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Which of the two is best, a great saddle or an unbridled sense of humor?
Though a saddle is part of the question, the answer is NOT a HORSE with a sense of humor! A horse laugh is a terrible thing to face. Don't think the critters don't have one, either. They're just like people, except bigger, faster, and generally better looking. Some have no sense of humor at all, no more than your average I.R.S. agent...but some do. If you're ever the target of a horse who loves practical jokes.... Back in my rodeo days--WAY back, 1963 or so--I watched an incredible animal perform as a bareback bronc. He was a handsome gray gelding, some 32 years of age. For those of you who don't know, that's about a bazillion years old for a horse. He could have been a saddle bronc once, or not. All most of us knew for sure was that he'd been retired, put out to pasture, quite a few years earlier. But his health still seemed to be good, and he was still allowed to buck at the home ranch rodeo each spring. The rodeo would kick off at 2:00 p.m., but I was watching as this splendid senior citizen was turned out into the rodeo arena in midmorning. About that time, recorded music began piping through the announcer's loudspeaker system. The horse...TRANSFORMED. Before the music started, he'd just been walking around slowly, aimlessly, ho hum, another day, whatever. Now, he heard his anthem. His head came up. His ears pricked forward. His tail lifted proudly, and he began to TROT around the arena. As clearly as if shouted in English, he was letting the world know he LOVED what he'd always done best. When it was his turn to come out of the chute that afternoon, most of us were rooting for the horse. With the exception of the cowboy on his back, of course. And sure enough, that old Arena Warrior threw his rider about fifteen feet in the air some three seconds before the whistle blew.
Once rid of his burden, the gray gelding immediately quit bucking, lifted his head and tail both, and PRANCED around the arena. A victory lap! You could tell he was both elated and amused. Here a lot of those young whippersnappers were getting ridden to the whistle by a pretty good bunch of bronc riders, but not him. Like in the Waylon and Willie song, he knew that Old Age And Treachery...Will Always Overcome Youth And Skill. And, being me, I had to write a verse from the bronc's viewpoint:
================================================================= Never Underestimate The Old Ho-ho-ho! You know I'm hot! See that cowboy picking While me, I am a-prancing Now let that be a lesson =================================================================
Ah, but one thing NO horse could ever find funny is: Bad tack. Nosiree Bob. When it comes to saddles, bridles, blankets and the rest, only The Best will do. Enter Saddle Online . With a wide selection of top-quality tack for both western and English horsemanship, they would stand out in any group of saddlers...even before their unbelievable discount pricing is taken into consideration. WITH that pricing, they stand alone. How do I know they're good? After all, we're currently living "in town"; it'll be a couple of years before we can get around to building on the 35-acre parcel we're buying, and probably another year after that before we once again become horse owners. Of course, you can draw your own conclusions--just click on the saddle and cruise their website.
After all, they not only have a great product line, but some of the testimonials are pretty impressive as well. As to me, I reckon you've guessed by now that I was ranch raised and rodeo bred. Every day on the ranch, and even more so on the rodeo circuit, skimping on tack could cost you money, get you bucked off, hung up, hurt, or even killed. Which is the long way of saying, you learn to judge leather. AND the people from whom you purchase that leather. When I was fifteen, I got stomped into the dirt one day because the saddler who made my bareback rigging had miscalculated by half an inch. You see, my Dad warned the man, but he didn't listen. Dad had told him he might be making the handhold a little too small, told him that his son (me) had pretty good-sized hands. But Earl (the saddler) didn't listen. As a result, when I bucked off a practice bronc a few weeks later, my hand got hung up in the too-tight rigging. That pulled me in under the horse, a nasty old stud, before I dropped to the ground. Old Pieface, the bronc, looked carefully back at me...and stomped me right square on the belt buckle. That injury healed, though there's a knot on the bone of my ring finger to this day from where it got twisted in the rigging. Saddle Online will listen, and they'll do you right. No stomped-on belt buckle, no twisted finger (or arm!)...and no emptied-out billfold, either. Even if you're not in the market RIGHT NOW, you might want to click through and take a look around their website. I think you'll be impressed. I know I was. Later, Fred
----------------Our Top Ten Reasons For Recommending Saddle Online---------------
1. Quality. Obviously, every rider wants gear that will hold up to hard use, and the product lines here will stand the test. 2. Nothing TOO fancy. Don't get us wrong: If you are riding ten hours a day, or filthy rich, a hand tooled rig from a custom saddle maker makes sense. But most of us need something to simply get the job done, and these saddles will do that. 3. Selection. With the lone exception of specialized bronc riding saddles, they have it all: English, trail endurance, barrel racing, all around, and more. 4. Accessibility. You've noticed that with many companies, reaching a human by phone is tougher than launching a space probe? Not here: People actually pick up the phone and listen. 5. This may seem a minor thing, but: You can REMEMBER their Internet address! I mean, Saddle Online is about as to-the-point as you can get. So: Lost address book, no problem. 6. Their website is EASY TO NAVIGATE. An awful lot of online stores are just plain confusing. Not here; it's all clear and to the point. 7. Special Deals pretty much all the time. At this writing (for example), there are Manager's Specials and Free Shipping Specials available. 8. Pricing. Owning horses is never an inexpensive proposition, but at least with Saddle Online, your saddles and tack won't be what breaks the bank! 9. Longevity. This company has had an online presence since the 1990's. Whenever you need them, they'll be available. 10. Friendly folks. Yes, it's important that actual humans pick up the phone...and it's also important that when they do, they turn out to be people who are easy to like. ================================================================= Thanks for reading, Fred
Saddle Online Home Pie In The Sky
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