alacowman said:
nice pic's... like the buckskin real well,, and his saddle... is that a modified association tree its built on??
I'm not sure what kind of tree Kosmo's saddle has. The saddlemaker had a booth at Old West Days quite a few years ago, and the saddle was purchased there. It is well-made and comfortable.
Back a long time ago when I was a kid, we were trailing cattle on a three day drive to our summer pasture. We hadn't planned on camping out, but the weather was so nice that three of us twelve-year-old-boys and Dad's hired man (who was eighteen years old) decided to sleep out under the stars anyway. My dad, mother, and sisters took the pickup back home, as there were chores to do. None of us camper-outers had bedrolls; all we had was two tarps that were behind the seat in the pickup and our saddle blankets for covers. We laid one tarp down on the bottom for all four of us to lay on, and then put the saddle blankets on next for a bit of warmth. The biggest tarp was placed on the very top. Our saddles served as pillows, for that was how they did it in the movies. :wink:
The first half of that May night was balmy and nice, but about midnight the wind came up as a cold front blew through. We were in a tree grove, so we got up and built a fire so we could get warm. (The eighteen-year-old was a cigarette smoker, so had matches.) I learned one lesson quite well, as I had a double Navajo blanket so stayed warmer than the poor guys that only had a saddle pad covering half their body.
Since that time I have always used a saddle pad with a double Navajo woven blanket on top. I've never sored a horse with this method, and on high-withered horses, there is always enough pad to not make the withers sore. Hopefully I'll never get caught out at night with no bed, but at least I'll be kind of prepared if the occasion happens.
Other items that I always carry on my saddle are a lariat rope, a piggin' string, fence pliers, and a pair of hobbles. Without any of these items in their proper place, I almost feel as if I'm riding "nekkid." Old habits die hard.
As a young man, my dad spent a night burrowed in a haystack. He said that was a cold experience and he thought that long night would never end. He didn't have a choice, though, being lost and a long way from home. At least his horse kept him company. :wink:
