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Barb Shuler
A Cowboy is only half a man, the other half is his horse.
~ Unknown
1
Daniel
I triple checked my saddle since this beast of a horse was known for bucking a rider off since he wasn’t fully broken yet. The agreement I had with Mr. McCall was, if I stayed on, he would be mine.
I loved a good challenge. What’s the worst that could happen?
Never mind, let’s not bring that up.
“Are you sure about this?”
I looked over at my brother and grinned. “Yep. This one will be mine today. Cody’s already said he would help me with him.”
“You know I’m going to get blamed if you get your fool neck broken.”
“Jon, chill, man. I know what I’m doing. I just have to show him he can trust me. Just like with any other horse.” As I tried to convince him that I had this, the horse jerked his head up and down. The foot stomping came next, and I eyed my brother. “Your negative thoughts are unhinging him. Go wait outside.”
“Yeah, it’s me that has him unhinged. Sure.” He gave up and went back out of the barn. I gave myself a moment to calm my breathing and patted the horse's neck. I let my hands roam over his shoulder, getting a good feel for him. I could always read a horse. Pops used to say it was something I got from my grandpa. My fingers ran down each leg; he let me lift them with zero apprehension.
That was a good sign. I gave him one good scratch behind his ear before giving the lead a gentle tug. “Come on, big guy, let’s go show these fools a thing or two, shall we?” I clicked my tongue, and he followed alongside me.
This horse, Inferno, was reported to have a great disposition until you got your butt in the saddle, then he turned into a raging monster. Bucking, kicking his back legs. A lot of times that was the rider's fault. If you let your apprehensions, fear, whatever you’re feeling radiate into your horse, then they would react. Their cockiness too.
A Stetson and Skoal can in your back pocket does not a cowboy make.
And let’s just say a thoroughbred that stands seventeen hands high wasn’t anything to sneeze at. If you’re not used to a boy this size, you're going to be apprehensive.
Good energy means you and the horse could stay calm. I hoped this would be the case today. A horse wasn’t good if no one could ride them.
I walked silently to the big training ring that was surrounded with ranch hands. Some from the McCall ranch, some from ours. Pops stood by the gate; his gaze went from me to the horse, and he nodded. I knew he was worried; I saw that wrinkle between his eyes. But I had this.
Tater, Jon, and Abe stood behind him along with Cody, who was the ranch’s number one when it came to breaking horses. I sure hoped all the training time we had, me watching him for years…let’s just say, if I failed at this today, I’d never live it down.
Grinning, I stepped into the ring and walked him around, letting the horse get a good look at the naysayers that watched us.
“You’ve got this, Daniel. Remember to breathe, become one with him,” Cody called out.
I took my time, letting the horse get used to the people and noise around us. I reached up, taking his mane in one hand and the saddle horn in the other as I pushed off the ground. Before I settled my ass in the saddle, I let him adjust to the weight on his back. The second I settled my full weight into the saddle, he was bucking and kicking. I kept a tight grip on the reins and used my other hand to hold onto the back of the saddle. This kept me in the saddle and showed him I wasn’t going anywhere. Just like Cody taught me.
Some of the guys around the ring started to cheer and whistle. It’s like they’d never seen someone on a wild horse before. It took a good minute for him to stop bucking forward, like he was diving in a pool, and stomping to get pissed enough to start running around the ring. I didn’t let go of that saddle though. Oh no, I'd seen Cody do this enough, so I knew better. They’d wait for you to get confident then sling you off like a rock in a slingshot.
“Atta boy, Danny!” I heard Cody over everyone else.
Chuckling, I slowed Inferno, letting him calm down. We trotted, his gait was smooth until he came to a stop, head shaking as he flicked his tail back and forth. He was probably a little mad that I had stayed on.
“See, boy, that wasn’t so bad. You want to run a bit?” I scratched at his ear. He shook himself and once I felt him release the air he was holding, I nodded to the gate. “Let me take him for a real run.”
“Boy, don’t get too cocky there. He’s gonna toss you the first chance he gets,” one of the McCall boys hollered.
“Just ‘cause you can’t stay on, doesn’t mean I can’t,” I called back, scowling.
I really hated the fact that grown ass people couldn’t take being shown up by a ‘kid.’ Though I’d passed being a kid years ago. I may be twenty, but I paid attention, learned from watching the men around me. The way it should be.
