#cowhorse

[countryb4rbie]

My best boy❤️

[fightingwithallreality]

Smoky the Cowhorse (1926) written and illustrated by Will James

[alllthesewordsleftunsaid]

[urcowboy]

Heading out this morning to gather and ship cows home for the winter

[your-unfriendlyghost]

Was watching “Tex” w/ my cousin, here’s some of their interesting commentary:

“Maybe if they sold the brother Tex could buy back his horse”

“Jamie would probably not reject him if he just info dumped about horses. Tex is clearly autistic he needs to embrace it”

“Yeah Mason the solution to not being stressed is to just take it easy bro”

“Maybe if they sold the dad they could afford to put the horse through college”

“What if instead of expelling him she’s about to give him his horse back?” (A few seconds later) “OH MY GOD I WAS BASICALLY RIGHT”

(Imitating Tex, in a terrible attempt at an Oklahoma accent) “Oh no…not motorcycles…that reminds me of my hoooorrrrsssse…”

(Imitating Pop in the scene at the hospital) “See, the thing is kid, your mom…she was a horse…”

(Me, mishearing it as “whore”) “Damn, I mean, yeah??? I guess?”

“Jesus, that exploding typewriter prank would NOT fly nowadays”

(Me, nodding all sagely and shit) “Yeah…since we don’t use typewriters anymore”

“Do you think Cowboy hat suit guy (Cole) and Cowboy hat traditional guy (Pop) are epic rivals? Do you think they have enemies to lovers fics?”

(About Lem’s baby) “I just don’t think that babies need feet. I don’t consider babies to be people who need feet. I just feel disturbed, you know?”

(Me) “no, not really. I don’t…no. …Babies have feet.”

“Yeah yeah he got shot that’s bad- but OH NO NOT HIS BOOTS! NOT HIS JACKET! NOOO HE’S GETTING BLOOD ON THEM…NOOO…”

“A good excuse to reconnect with your ex is to get shot- gives you a good reason to call them. Good job Tex”

(In the scene where Tex and Johnny are fighting) “Ooh sweet crop top and cowboy belt- I see ya jock from Breakfast Club, I see ya”

“Maybe…a cowhorse…is like the kinda horse cowboys ride?”

(Me) “Uh…yeah, it’s a horse that herds cows…what did you think it was??”

“A horse-cow-hybrid thing”

(Me, legit shocked) “wHAT?!”

(My sister) “Uh yeah I thought that too”

(Other cousin) “yeah no same”

(Me) “y’all are uncultured”

(cousin) “Naw you’re just a weird horse nerd.

Bonus, from my other cousin: “oh my god Tex is so stupid”

My sister: “Yeah, but in like a lovable way! I’d wanna hang out with him, he’s nice!”

me, more darkly than is warranted: “Yeah, plus, your face is stupid man”

[isthehorsevideocute]

#2Raw2Ride and why horse people everywhere are alarmed

I was surprised that no one has mentioned 2raw2ride through this blog yet though given the vast majority of media coverage on this guy I've seen us from equestrian content creators I suppose not a lot of non equestrians have heard about this.

For those not in the know, there is a social media clout chaser who according to him quit his six figure job so he could plan a ride on horseback from Austin TX to Seattle WA. This in of itself is not a bad thing but, he has made so many decisions that has alarmed the horse world. Many people have done this kind of trek on horseback but it takes a lot of preparation for you as the rider and for the horses.

The man in question bought this horse who was basically a pasture pet about a month before he started this ride. He is riding a single horse and has not brought along a pack animal. There was and still is no evidence that he has maped out planned stops for resting and supplies. His plan was to make the over 2000 mile trip in 100 days on this singular horse which has not been conditioned for endurance riding. The kind of physical conditioning necessary would take a year of training at least but the horse had no more than 30 days and it's showing through the fact the horse was startomg to deteriorate in body condition from day 1. Here are some images clearly showing his drop in weight.

This was the horse the day he was tried for purchase

He was a chunky boy. Perhaps borderline overweight

This was when he owned the horse but before he left on the trip

Also notice the fact the horse has marks where the saddle would be indicating irritation already. Id say this is a good body condition but instead of stopping here it kept going. Pay attention to the slope of the hip to the tail and the slope of the belly

This is the horse on the day of departure

In the 30 days he owned him before the ride the horse dropped a ton of weight

This was a photo from last week

you can start to see the spine showing from the croup (top of hip to the tail). And th belly no longer has that uniform slope. It's actually becoming concave behind the ribcage. Compare the neck here to the first image. Huge difference.

On top of the weight loss, the horse has shown signs of soreness in the left hind since he left. If this was an official endurance ride, the horse would not have been cleared to make this trip in the first place.

There have been several red flags that many have pointed out that indicates this guy has not educated himself and lacks the horse experience he claims to have.

Improper use of equipment and lack of ability positively identify the equipment he is using

When going over his equipment, he shows the bit and refers to it as a " snaffle" so let's look at bit that could be considered a "snaffle"

These are snaffle bits. A snaffle is categorized as a bit which applies direct pressure to the mouth. In other words the amount of pressure you apply to the reins is what the horse feels.

Now let's look at what he is using

So this is a JR Cowhorse bit and it looks like this

Now this does not quality as a snaffle, it is instead classified as a curb or leverage but because it is designed to put a leverage action on the horse's mouth. Whatever pressure you apply to the reins, the horse will feel multiplied making this harsher by design than a snaffle. On top of that this but has a twisted wire mouthpiece which is one of the harshest mouthpieces there is.

Please also take note of the way the bit is positioned. See how the part that's on top (the lever) is longer than the part on the bottom (the shank). The screenshot from his video has the shorter portion on the bottom and the longer portion on top. The bit is upside down. But wait it gets worse. Bits are generally designed with a curve to the mouthpiece so it can follow the natural curvature of the mouth to make it more comfortable for the horse

Here's the bit i use for my mare who is sensitive near he front teeth. A nice dramatic curvature that is easy to see

Comfy

Now this is a curvy bit if it was backwards

Ouch

Guess what. Not only is the guy's bit upside-down, it's actually also backwards. This makes an already uncomfortable bit even more uncomfortable for this horse who is spending hours a day in it.

Mr. Experienced horseman also doesn't know how to tie a rope halter correctly

This is how he tied it

This is how it should be tied

Knot below the loop or the knot will loosen

The guy said on the news he has ridden for many years and was a champion show jumper. Funny. No one can find a show record on the guy.

2. Not understanding how to properly feed and hydrate a horse under these conditions

In his video going over what he packed, he pulled out a bottle of corn oil and a clearly unused mineral block.

Corn oil is not a good thing to feed a performance horse, because it's pro inflammatory. You're just making an already sore horse more sore. Not to mention any corn product that starts to go bad can make a horse extremely sick. The unused mineral lick shows that the horse is not getting enough electrolytes. Even given free choice many horses don't get enough electrolytes so they need to be added to feed or given in paste form, but all he seems to have is the block. The horse has been showing outward signs of dehydration and with drought season in Texas just around the corner it's not looking great.

3. Lack of emergency supplies (specifically for the horse)

In the same video he showed off what he has in the med kit for his horse.

-thrush medication

-a flathead screwdriver

-two pain meds (both halfway gone when the video was taken 🤔. Also would not be competition legal for welfare purposes as if your horse is on these they are not well enough to tax themselves)

The screwdriver is supposedly so he can remove a shoe, but no you can't remove a shoe with a screwdriver. You'd need at least a couple of farrier tools to take a shoe off even if it is already half off.

This is not at all efficient packing. What he does have is mostly useless added weight and what he doesn't have is vital supplies. If this horse starts to bleed out or needs a hoof packed good fing luck.

4. the hematoma

Ah of course the swelling on this poor horse's belly

jury's still out in what actually caused this but given its location it is either a gaul from an ill fitted girth or from spur irritation.

5. Constant backpedaling

First he stated he would not take donations for this ride. One week later he put his linktree up in his instagram profile stating that donations would go to feeding and caring for the horse. I assume people. Allrd him out on it so now he states it goes toward buying beer. He also has taken more rest days than he said he would and he's been slowing way down on his updates. He allegedly even (finally) contacted the long riders guild asking for help (after rejecting help many times before). It seems even he is starting to notice how ill prepared he is.

Anyways don't feed this guys clout. Don't give him attention and don't give him money. He's a liar and a horse abuser and it seems to him any attention is good attention.

[art-of-wackylurker]

So... Guess who now has a fursona (´。＿。｀)

Can't decide between a cow and a horse? Obvious solution: make a cowhorse! Haven't done full colored digital like that in a good while but it was fun and that's what matters

[writeonthrough]

Namy Nuggets (7/13)

A fanfic collection of Amy and Nathan scenes from CBC’s Heartland. (Catch up on the series here)

Nugget #7: Caught!

"He's a working cowhorse," Nathan teases Amy, reaching for her as she closes the stall door. "I happen to know what I'm talking about."

"Oh," Amy turns around and feels his arms sliding around her. She runs her arms up his own and around his neck. "You know what you're talking about? Trying to tell me how to do my job, cowboy?"

"No," Nathan closes the distance between them with a kiss. "Never. I just," he shrugs and nods from side to side playfully. "Remember how much my advice helped you out the last time I offered it to you concerning working cow horses."

She laughs and raises her eyebrows, "Is that so?" She kisses him again and strokes his cheek. "Still trying to change my luck, huh?"

Nathan hides his smile against her cheek before kissing it. "Something like that," he teases, capturing her lips with his once more.

His arms round the small of her back and he lifts her up as the kiss deepens. She holds on tighter as Nathan spins her around. Once her feet settle on new ground, they sway together, both hoping the kiss will linger.

"Amy, have you seen—" Lou steps into the barn to find a couple embracing. "Oh, my, god—" She watches Nathan and Amy break apart. He swiftly takes a clear step back from her. Lou's gaze darts between them, processing the idea of them together. "Wow."

"Uh—" Nathan starts.

"Look, Lou—" Amy takes a step towards her.

"Wow," she repeats. "At least I wasn't Dad or Grandpa. Do they—"

"No," Amy quickly offers. "Can you not—"

Lou shakes her head, dismissingly. Still in disbelief, she processes out loud: "Is this what you were trying to tell me last night?"

Amy's lips part to speak, but all that comes is, "Um—"

"It's okay." Lou puts her hand out to excuse Amy from talking. "We can talk tonight. Nathan," she faces him. "We really have to go, we're gonna be late."

"Yeah," he nods, "Right behind you."

As Lou walks to the truck, Nathan turns back to Amy with an apprehensive expression, she mirrors his expression before a hint of a smile tugs at her lips and a here-we-go attitude comes through in her body language.

He nods and matches her side smile. They hold each other's gazes for one more moment before he tears himself away to meet Lou.

Silence fills the car ride out the Heartland gate and onto the main road. Nathan tries to focus on driving, but surprise nerves flutter in his stomach. When he can tear his attention from the road, he looks over at Lou staring straight ahead, trying to gauge her blank expression.

"Okay, Lou," he breaks the silence. "Come on. You got to say something."

Lou laughs uncomfortably and raises her arms in an I-don't-know expression. "What? I don't know. I'm surprised. I had no hint from Amy that this was going on, so I just don't want to put my foot in my mouth or say something out of bounds." When Nathan does not respond right of way, Lou adds, "Believe me, holding my tongue is growth for me."

Nathan lets out a small chuckle. "Okay." Lou's small joke allows relief to settle back in his body for the first time since she found him with Amy in the barn.

"I'm happy for Amy…if you know, she's happy. I need to talk to her. But I'd be really happy for you guys if she was happy—and you too. I know you're a good guy, Nathan."

"Thanks." A smile tugs at Nathan's lips. "I want her to be happy too."

Lou nods. "Good."

He looks at her, still hesitant in the seat beside him. "But you have questions."

She turns him with a warning look. "I wouldn't be me if my mind didn't fill up with questions when I see my sister with a guy in the barn…but I can talk to Amy later, I don't have to ask you."

"Ask me," Nathan shrugs. "It's okay."

A new-found respect for him floods over her. "Okay." She adjusts herself in her seat with growing anticipation. "I know you guys have been friends…but how long has this—" she interlaces her fingers together. "Thing been going on?"

"Uh…" He can't help smiling at her interlaced fingers. "Not long. Less than a month."

"Okay…" Lou tries to recall any recent changes she's noticed in Amy. When nothing stands out, she remembers how long Amy can take when making decisions. "But you've probably talked about it for longer."

Nathan hides his smirk by looking over his shoulder to enter the main road. "Probably."

Lou chuckles and shakes her head, "Of course."

"What does that mean?"

"I just know Amy can take her time making decisions."

Nathan bites his lip, now unsure of how much to share. "It wasn't that. It was a lot of things."

"Oh. Okay." Lou's voice raises in surprise. Silence returns to the truck for several moments as Nathan continues to drive down the highway. "You know my dad and Grandpa are going to have a problem with this?"

"Yup." He keeps his reply short, having no desire to discuss potential issues with Tim and Jack at the moment. "I know."

"They can be pretty brutal, and not just because you're—well—" she motions to him and then to the 'Pryce Family Beef' sign in his truck. "You. They're unjustly hard on—" she catches herself, not sure how to describe Peter and Ty to Nathan. "The guys in our lives."

Nathan was expecting—almost waiting for Lou to mention Ty. He thought it would come sooner. He turns towards her and catches her eye. "You mean Peter and Ty."

"Not just Peter and Ty. But, yeah…" For the second time, Lou examines him with a mixture of surprise, impressment, and respect. "Did you and Amy talk about Ty?"

Nathan takes a deep breath. "A little."

Lou nods. "Okay."

Nathan bites his lip when Lou keeps her response short, unsure of how much he wants to talk about him. Fighting against his instinct to keep quiet, he asks, "Is there anything you want to tell me or that I should know?"

"Those are two different questions. I'm not one to talk about him. He, uh, he's hard to describe to someone who didn't know him. He was a really good guy who had more than his share of demons. But, man, he was so in love with her. Even being married myself, I was jealous of what they had." She looks over to see deep emotion in Nathan's face hiding under his blank expression. "I said too much. See, I told you—I put my foot in my mouth."

"It's okay, Lou. You didn't say too much."

"It's just…He was really like a brother to me and they were together a long time. He died suddenly out-of-blue, so it was a real shock."

"I'm sorry," is all he can say.

Lou waves off his apology. "It's really okay, Nathan."

They let Lou's words hang comfortably between them. Lou relaxes against the truck door, watching the Alberta hills pass by them.

Nathan tries to quiet his mind like it seems Lou has done beside him. One question keeps circling in his mind, though, and he knows he'll never have another chance to ask it. "Can I ask you something?"

Lou perks up and turns to him, curious. "Sure."

"You said you were surprised to see me with Amy. Was it because of me or was it a surprise to see her with someone else?"

"Oh, definitely you. Even knowing you guys were friendly, I did not see the two of you…well—I thought I had a radar for that kind of thing."

"It's not hard to see her move on?"

"No. I want her to move on. And just talking to you now—it's clear you care about her and you're respectful about Ty. So, you don't have to worry about me. I'm just sorry Dad and Grandpa already see you as a threat—and not the good-natured, quiet guy I know you to be."

Nathan nods as he pulls into a parking space. "Any advice?"

"Uh…" Lou raises her eyebrows and motions with her head out the window towards where they're meeting Jack and Tim. "Really know that it isn't you—no matter what they say about the business. They think they're protecting Amy." She reaches for the door handle but then turns back to catch his eye. "Don't let them scare you off."

[countryb4rbie]

Idk if I ever showed y’all but I got a new horse a couple weeks ago and he’s just perfect😍😌❤️

[blackroseraven]

Half-muck day today, which was a nice way to get back into rhythm a bit.

We got there in time to start putting horses out, which was nice. Had to check where some of the horses went but. No new horses, it looks like. Which was kind of a surprise, but it is the middle of show season and all. Lots of people settled in.

Trinity here like smashed his nose into my face and snuffled me for thirty seconds. Then I half-dragged the cowhorse outside; a cat literally sat in the doorway and tempted death by refusing to move but. Trinity is thankfully a nice horse. He also has a bunch of weird cuts on him, but. The one on his chest, at the very least, is from slamming himself through the dutch door to flee from the stall because uh. Teacherlady dumped some bedding in and it was apparently just too much for him. He's a huge panicky beast. Even when I came out and had ointment to put on him he freaked out about said ointment and made it very hard to calm him down and get some on his injuries.

Big dumbo.

We mucked the short half of the barn, which was really fast. That's all we had to do today because one of the girl students is leasing a horse and wants to work as much as possible to earn credit for him.

I got Quattro out and he was. A grump. We had the entire arena to ourselves, though, and like. When I really asked him to he did things, but he was super resistant otherwise. Cantered really nice, though, even if it took him a moment to remember what to do.

But he feels good. I felt really good getting back into things. It was like I'd never left.

I got Q and groomed him for a while, then hung out with him and Quattro at the hay bales, since they were happy to just. Stand and munch on the excess ground hay while partner finished washing off Zara's mucky legs. Lucky boys and girl ended up getting their grain too, so they got quite a feast today.

I was really proud of Quattro, though. A little girl kept coming up and petting him and he was really accepting of it. He's come such a long way, from a shy unsafe horse to a horse that will more than tolerate being touched and who actually enjoys being groomed. I'm proud of him, and how dependable and strong he's become.

I couldn't ask for more from him. He goes above and beyond for me in ways that I truly don't deserve.

[lotus-lynx]

cowhorse, ugu

[paxtonrp]

𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐒

Name: UTP Tillman

Age: 30-37

Occupation: Horse Trainer at the Crown B Ranch

Affiliation: Fingers for the Cowboy Mafia

Gender & Pronouns: Man (he/him)

Faceclaim: UTP (Must be at least 1/2 White)

𝐒𝐊𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐎𝐍

The Tillmans were vagabonds by heart and cowboys by trade. Where the older one went, the younger one followed. It made sense for the Rambler to start to work with horses. He was good at it, and it spoke to him.

Slowly, he built their career. At eighteen, he left home and managed to work for one of the top cutting horse trainers in the country. He widened his skills and took jobs with reined cowhorse trainers, ropers, and so on. He learned the horse heart and soul, and became what he always wanted to be: a horseman.

It was a complete shock to his system when his older brother was arrested. While he'd heard rumors of what his older brother was up to he never really thought that was accurate. When his brother died, he took it upon himself to find out what happened to him. That put him directly into the hands of the Cowboy Mafia.

It was a dream for the Rambler to get a job with Crown B and help build a horse program that he could be proud of. It took him from just another ragtag trainer fighting for a client list to steady employment with some of the best horses in the country.

𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐓 𝐀𝐑𝐂

In order to really understand what happened to his brother, he knew he had to sell his soul. So he did, and he got his brand. What he never bargained for how much like home this organization would feel. He definitely didn't bargain for the fact that he liked the money and feeling of power he was finding in the organization. The Rambler is now at the foot of the realization that he might end up down the same path as his brother, and maybe that's just the destination for their bloodline — a truth he was unwilling to accept before the brand now seems like the only truth.

[fayeblackburn]

𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐒

Name: Faye Blackburn

Age: 31

Occupation: Country Music Singer Songwriter/Owner of Crown B Ranch

Affiliation: Neutral

Gender & Pronouns: Woman (she/her)

Faceclaim: Lucy Hale

𝐁𝐈𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐘

tw eating disorder mention

The only daughter and middle child of two proud Paxton natives. Her father was a prolific cattle rancher. Her father, Chip, was well within the details of the ranching community — albeit removed from the duties of the Cowboy Mafia. Instead, she was raised with a distinct notion to stay away from some of the people in town.

Faye worked the ranch alongside her family, nurtured to be a cross between her father and mother — independent, strong, like a daisy pushing up through the concrete.

Her love for music came from her parents. She was raised on church hymns, her father was where she got her pipes from. She paired singing in choir with competing in cowhorse events and breakaway roping.

She started singing the natural anthem at rodeos and events that she was competing in — college was never something that was in the books for her. The truth was, she wasn't really good at Breakaway, and the rodeo scene surrendered her to singing.

There was a Nashville record label that heard her at a rodeo, and talked to her about signing to a label. There, she thought she'd be nurtured. She was, for the most part. She polished her lyrical ability.

She experienced overnight success when her first single dropped. Nashville loved their little darling, but it was a love that was toxic. Enough was never enough. They pushed her to her bodily limits, controlled her schedule, her diet, everything.

She was approached by someone from Obsidian Holdings — what they offered was too good to be true. She turned them down, as she was already at the end of her record deal. She wanted out. Faye returned back to Paxton around the same time, feeling chewed from the industry.

Not shortly afterward, her masters were sold to a new company, and that company was owned by Obsidian Holdings. Their reputation proceeded them, and in order to get out from under their thumb, Faye started to re-record all her albums.

It was around the same time that Faye started to build her own performance horse ranch — the Crown B. She's always had an eye for a talented horse, and with the help of a few different trainers, she's started her own legacy in the horse world.

Crown B is the foundation of the roping horse and reined cowhorse world. Some of the largest and most talented mares and studs were the icon crowned B on their shoulder.

𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐓 𝐀𝐑𝐂

Faye does her best to steer clear of Obsidian Holdings, however, she's become a powerful nuisance to them by refusing to deal with them. She's more aligned toward the Cowboy Mafia, but she holds true on her father's advice to not get involved. She knows they exist due to an ex — but isn't privy to all the details and pretends she doesn't know. She's more wrapped in this than she's willing to believe — between her masters and the fact her ex got his brand because of her. Both organizations know that Faye could be a formidable ally, but she's staunchly done her best to stay out of it, however, that may not last long.

[domesticatedferal-png]

cowhorse at dusk!!

[hockeymusicmore]