Evening star., 1925-07-19

Plains. If you've got real ornery,
man eating, bucking. striking, can't
be-rode animal of that kind. he's sure
worth a lot. and if he's worse than
that he's worth more.
Fact is, there's = 0 ,-e out looking
for them kind .Jonies, and they'll
give FROM a....ured on up for 'em.
They're tho ii,mbres who's responsi-
BILE for t ;e frontier day celebra-
ton, sc eos war bonnets, re
ur,, - and "round-ups," and they
uu ave mean horses, the meaner
II. tier They must have horses
that'll give the boys what's rode in
for the events q chance to show what
they can do, cause if the rider up"
gets a bronc that just crowhops, 1t
don't matter how easy he rides, or how
much he fans him and how loud the
crowd in the grandstdnd cheers and
hollers. the judges of who's the best
rider won't notice him. being he has
nothing hard to stick.
That's where a good, hard, mean,
bucl<ing horse is wanted. He's got to
have enough wickedness in him for
that cowboy to work on. I've seen
mighty good riders left out of the
prize money on account of the horse
they drew, just because that pony
wasn't mean enough; and that old boy
and fighting mad, blood in his eye,
and a-wishing something would blow
up under his bronc so he could show
the world and the judges what
wolverine he is on horse flesh.
Nobody gets credit for riding easy
in rocking chair. What the cowboy
wants is a head-fighting, limber-back
cross between creased lightning and
where it hits-a horse that1l call for
= a4 ,IYrY. oil CT 1eDfh n n mr.
equilibrium that cowboys got, just so
he can show his ability and scratch
both ways from the cfnch, as the
judges may direct. There's when
mean devil of horse is wanted. He
gets chance to show how mean he is
with free rein, and the cowboy has
something worth while TO work at.
I've known some great horses in
that game There was Long Toms
Hammerhead, Old Steamboat-that
last was great old pony, LOO pounds
of solid steel and action and a square
shooter. They say he never was rode,
but l know he has been rode to a
standstill. They was real riders that
did it, tho.
I figgered that horse was part hu-
man the way he'd feel out his rider.
He'd sometimes try him out on few
easy jumps just to see how he was
setting, and when he'd loosen up for
the last it's safe enough to say, when
that last would come and the dust
cleared, there'd most always be a tall,
lean, lanky, bow-legged cowboy pick
ing himself up and wondering how
many horses he'd seen in the last few
seconds I've seen Old Steamboat
throw his man with his head up and
four feet on the ground, but what
happened before he got in that peace
ful position was enough to jar a cent?
pede loose-and a humans only got
two legs.
A HORSE is not trained to buck, as
"A some folks think. Out there on
the open range he already knows how.
Sometimes the bronco-buster encour
ages him at it for either fun or prac-
tice for the next rodeo, and the bronc,
as a rule, is more than willing and
might keep on bucking every time he's
rode whether the rider wants him to
or not Close as | could figure 1T out,
the blame for originating the buck
ing, striking and biting in the West
ern horse goes a heap to the noun
tain lion and wolf-them two terrors
of the range mixed with instinct and
shook UP we'll with wild, free blood,
kinda allows for the range horses ac-
tions.
Them old ponies had lot to deal
with. The mountain lion was always
awaiting for 'em from his perch
where he could easy spring down on
his victim. He'd fall on their necks,
grab holt with front claws and teeth
foot or so from the ears, then swing
his hind quarters down with all his
strength and clamp his claws under
the horses jaw close to the chin, jerk
the ponys head up. and, if the cou
gar's aim was good. he'd break the
mustangs neck most as quick as he
lit.
wouldn't give two bits for
bronc what didn't buck when first
rode, cause I figgers it's their mettle
showing when they do. It's the right
spirit at the right time. Every horse
what bucks is not a outlaw, not by a
long shot. I've seen and rode many a
good old well broke COW horse what
had to have his buck out in the cold
mornings. just to kind of warm hisself
rp on the subject and settle down for
the work ahead.
The outlaw las some call him) he's
the horse that won't quit bucking and
fights harder every time he's saddled.
is Lis Qatrsa, and sometimes he's