Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Tanya Writes About Horses of Another Color



Howdy! My salute to Cowboy Month continues. Now, what's a cowboy without a horse? Much as I love the bovine persuasion, I almost wish those buckaroos were called horseboys in honor of those elegant, hardworking, temperamental equines.

Here's some downhome kinds of four-legged friends. I mean, we all know paints from Little Joe, and Appaloosa from, well, Appaloosa. Mustang from Ford. But...did you know~

1. Bangtail is another name for a wild horse, a mustang.

2. Cold back is a green, or unbroke, horse.

3. Churnhead is slang for a stubborn horse.

4. Dobbin is a gentle farm horse.

5. Buttermilk is another name for a palomino.

6. Calico is spotted, piebald: a pinto.

7. Cremello is an albino with pink skin and blue eyes.

8. Medicine hat, a black speckled mustang, was considered good luck by the Indians.

9. Palomilla is a milk white with white mane and tail.

10. Sabino is light red or roan with a white belly.

How about that for a remuda, the string of horses, preferably geldings, assigned to cowboys on a ranch or along the trail?

I think my favorite movie horse was the mountain horse in Man from Snowy River. Broke my heart when the bad guys shot him out from under. Won't be watching that movie for a long, long time. How about you?

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