Buckaroo John's Blog

I remember one really wet winter we had, where unless you had a covered arena, no one was riding. Once we had a few sunny days I happily went out to my trailer, where I stored my saddle and tack, eager to throw a leg over my mud clad gelding. However, much to my horror, when I opened the tack room door, my saddle and bridle were covered in mold.  Seeing my beautiful saddle and bridle covered in a layer of mold was devastating. However, it doesn't mean that your gear is ruined! While we don't seem to have any...

Whether you are a cowgirl of today or a cowgirl from the Old West, making a fashion statement has always been apart of the cowgirl style. A traditional cowgirl outfit from the old west consisted of a pair of gauntlets, a short skirt, tall lace up boots, and a red scarf. The sash was probably a style adopted from Charlie Russell who, inspired by the vaquero costume, always wore a red sash. One famous cowgirl, Prairie Rose Henderson wore ostrich plumes over her bloomers and a blouse covered with bright sequins.     The cowgirl riding gauntlets came in a wide variety...

The Problem Winter weather is no friend to leather, especially polluted rainwater. Microscopically, leather is made up of collagen fibers. During tanning, hides are soaked in chemicals to prevent its fibers and their bonds from decomposing. Natural fats and oils are tumbled with the hides to keep the protein bonds from drying out and to make the leather supple.Protein bonds must be lubricated and kept supple, this is the key to long lasting leather. If the bonds dry out completely, they shrink, become brittle and break. Once broken, they are permanently weakened. Soaking leather in oil may make it supple...

1. Start with the feel of the leather: Is the leather soft and supple? You want to avoid purchasing tack that feels dry because the quality will be subpar. If you bend the leather and you see it starting to crack, it is useless and may become very dangerous when riding. It should be bendable, soft and not stiff. Even if it has not been oiled, tack should still stay supple. However, when buying new tack, if the leather feels overly soft then this is not good either. This sort of tack has had too much oil applied and is...

Happy Halloween! We always enjoy seeing the creativity (and brokenness of horse!) that goes into these costumes. Here a few fun and scary ones! First we have a vintage photograph of horses and riders in skeleton costumes, making me firmly believe that Halloween in the past was far more creepy than it is nowadays!   This is Incredible!!    This is terrifying. A Nazgul from Lord of the Rings.    Dragons and fairies DO exist! PS can we appreciate that paint job?   The evil Cruella de Vil, just missing the other 100 Dalmatians.   Personally, I LOVE this one!  ...