A Great Horse Will Change Your Life
A Great Horse Will Change Your Life
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Every working cattle ranch needs a good cow horse to get the job done.
Over the years, our ranch had the fortune of working with Buck, Red, Joe, Dixie, Dolly, Gamble, Paint, Target, Slim, and then along came Peanut.
He was a pint-sized package as little as his name, but perfect for our 10-year-old to learn the ropes.
He'd been well trained as a cutting horse from a fancy stable in Oregon, so you can imagine our surprise when it turned out he was scared of cows!
Whether it was the curious baby calves who ran up to him, the mama cows that crowded him, or the bull that must have felt ten sizes too big, he wasn't having any of it.
On a cattle ranch, the best horses are usually the ones who meet the challenge of herding cattle like it's playtime. They'd spend every waking minute doing it if they could.
But in storytelling, the best characters are always the ones you remember long after the story is over.
And Peanut is definitely a horse to remember.
Overcoming his fears took time and patience
Overcoming his fears took time and patience
Thankfully the kids were in 4H, so working on Peanut's anxiety was a perfect way for them to learn together.
But who knew horses could be scared of their own reflection, or a shadow, a large rock, a flag in the wind, literally anything they'd not seen before. Or, while their left eye might be fine with it, their right eye definitely was not!
The writer in me watched closely those first years as Peanut overcame his fears, and finally became the cow horse we always knew he could be.
Enter his good buddy, Slim
Enter his good buddy, Slim
Slim was older, a been there done that horse. What they call bomb-proof in the horse community. Prior to us he'd been used in feed lots, roped off of, shot off of, and if that didn't prepare him for life, he became our daughter's first ranch horse.
Slim not only taught her the ropes, but the writer in me knew his calm nature could also help Peanut. They became good buddies, and before long Peanut was ready for his first cattle drive.
They say that a great horse will change your life,
They say that a great horse will change your life,
but the truly special ones define in.
but the truly special ones define in.
When I look back over the years my kids have spent in the saddle; the horse clinics, 4H shows, fairs, and grand champion ribbons, the days I will remember most are the simple ones spent on the ranch.
Spring mornings checking pastures, afternoons when the kids saddled up and headed out together, and evenings spent on the trail.
Many memories were made on the back of a horse, and now that the kids are getting older and heading into the world themselves, I hope Peanut taught them just a little about overcoming their own fears along the way.
And most of all, I hope all those days spent in the saddle
And most of all, I hope all those days spent in the saddle
are the memories that stay.
are the memories that stay.
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