Oldtimer said:
:roll: :roll: :roll: Gone for the day- come back and get a day of arguing over hats and hairy backed women :shock: ( Only Judith/Kola would be worrying about the hairy backed women) :wink:
My two bits worth--Probably just an area thing- but I can't stand those "flat hat" Mexican flamingo dancer looking creased hats-- Look like they should be in tights and doing ballerina spins... New local District Brand Inspector wears one- and everyone calls him "Flat Hat Matt".... but I'm old fashioned enough that I never heard of "chinks" till 20 years ago-- they are supposed to be full length chaps ( lightweight for summer- angora/sheepskin for winter)-- and good old full 5-6 " crown or Montana crease with a roll on the hat- personally have worn the QH crease for 40 years, but lately like the Conagher ( have a hat with each).....
I tend to kind of side in with you, Oldtimer. Of course, I am kind of an "old-timer," too. :wink:
My neighbor had the first pair of chinks in Cherry County, Nebraska--some that he acquired in Nevada back in the '40's. I "borrowed" them from him one cold wet day when I was about ten years old, and they served as "full-length" chaps for me at the time.
Chinks look "cool" but they are not as functional as full-length chaps or "leggins." When it is raining, they don't fend off the dripping water nearly as well as chaps. Then if you are really looking studly with pants tucked into the tops of your boots, the water just runs straight to the bottom of your socks.
My theory is that if it is too hot for shotgun chaps, it is too hot to be wearing chinks. It is aggravating at a branding if you are vaccinating or implanting, to have to contend with chinks that the front calf wrestler is wearing. The fringe from the bloomin' things are always in the way.
I've got to admit that the buckaroo look is quite photogenic. Why just this morning I took some good pictures of Saddletramp in action. It is a darn good thing he wasn't taking pictures of me, because I didn't look very photogenic. :?
Functional maybe, but not photogenic. It was a dreary but hot muggy morning. The grass is knee high in a lot of places and it was dripping wet. I knew that our ride was a short one, and that I would be opening several gates and hanging them up on fences, as we were allowing this bunch of cattle to be in three small weedy lots until they get the grass eaten. Horror of horrors, but I wore my rubber high-topped lace-up overshoes over my Wilson boots. :shock: If I had been in a "cowboy photo" I'd have been laughed off the picture page. Nonetheless, my boots stayed dry and my horse got me where I wanted to go, even though this morning there were no spurs to persuade him.
I am a cross-bred cowboy, carrying English, Irish, Scottish, Pennsylvania Dutch, Swedish and Norwegian blood in my veins. I like swells on my saddle, rubber on my horn, a 30' foot nylon rope, split reins on my bridle, and I gave up using a breast collar on my horses years ago. When I drag the saddle off my horse, I never do up the cinches on the off-side, because I get tired of dinking with extra buckles. This is the same reason I don't like a breast collar, not to mention the fact that I think if a horse could talk, they would also prefer to not pack around the extra weight of one. Personal pet peeves are tie-downs, and saddles with no rope strap or saddle strings.
The older (and more crotchety :wink: ) that I get, the more I prefer function over form. :wink:
