On the way home from the team roping tonight, my husband and
I got to talking about some of the animals we’ve been fortunate to own. He’s so
excited about the new colt we bought last year. Snake River Blues, aka Louie,
The discussion brought to mind a quote from Doc on the old
TV program, Gunsmoke. Every man is
entitled to three things in life--one good dog, one good horse and one good
woman. Here’s the link if you still watch Gunsmoke like I do.
It’s true. If you’re lucky enough to get one good dog, count
yourself lucky indeed. We’ve had lots of dogs on the ranch, but Cindy, a red
Australian Shepherd, was the best by far. She seemed to know what needed to be
done before we asked her. And she was uncanny in her judgement of people. It’s
been five years since she passed, and I still miss her.
We’ve trained barrel racing and team roping horses for years,
and all horses are not created equal. You can make a nice horse out of almost
any critter, but great horses are born, not made. Olive, aka Suzies Last
Flight, was the best barrel horse I ever swung a leg over. She made me look
like a better horseman than I was. Big Al was one of the toughest horses we
ever trained. He was six years old when we bought him and had only been ridden
a few times. By the time he was ten, he was one of the best head horses around.
Now we have Louie, a pretty blue roan paint gelding who is excelling in both barrel racing and team roping. Although he’s
still young, he learns so fast and is extremely athletic. We both think he’s the
nicest young horse we’ve ever had. He makes riding and training fun.
And now we come to the good woman part of the video. Guess
who that is? We celebrated our forty-seventh anniversary this year. It hasn’t
always been easy, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
I told my cowboy he’s the luckiest of all. With me on his
side, he’s had all three.
Have you had a good dog, good horse or a good man or woman?
Or have you been lucky enough, like me, to have all three?
3 comments:
Stephanie, Great quote! My one good horse was when I was a teenager. Junebug came to us as a four year old. My older brother only spent a couple of months training her and I was up on her back and we were inseparable until I graduated from high school. Unfortunately as soon as I left home my dad sold her. She never balked, never gave me a bit of trouble, and was a pleasure to ride. I haven't found another like her since. We've been blessed with two good dogs. A small border collie who had a limp and the man told my husband he was going to knock her in the head if someone didn't take her. My husband did and she grew out of the limp and was a smarter cattle herder than either of us. She taught us the nuances of herding. She didn't have a mean bone in her, she didn't bark, and she only had to be told something once and she knew it the next time. We miss Boots even though she's been gone nearly 5 years. My little dog Tink, is another good dog. She is intuitive, doesn't get into anything, and a quick learner. My husband is a keeper. He learned early on if I wasn't writing I wasn't happy and he made sure I was able to write. There hasn't been a time in our marriage that he hasn't tried his hardest to make me happy.
We has an Australian Shepherd, Zoe, on the dairy and she brought in the cows to milk. All we had to say was bring them, Zoe, and away she went. Woe to the cow that didn’t go where Zoe wanted her to. Perfect working dog that handle 80+ Jersey cows with ease. I loved her so much!
Two good horses--Penny, a barrel horse, and Stang, a mustang for hillclimbing. Pinky was an awesome dog and even had a Lassie moment when she saved my grandpa's life. And my husband is definitely a keeper, 35 years in October.
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