Not a week goes by that someone asks me, “do you know where I can find a good horse….one that won’t buck, shy, get cranky, hard to load, can hop on after 6 months in the pasture/barn/corral and won’t kick the horse next him….?” Yep, but he is not for sale. These horses are rarely sold, but if you know someone really well, they might give you one. A good working horse is hard to find. After many years, a very good friend gave us one – Scrambler. He was a big roan Tennessee Walker who could cover the miles in the rockiest back country all day long following big running field trial dogs in the worst weather – rain, mud or snow, didn’t matter. He then carried my young daughter for another five years before he retired to his last pasture. Scrambler was a working man’s horse.
We are lucky, there are now several horses in our pasture that you can throw a leg over after 6 months and they usually won’t buck. They still shy a bit at a rustle of the oak leaves when the wind blows, sure the boogie man or a rabid deer will jump out. Not quite as good as Scrambler, but close. It takes miles, years, experience or a little luck and breeding to find a working man’s horse. If you are fortunate during your lifetime of riding and horses, you might find one…
Captured with: nikon d700, 70-200mm @ Saunders’ Twin V Ranch, Weatherford, Texas.
