It's one reason I've been coming along so slow... outside of having to wait on the pen to work 'em in. Yup, I've worked 'em just as if those saddles hadn't ever happened. Started pretty much right from scratch.
Buuuut... today, with a bright Arizona sun shining I took a deep breath and not tee total sure just how she was gonna accept the insult, I hung my kak on her.
I was suckin' a bit of wind as I pulled that cinch, half expectin' her to bust in two and turn my day into a rodeo.
I can honestly say I was purty grateful that she took it all in stride like a champ. Not a hump. Not a squeal. Not a buck... She just stepped out quiet and calm. (This video is right directly after I pulled the cinch on her)
Now most likely the good day was due to the quality and willingness of this filly... buuuut... I like to tell myself that part of it came from an old buster having half an idea of what he was about!
CJ... when it's his turn isn't going to be so easy I'm thinkin'. It's gonna take a mite more effort at thinkin' with him... but Miss Cora is tunin' me up right smart for that job!
Takin' my time has been my plan all along with this pair. I'd like to be a lot farther along but, I'm kinda bringin' myself back a mite as I'm bringin' them up... so, small little steps is the best option. That-a-way I don't get them stressed out too far... which might could end up puttin' a fresh dent in my over dented hide.
That's also the way I go about colts. Slow and easy. I'm in no hurry and it most often provides for a "more harmonious outcome."
Most every time you get a colt to buck, it's because you tried to push it too far too fast. Give 'em time to sort things out, especially the foundation bred like these colts and most of the time you can avoid the scraps all together.
... and those that do come along generally don't turn out to be much of a thing.
Kinda like that gettin' my nose drug in the dirt a few weeks back 'cause I tried to push things without having the proper set up... I learnt that lesson quick and proper! I might coulda got around it 35 years or so ago... these days... using the thing between my ears most usually works out better than trying to be a tough rooster...
... I'm thinkin' the crowin' days have passed on by... now's the time to use those quieter tricks the old cowboys taught me.
Yeah... just in time for the four or five days of rain predicted for next week... kurrr-wrap!
Well... at least when that stops I'll have her ready to maybe swing a leg on! and THAT... will be a good thing for the attitude that takes me so much effort to maintain in any sort of a way that could be described as positive!
Between the generator being unwilling to start on these cold mornings... which that GOL DURNED AL Promised were in the past what with the earth turning into an oven and all! ... my pipes all too frequently freezing up at night, the rinky dink batteries on this rig unable to get through a night, and that Bat shit crazy dog maybe breakin' his foot...
... It just might be a good thing for people around... that I stay parked out in the desert by my lonesome... they tend to stay happier that-a-way!
Onliest thing I know is... when I walk out of that pen after a good workout with one of these colts I feel good. I feel right... and I feel stupid for ever leaving them behind... and at least for those few moments when it's just me and that colt... all the shit-storm that seems to keep itself stirred up around me fades away... and all the struggle is worth every scar.
- Brian
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