on the horrors of prison. The Worden and guards can make it a very bad place because of the pressure they can put on the inmates because they can’t escape it.

In the Human world we also have vacations like a cruise ship and all inclusive packages that you stay in one “fence” for a certain amount of time and someone else creates your environment.

We went to and was part of the system for years at the “Home Ranch” a wonderful all inclusive environment in the western dude ranch tradition. The crew were experts at creating quality of life for one week of the quests life. The best food, facilities and activities you can imagine, plus a real caring and friendly atmosphere that everyone had the chance to feel real special and cared for.

You could say that the Colorado state prison and the Home Ranch are similar in housing people week after week. They both provide care and an environment for the people that are in the care of the staff of each.

The biggest difference is that one you are forced to be there and can’t leave and one you choose to be there and can leave if you don’t like it.

Our livestock are basically in our prison or our guest ranch and we are the “Worden’s” of the care and quality of life for these animals. The people that help us care for them are the “guards” and care givers to the livestock.

Depending on the attitude and knowledge of those of us that are in the care of the livestock is what makes the difference of prison or Guest ranch.

Be honest with yourself. Do you have a prison or a guest ranch?

Don’t throw the bucket at them!

I’ve been catching horses for a long time. When I was a kid we had lots of horses from killers to spoiled stuff. I had my pony “Pee Wee” and and we had a few saddle horses but most were trader horses to be sold. My Sister and I always got our horses in every morning to have available to ride all day. The horse pasture had a swamp in it and if the horses didn’t want to be caught it was not much fun as they would make you go through the swamp and creek and get your boots muddy. If you could get one caught then you could ride bareback with halter and get em run in, which sometimes got a little wild. Of course we had a vest and helmet.(don’t believe that)

We would take a coffee can of grain with us and wrap the halter and rope around us so they couldn’t see it. Lots of times they would let you get up to them, eat some oats and as soon as you went to the halter to get ready to catch one they would run off.

That’s when you threw the coffee can at them and went to chasing them to go across the swamp and into the corral.

Hard to catch horses are some of the most frustrating things in dealing with horses. I have come a long ways in my understanding and actually enjoy getting a sour to catch horse good.

So much of it depends on the type of pressure you put on your horse while using them. They either like to be with you or would rather be somewhere else. The latter means they might be a little on the hard to catch side.

Here’s some thoughts on how to present yourself. If I see someone that is good at catching a hard to catch horse in a way that the horse gets better instead of worse, then I a watching someone that understands stockmanship and horsemanship.