Cowboy Up! by H. Alan Day lynn wiese sneyd
Author:H. Alan Day, lynn wiese sneyd
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-11-02T00:00:00+00:00
CHAPTER 17
TWISTER AND THE PRICKLY PEAR
T wister caught my eye when he was quite young. A combination of red, blue, and dun roan, he was a handsome horse with a nicely shaped head and a pleasant attitude. One of the Lazy B cowboys named him Twister. At the time, I didn’t know why. When we went to break him, Twister proved to be gentle and displayed an eagerness to work cattle, so I chose him for my string. The problem was that I didn’t have the time to train him to be the extraordinary cutting horse I thought he could be. I did, however, know a trainer who could possibly put a shine on Twister’s emerging ability. Terri agreed to help, so I loaded Twister in the trailer and dropped him off for some advanced schooling with his new teacher.
About four months later, Terri called. “I think it’s time for you to come get your horse,” she said. When I arrived, she gave me the full report.
“He’s a good solid horse, a fine ride, and he sure does act like he wants to cut cattle. But Al, I just don’t think he has that innate sense of knowing when to move to make the cut. I tried again and again to get him in the right place. If I didn’t deliberately spur him and point him at the exact cow to be cut, it wasn’t going to happen.”
A good cutting horse knows exactly where to go and when to move without being told. Twister couldn’t figure out those two essentials. So much for calling this one right.
“It doesn’t mean he’s a failure,” said Terri. “You know as well as I do he’ll make a fine ranch horse.”
I petted Twister’s nose and told him it was okay. He had given it a good try. He hung his head a little sheepishly, but gave me a quick nuzzle. I decided he could stay in my string. I’d start him off with easy days and figure out what he could and couldn’t handle.
I chose to ride Twister the day Miles Brown visited Lazy B. Miles, the Bureau of Land Management range conservationist for our ranch, had a college degree but lacked hands-on experience. I had taken it upon myself during the past months to let Miles see some things and have some experiences he might not otherwise have had. I suggested we load our horses in the trailer and drive the hour out to Horseshoe Mountain. I wanted to check the grass and natural water catchment on top of one of the mesas. If the recent monsoon had filled the catchment with sufficient water, I would drive thirty head of heifers up there for the winter. Twister was still young, no more than four years old, but since Terri had ridden him quite a little, he could probably handle the trek up the two-thousand-foot rise.
We arrived at our destination and saddled up. I took the lead along the narrow trail hugging the side of the mountain.
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