Some horses just jump around, winking at bucking, and some of them will do the crow hop business, but Ben Haddock's old bay horse really can buck!
We were all down at the creek and ready to head out to gather the cows for Ben's sale. He was finally ready to move to the west coast where heat and snow were not a factor in his golf game. We were told to be there at daylight and we were, five of us. We knew the place was deep hollows and hills, so we were all dreading the gather. Ben showed with a big bay horse that looked like he was sure enough snaky, whites of his eyes showing and sorta snorting at all the horses.
We howdy-ed and visited for a few minutes as we unloaded and saddled up, laughing at each other as we hobbled around. All of us older cowboys are getting to the age of stiff joints and bad knees. Ben tied old Bugger, my name, not Ben's, to the trailer and proceeded to saddle him, jerked the cinch tight and then gave it another jerk.
I was not watching very close because I was swatting mosquitoes and slapping them off Snip's neck too. Then I heard the scuffle and looked. Ben was on and then about a foot of daylight was showing between his seat and the cantle. That old bay was about 1,800 pounds of tornado, and Ben was sorta hanging on for the ride. I yelled for him to jump, but I guess he didn't hear me because he was pulling leather for dear life. The other five horses were dead set on getting out of the line of fire, so a big set to was on.
I suspect a nice roll of skin was pulled up and pinched as the girt was pulled tight. I was aware Ben did not untrack the Bugger and so, when he stepped on, the pinch became the trigger for the show. The first five bucks came so fast that it was hard to follow, but the sixth one was the deliverer of man to earth! Ben landed on his head, keeping his ankles safe from sprains I suppose; and the bay hit the creek with stirrups slapping his side, at a dead run.
It took a few seconds for all of us to settle our mounts down, and then we got to Ben to check him. He was starry eyed for a few minutes and then announced that he was plumb blind the first few jumps! None the worse for the dump, Ben was laughing by the time he could stand up; and the rest of us were relieved he was not broken.
It is my opinion, and everyone has one, haste makes waste! I wasn't the first person to think of that, but it sure makes sense. You can be too hasty getting married, joining the service, buying a car, leaving home or slapping a bigger man. You can also be too hasty saddling a horse, especially a snorter. My best advice is to always -- I mean every time -- step back and think about it for a time. A 60-second minute isn't gonna make a big difference in the long run, but might save a bunch of pain! And always untrack before you step on a horse!
Bill is the pen name used by the Gravette-area author of this weekly column. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 08/09/2017