"If you are going to teach a horse something
And have a good relationship,
you don’t make him learn it
You let him learn it"
THE SNUBBING POST
Hebrews 12:1-2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
When I come to Cowboy Church I often wear my cowboy hat. But to be honest wearing my hat feels a little uncomfortable. Even though I’ve owned more than fifty horses and have ridden since I was a kid I feel like a fraud.
Especially when I hang out around real old-time cowboys like Art Harfman, Lincoln Blaine or Pat Headlen.
I often wish I’d grown up on a ranch. If I’d grown up punching cows, I’d have earned the right to wear this cowboy hat.
My past experiences hold me back from being comfortable in the present. I guess we all have some baggage. So I wear my cowboy hat to church but until then… it usually hangs on a peg.
A few years back I had an experience with a young horse that I will rflect on tonight. It was a warm spring day and went out to the pasture to catch up one of our three new horses.
I had chosen that day to work with a little sorrel filly. We named her “Dilemma” when we brought her home from the Auction in Armstrong. There is something to say about being careful in your choice of names.
Dilemma wasn’t much to look at, just a skinny, wild-eyed three year old. We only paid $75.00 for her, but at times I was sure it was $74.50 too much. I slipped the halter over my shoulder, attempting to hide it with my arm as I walked toward the pasture, but the horses spotted it and galloped to the other side. This was the hardest part of the job - trying to separate one of the skittish creatures in a five-acre field. If I’d grown up on a ranch, I would’ve learned to rope.
I chased after the animals, huffing and puffing as I zig and zagged. Sweat rolled down my back. One-by-one I let them out into the training area. Now I pushed them all back out until only Dilemma stood in the far corner. Snorting, her eyes brimmed with fear. I looked at the ground, lowered my voice, and spoke slowly, “Good girl. You’re ok.”
It took about twenty minutes and I finally got her into a 10 x 10 pen.
For the next half hour I’d take slow steps toward her, talking, watching her squirm, then taking a step back as I let her get used to me. She wanted no part of me. Her experience with us humans was limited to being separated from her herd, roped and penned, pushed into a trailer, shipped with a bunch of meat horses and dropped off at the auction.
My roping attempts just made her mad. So I gently pushed her into a corner where I had placed an extra panel to act as a squeeze. Slowly I brought the panel into place and squeezed her in so she could not hurt herself or me for that fact. As I touched her neck and shoulder her eyes were big and wide. Finally, she let me rub her neck with the rope.
After a bit I placed the rope halter over her head and tied the knot. She stood like that for a bit. Hesitantly I released the
squeeze and tried to lead her. She wasn’t liking any of this. I took a deep breath and led her toward the round pen. She pulled back and swung her head back and forth. At that moment, I’d of paid someone to take herd improver of my hands.
Changing my mind on the pen I tied her to the snubbing post.
Our snubbing post was, notice I said was? a five-foot-tall post firmly planted in the ground. An old inner tube acted as a give and take mechanism. Letting the post do it’s job I went for a coffee.
Suddenly she jumped straight into the air. She came down snorting and blowing, the whites of her eyes showing. I watched in shock. White flecks of foamed sweat flew in all directions. Dilemma jumped forward and slammed into the snubbing post. It cracked. She hauled back again. Then she dug in with her hind legs, pulling backward. Her hind muscles tensed, the rope stretched—the inner tube strained to the max held tight—the rope halter tightened and then Crack! The snubbing post snapped, and the top of it whipped into Dilemma’s chest.
She swung around, the broken post, held fast by the inner tube and lead rope, slamming into her hindquarters.
The dogs started barking and giving chase. The other horses in the pasture started running and bucking.
What a zoo!
Dilemma in hysterics bolted down our mile long lane-way and turned on to an old logging road we called “Wood Cutter’s trail. She took that turn like she was rounding the last turn at the Kentucky Derby.
Rocks and dust flying everywhere.
I ran to the pickup, got in, and fired it up. I followed that cloud of dust. Several miles later where the logging road had petered out in a bunch of Jack Pine there was Dilemma. White lather blanketed her from head to hoof. She stood calmly, munching grass. Next to her was the snubbing post, still securely tied to the rope.
She’d spooked because of her past experiences. The harder she ran from it, the harder the post beat her. When she quit
running, she discovered that the post quit beating her. So instead of running from it, now she used it as a starting place.
Luke 9:62 Jesus said, No man, having put his hand to the plough and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
As long as that horse’s mind set was back in the past she would be useless in the present. Tonight I’m taking Dilemma’s lesson to heart. I’m going to quit beating myself up over my past poor or bad experiences.
I must learn that a person can focus so much on what did or didn’t happen in the past that it negatively affects your present state of being. I will proudly wear my cowboy hat even though I haven’t been raised on a ranch.
Each time I help a my old-time cowboy friends moving their cattle, I earn the right to wear my hat.
Each time I help Art with butchering or drive him crazy with questions about the cowboy lifestyle, I earn the right to think of myself as a real cowboy. I will use my past experiences to give me the leg up I need to ride confidently into this wilderness called life.
Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before...
When I come to Cowboy Church I often wear my cowboy hat. But to be honest wearing my hat feels a little uncomfortable. Even though I’ve owned more than fifty horses and have ridden since I was a kid I feel like a fraud.
Especially when I hang out around real old-time cowboys like Art Harfman, Lincoln Blaine or Pat Headlen.
I often wish I’d grown up on a ranch. If I’d grown up punching cows, I’d have earned the right to wear this cowboy hat.
My past experiences hold me back from being comfortable in the present. I guess we all have some baggage. So I wear my cowboy hat to church but until then… it usually hangs on a peg.
A few years back I had an experience with a young horse that I will rflect on tonight. It was a warm spring day and went out to the pasture to catch up one of our three new horses.
I had chosen that day to work with a little sorrel filly. We named her “Dilemma” when we brought her home from the Auction in Armstrong. There is something to say about being careful in your choice of names.
Dilemma wasn’t much to look at, just a skinny, wild-eyed three year old. We only paid $75.00 for her, but at times I was sure it was $74.50 too much. I slipped the halter over my shoulder, attempting to hide it with my arm as I walked toward the pasture, but the horses spotted it and galloped to the other side. This was the hardest part of the job - trying to separate one of the skittish creatures in a five-acre field. If I’d grown up on a ranch, I would’ve learned to rope.
I chased after the animals, huffing and puffing as I zig and zagged. Sweat rolled down my back. One-by-one I let them out into the training area. Now I pushed them all back out until only Dilemma stood in the far corner. Snorting, her eyes brimmed with fear. I looked at the ground, lowered my voice, and spoke slowly, “Good girl. You’re ok.”
It took about twenty minutes and I finally got her into a 10 x 10 pen.
For the next half hour I’d take slow steps toward her, talking, watching her squirm, then taking a step back as I let her get used to me. She wanted no part of me. Her experience with us humans was limited to being separated from her herd, roped and penned, pushed into a trailer, shipped with a bunch of meat horses and dropped off at the auction.
My roping attempts just made her mad. So I gently pushed her into a corner where I had placed an extra panel to act as a squeeze. Slowly I brought the panel into place and squeezed her in so she could not hurt herself or me for that fact. As I touched her neck and shoulder her eyes were big and wide. Finally, she let me rub her neck with the rope.
After a bit I placed the rope halter over her head and tied the knot. She stood like that for a bit. Hesitantly I released the
squeeze and tried to lead her. She wasn’t liking any of this. I took a deep breath and led her toward the round pen. She pulled back and swung her head back and forth. At that moment, I’d of paid someone to take herd improver of my hands.
Changing my mind on the pen I tied her to the snubbing post.
Our snubbing post was, notice I said was? a five-foot-tall post firmly planted in the ground. An old inner tube acted as a give and take mechanism. Letting the post do it’s job I went for a coffee.
Suddenly she jumped straight into the air. She came down snorting and blowing, the whites of her eyes showing. I watched in shock. White flecks of foamed sweat flew in all directions. Dilemma jumped forward and slammed into the snubbing post. It cracked. She hauled back again. Then she dug in with her hind legs, pulling backward. Her hind muscles tensed, the rope stretched—the inner tube strained to the max held tight—the rope halter tightened and then Crack! The snubbing post snapped, and the top of it whipped into Dilemma’s chest.
She swung around, the broken post, held fast by the inner tube and lead rope, slamming into her hindquarters.
The dogs started barking and giving chase. The other horses in the pasture started running and bucking.
What a zoo!
Dilemma in hysterics bolted down our mile long lane-way and turned on to an old logging road we called “Wood Cutter’s trail. She took that turn like she was rounding the last turn at the Kentucky Derby.
Rocks and dust flying everywhere.
I ran to the pickup, got in, and fired it up. I followed that cloud of dust. Several miles later where the logging road had petered out in a bunch of Jack Pine there was Dilemma. White lather blanketed her from head to hoof. She stood calmly, munching grass. Next to her was the snubbing post, still securely tied to the rope.
She’d spooked because of her past experiences. The harder she ran from it, the harder the post beat her. When she quit
running, she discovered that the post quit beating her. So instead of running from it, now she used it as a starting place.
Luke 9:62 Jesus said, No man, having put his hand to the plough and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
As long as that horse’s mind set was back in the past she would be useless in the present. Tonight I’m taking Dilemma’s lesson to heart. I’m going to quit beating myself up over my past poor or bad experiences.
I must learn that a person can focus so much on what did or didn’t happen in the past that it negatively affects your present state of being. I will proudly wear my cowboy hat even though I haven’t been raised on a ranch.
Each time I help a my old-time cowboy friends moving their cattle, I earn the right to wear my hat.
Each time I help Art with butchering or drive him crazy with questions about the cowboy lifestyle, I earn the right to think of myself as a real cowboy. I will use my past experiences to give me the leg up I need to ride confidently into this wilderness called life.
Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before...
ITS JUST ME
I'm just an old cowboy and in the saddle I love to sit.
I don't have much polish, but it’s been said, I've got lots of spit.
The good Lord has watched over us, and we can’t complain a bit about our life.
I've worked hard near every day, just like your oma, my dear wife.
Someday, I’ll light out for Heaven on high, but there’s no need to cry
For I'll be riding for my Lord Jesus, way up high in the sky.
There are no fences in Heaven, the range is free and wide.
And the grasslands are well-watered there, over on the Other Side.
Now as you grow up don’t leave it up to chance
Give the heaven’s above more than just a pass’n glance
Smile lots and always do your chores.
And think often of the amazing grace, God has promised could be yours.
I don't have much polish, but it’s been said, I've got lots of spit.
The good Lord has watched over us, and we can’t complain a bit about our life.
I've worked hard near every day, just like your oma, my dear wife.
Someday, I’ll light out for Heaven on high, but there’s no need to cry
For I'll be riding for my Lord Jesus, way up high in the sky.
There are no fences in Heaven, the range is free and wide.
And the grasslands are well-watered there, over on the Other Side.
Now as you grow up don’t leave it up to chance
Give the heaven’s above more than just a pass’n glance
Smile lots and always do your chores.
And think often of the amazing grace, God has promised could be yours.
Horse thieves were not hung because they stole horses but,
rather that horses wouldn’t be stolen!
rather that horses wouldn’t be stolen!
There are three kinds of men:
¨ The one that learns by reading.
¨ The few who learn by observation.
¨ The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.
Your Word?
Take a horse by his bridal and a man by his word!
It would be good if a man would follow his word as readily as a horse follows his bridle!
A word should be sufficient between man and man, but it is so often otherwise,
that it is better to have an agreement in black and white!
¨ The one that learns by reading.
¨ The few who learn by observation.
¨ The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.
Your Word?
Take a horse by his bridal and a man by his word!
It would be good if a man would follow his word as readily as a horse follows his bridle!
A word should be sufficient between man and man, but it is so often otherwise,
that it is better to have an agreement in black and white!
Common Sense Is Far TOO UNCOMMON!
¨ Don't squat with your spurs on.
¨ Good judgement comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgement.
¨ Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier 'n puttin' it back in.
¨ If you're ridin' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there.
¨ If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
¨ After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him......The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.
¨ Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.
¨ If you find yourself in a hole, thing to do is stop diggin'.
¨ Never slap a man who's chewin' tobacco.
¨ Always drink upstream from the herd.
¨ Don't squat with your spurs on.
¨ Good judgement comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgement.
¨ Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier 'n puttin' it back in.
¨ If you're ridin' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there.
¨ If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
¨ After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him......The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.
¨ Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.
¨ If you find yourself in a hole, thing to do is stop diggin'.
¨ Never slap a man who's chewin' tobacco.
¨ Always drink upstream from the herd.
An Old Cowboy's Advice
* Keep your fences horse-high, pig-tight & bull-strong.
* Keep skunks & bankers & lawyers at a distance.
* Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
* A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
* Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.
* Meanness don't happen overnight.
* Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.
* Don't corner something that would normally run from you.
* It doesn't take a very big person to carry a grudge.
* You cannot unsay a cruel word.
* Every path has a few puddles.
* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
* The best sermons are lived, not preached.
* Most of the stuff people worry about is never gonna happen anyway.
* Don't judge folks by their relatives.
* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
* Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none.
* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
* Sometimes you get, & sometimes you get got.
* Don't fix it if it ain't broke.
* Always drink upstream from the herd.
* Good judgment comes from poor choices
* Live simply
* Love generously
* Care deeply
* Speak kindly.
* Keep skunks & bankers & lawyers at a distance.
* Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
* A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
* Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.
* Meanness don't happen overnight.
* Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.
* Don't corner something that would normally run from you.
* It doesn't take a very big person to carry a grudge.
* You cannot unsay a cruel word.
* Every path has a few puddles.
* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
* The best sermons are lived, not preached.
* Most of the stuff people worry about is never gonna happen anyway.
* Don't judge folks by their relatives.
* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
* Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't botherin' you none.
* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
* Sometimes you get, & sometimes you get got.
* Don't fix it if it ain't broke.
* Always drink upstream from the herd.
* Good judgment comes from poor choices
* Live simply
* Love generously
* Care deeply
* Speak kindly.