Buckaroo John's Blog

I'm sure we've all read this before, but some days it just needs to be shared again! This was written by Patty Barnhart and originally published in The Arabian Horse World magazine in 1992. "When I am an old horsewoman
I shall wear turquoise and diamonds,
And a straw hat that doesn’t suit me
And I shall spend my social security on
white wine and carrots,
And sit in my alleyway of my barn
And listen to my horses breathe.

I will sneak out in the middle of a summer night
And ride the old bay gelding,
Across the moonstruck meadow
If my old bones will allow
And when people come...

The Lassos were used by Vaquero’s to hunt wild cattle. Until the late 18th century, the Vaquero tied the lariat to the horse’s tail. But the development of heavier, more substantial saddles changed this technique. Vaquero’s began wrapping the end of the rope around the horn of their heavy saddles. This wrapping technique called “Dar la Vuelta” ("take a turn" in Spanish) passed over to the American cowboys, who corrupted the Spanish term into “dally” or “dally welter." Vaquero’s and the cowboys who copied the practice could slip the rope against the saddle horn and gain leverage against a roped...

This week we head to Bishop, California for the famous Bishop Mule Days Celebration. There's something quite magical about Mule Days. It almost takes you back to a more simple time, where our lives were more connected to the animals around us. There is something about pulling into Bishop and seeing the snow capped Eastern Sierras rising up in the distance, as they themselves look down on the celebration of the mule.  Bishop Mule Days was first started in 1969 with a couple hundred attendees, and is now a major event for the small town off Route 395, welcoming over 30,000...

Well, I think I may speak for all of us in the West when I say we are more than ready for spring. Winter was ROUGH. Flooding in the lower elevation and a snow pack in the higher elevations that we haven't see for awhile. Rain, snow, ice, and now....MUD. Sigh. I am ready for the horses to slick out, to get in the back country and ride, although still trying to calculate how long it takes 50+ feet of snow to melt....? While we still have some more storm in the forecast, the weather has been leaning more towards spring, so with that...

Slobber straps and water loops, albeit small pieces of tack with odd names, have a purpose. Typically slobber straps are used on mecate reins, while water loops are used on split reins, both connecting the rein to the bit. When reins used to be made from braided rawhide, the slobber straps prevented those precious reins from getting wet while a horse drank water. They also add a little weight to lighter weighted reins, for a better feel between horse and rider.  Water loops are small, approximately the same width as the leather spilt reins they attach to. Slobber straps are...