The Chase Continued

Here we go again another episode of chasing wild horses.

This time we were in a area that we could not take the pickups so we were using horses instead. Real wild west stuff!

We had a temporary corral set up and Mike had located the horses the day before so we saddled up the horses and set out after them.

Now let me give you a little idea of what we had going here. One of the horses we were riding was a thoroughbred tall built for running. The rest were Quarter horses good all around breed except for one...my horse. I had Sundance. Sundance was a cayuse horse. That was what the Indians called a wild horse that they caught and then broke to ride.

Now wild horses are not the big horses you see on the westerns or read about in the novels. They are small because as they tend to get inbred.

I still to this day believe they did it for a laugh to have the white boy on the smallest horse but that was not all. They also stole my hat and told me that I had to wear one of theirs. Ok I can play along with them where is my hat then.

They sent one of the kids to get my special hat and he returned with a ball cap but it had stuffed cow horns on the side kind of like a viking hat but with a bill. Ok give it to me I will go ahead and amuse you. So I put it on and not one smile or grin or nothing just a all right lets go.

We took off and trotted for about 5 miles until we finally spotted the wild horses and then we had to sneak around them so we could chase them back to the corral.

We got around them and then put the boots to our horses and off we went the chase was on!

Now the terrain around here is not very flat. I have posted pictures of the mountains and we were chasing these horses in the foot hills. Steep hills and a lot of brush and trees and rocks.

Well we took off after the horses yelling and hollering and they took off like they had been shot at with us in hot pursuit. Well everyone else was in hot pursuit as Sundance was not that big and also not as fast as the other horses.

I will never forget that chase When we topped the first hill I could not see the wild horses at all but the kid on the Thoroughbred was just topping the next hill and the Quarter horses were starting up the next hill. I was getting left behind real quick. So I tried to get Sundance to go faster but then it dawned on me that he was giving me all he had so we just chugged along while everyone else was having the real fun.

So having nothing else to really occupy my mind I started to pay more attention to my horse I was riding. Now I have rode a lot of different horses in my life having worked on ranches and have even owned my fair share so I do know a little bit about them.

Well by the time Sundance and I had topped out on the 3rd. hill I could no longer even see anybody else. I could here them whooping and hollering and see the dust cloud but that was it. It was around this time that I realized that even though I was on a little horse he was a very fine animal. He had not slacked off of his pace and was not breathing very heavy and was a fine animal for the terrain we were in. Not one slip or stumble and I did not have to give him much direction he knew what was needed and was giving me everything he had.

Well we kept going for all he had and then a couple of hills later I suddenly saw another rider but he was not running anymore and the horse was done wore out. It was the Thoroughbred fast but no endurance. As I came up to him he just waved me on by yelling at me not to stop so I kept on going.

By having to go up and down the hills we probably had 10 or more miles to go to get back to the corrals and as the miles went by my little cayuse horse slowly but surely caught and passed everyone else and as they had dropped off the wild horses had slowed down so we were able to catch them just before we topped the last hill before the corral.

Everything ended up as planned I was able to get the wild horses close enough to the corral that the riders waiting there on fresh horses were able to take over and we caught them.

But then the ribbing started as the the other rider showed up on their spent horses about the white boy showing them up and of course there was plenty pointed at me and my cayuse horse and oh of course my hat.

But I got even with them and kept the hat! You should of seen the look on their faces when I told them to keep my old hat I liked the one they traded to me a lot better.

It is what it is

Rod