Letters
WE THINK OF 'EM AS MEMOES FROM
OUR BOSSES & NOTES FROM HOME...
Horse Sense
This high-tech world leaves me wondering why
common sense is so uncommon today. The term
"mega-byte," to Mr. Ed., is taking a large mouthful of
hay, grass, or grain. "Multi-tasking," to My Friend
Flicka, is eating at the north end and downloading at
the south end at the same time. If someone's breaking
something, or it's broken, it needs fixin'! Training and
teaching, naturally, are exactly that. To successfully
train a horse you need more time than the horse. A
three-hour colt-starting contest is just that-a contest!
It's like having a three-hour marriage and calling it a
success. It just ain't so. In today's throw-away society,
with instant everything, instant horse training doesn't
work. But an instant bad horse experience can last a
lifetime.. When you hear someone referring to a
"bomb-proof" horse, just remember those horses don't
exist. There are horses that are very well mannered,
kind, gentle, and friendly, but under the right/wrong
conditions all horses will spook, sidestep, shy, buck,
unwind, or explode, just as people do.. When looking
for a handler, trainer, teacher, clinician, mentor, or
whatever floats your boat. remember to exercise common
sense/horse sense. Remember, too, that you can
ride a fast horse slow, but never a slow horse fast, and
never ever trust a skinny cook.
-David Vincent Koebensky, Buffalo, Minn.
Dear David: Thanks for the good advice. It's been my notion that
many of the really fast colt-starting demonstrations are mainly ways of
showing people what is going on with the horse, and ways of giving quick
insights into horse behavior, not a substitute for days and weeks of training.
But you make good points and they are worth remembering. Thanks
for this and for being a reader. -EDITOR
READING MATERIAL
I have read two very entertaining novels recently, and am
ready to mosey on up to Barnes & Noble to get the author's third. I
do not recall having ever seen these in your book review department,
and believe no one has called themto your attention. Gene Wright has written Run, Run as Fast as You
Can (2001), Nobody Knows His Name (2003,
and The Painful Warrior (2005). The first
two were centered around Sheriff Jerry
Valdez, set down around Boerne, Texas, if I
recall correctly. At any rate, I really liked Mr.
Wright's work, and I wrote to tell him so. A
response was received in which Mr. Wright
said he has a new novel, The Accidental
Warrior, which was to have come out this
fall with a new publisher, Draumr Press. The
main character in this book is not going to
be Sheriff Jerry Valdez (darn it!), but rather
"young Paul Hunter." If these fit your criteria,
please make a mention of the first three
in your book review column, so that others
may enjoy Mr. Wright's work as much as I
did. Thank you.
-Kathy Rhodes, Corinth, Texas
Dear Kathy: We didn't review any of these,
but it looks as though you have done the job for
us. Thanks for the feedback, and I'm sure other
readers can be on the lookout. Readers-be
aware that our reviews are now in the magazine's
Roundup department, as part of our
ongoing redesign. -EDITOR
COWBOY COMMANDMENTS
I received this from a friend in Pasadena
and thought about you folks at American
Cowboy. According to my friend, it
appeared in USA Today, in a large article
on two cowboy churches in Texas. The
Cowboy's Ten Commandments hangs on
the wall of Cross Trails Church in Fairlie,
Texas. 1. Just one God. 2. Honor yer Ma and
Pa. 3. No tellin' lies or gossipin'. 3. Git yerself
to Sunday meetin'. 5. Put nuthin'
before God. 6. No foolin' around with
another fella's gal. 7. No killin'. 8. Watch yer
mouth. 9. Don't take what ain't yers. 10.
Don't be hankerin' for yer buddy's stuff.
Depend on a cowboy to cut and dice and
simplify to what counts: the nitty gritty.
-Fenney Derden, Stark City, Mo.
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