Part 2

More and more cow horses are being broken to ride by patience and gentleness. Today’s horse is rarely a wild mustang caught on the prairie and broken by a “buster.” Usually he is of special breeding, intended to develop him for his particular type of work.

The bucking horse, seen in rodeos, is trained to buck; many of them such as “Midnight” and “Five Minutes To Midnight” have become world-famous for their skill at throwing riders.

Usually bucking horses or “broncs” are part of a “string” provided for rodeo use. Many of these “wild” horses live to a ripe old age and have many peaceful years grazing in lush pastures long after their bucking days are over.

BULL DOGGING

This breathtaking feat consists of a dive from a horse at full gallop to the horns of a full-grown steer and throwing the animal by hand. One of the most dangerous stunts in the rodeo business, it also requires extraordinary strength and agility on the part of the cowboy. The bull dogger must stop the animal and “twist him down” so that all four feet are off the ground on the side in which the head is pointed. The record time for this event is three and two-fifths seconds.

Bull dogging is purely an exhibition trick, but it has developed into a regular rodeo event, with many outstanding bull doggers contesting for the large prize money offered for it.

BAREBACK BRONC RIDING

Actually, this is less dangerous than riding a bronc with a saddle, but more difficult to stay aboard.

Balance is all-important, since the cowboy is without benefit of stirrups or saddle and must depend upon his knees for controlling his position on the horse. One hand holds the halter and the other must swing free, never touching the horse.

Even the good bareback riders are often thrown, but the fall as a rule is “clean” and results only in the cowboy being thoroughly jarred.

BULL RIDING

This is an extreme test of balance and courage. Bull riders are usually “top hands” and represent the cream of fancy riders. Brahma bulls are ridden with only “bull rigging,” which consists of two ropes, one around the flank and one serving as a cinch with a bell to irritate and infuriate the animal. They are always unpredictable and hard to ride.

The Brahma bull’s skin is very loose, like that of a dog, and the rider must stay on by sheer balance. Oftentimes the bulls become mean and dangerous unless distracted by a man in the arena. A so-called “clown,” actually an expert at distracting the bulls, is a part of the rodeo performance, and it is he who prevents the animals from turning on thrown cowboys.

Adding to the excitement at these events is the fact that Brahmas can and do quite often leap an eight-foot fence.

MORE TRANQUIL MOMENTS

Not all of a cowboy’s life is rough, back-breaking work or exhibitions. There are long hours of pleasant sunshine and companionship with friends, including his “best friend,” his horse.

Moving the cattle to new pastures often brings long, leisurely rides beneath brilliant sunshine, over sage-scented prairie or along verdant trails amid the world’s most beautiful scenery. Large ranches now operate with plenty of help and many modern conveniences. Good food is essential to a cowboy’s health and happiness, and the wise rancher provides plenty of it. Comradeship and loyalty are predominant characteristics of ranch life, and few real cowboys would exchange it for any other way of life.

ALWAYS ... THE HORSE

The very existence of the cowboy revolves around his horse. Proudly he poses on him, for to be pictured without him would make the cowboy feel “naked.”

Ranch conversation is mostly of horses; horses do the work, provide the transportation and the amusement; horses cause many of the trials and sorrows. Thus the breeding of these intelligent animals is an ever-interesting, never-ending process.

Most popular among stockmen and cowboys today is the “quarter horse”; however, there is an increasing demand for horses of part Arabian blood which are the result of the breeding of purebred Arabian horses to the native stock. With only around 3500 living Arabs today, it is a lucky cowboy who gets to own or ride one. The Arabian blood brings to the cattle pony the spirit, the sturdiness, the courage and, above all, the great intelligence of the Arab, combined with the “stockiness” of the range animal ... priceless ingredients in the making of a fine cow horse. You’ll be particularly interested in the world-famous TRINIDAD ranch where these gentle Arabians are bred pure.

THE ARABIAN

From the hot desert sands of Arabia, the purebred Arab horse has brought us all of his beauty, affection, strength and glory. For over 4,000 years the Arab steed served the desert Bedouins in peace and war, ofttimes meaning the difference between life and death for his master. He lived in the tent of his owner, as a member of the family. In his noble heart this developed an affection unsurpassed.

Pasture land and water are very scarce in the desert country, but the Arab horse does not require the food and water of an ordinary horse—because of his small stomach. This was invaluable to the Bedouin, who then could travel for days on a fiery charger without sighting pasture or a water hole. Thus, the Arab has become known to us as “Drinker of the Wind.”

Although from this courageous lineage have descended all light breeds of horses known to the world today—the Thoroughbred, Standard Bred, American Saddle Horse, Morgan, and so on down the line ... still we cannot tell you the origin of the purebred Arab. That belongs to the dim and distant past. God gave him to us and is preserving this precious blood through the generous hearts of a handful of large breeders, mostly located in the United States.

Why the United States? Because, with the advent of the automobile in Arabia, the Bedouins learned they could travel faster and farther in “war cars” than by Arabian horses; so they discontinued the use of horses in warfare. This resulted in diminishing the breeding of pure Arabians in the desert. Then, during World War II, many of the large European Studs, which had been established from desert horses, were completely demolished.

To give you a word picture of the purebred Arab, the United States Department of Agriculture, in its bulletin, “Breeds of Light Horses,” has this to say:

“A typical Arabian horse has a wedge-shaped head; small nose; dish face; wide, deep jaws; eyes set low, wide apart, and near the middle of the head; a relatively large brain capacity; one less lumbar vertebra than most other horses, giving a short weight-carrying back; one or two less vertebrae in the tail, which is set up on a high croup and gaily carried; ribs spring wide and deep; large knee, hock, tendon and hoof; dense bone; small stomach capacity, with small feed requirements and the ability to assimilate rough feed; and a marked prepotency in the Stud.