| Issue #6 |
Cowboy Gear-Chinks & Chaps
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History of Chinks & Chaps
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Quarter Cracks
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Problems or Puzzles?
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Buckaroo Gift Roundup
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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 jes'
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 experience, & a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
* If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
* Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.
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Price: $399.00
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Cowboy Gear-
Chinks and Chaps!
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11/01/09
Buckaroo John,
It is that time of year when Cowboys are moving their cattle herds down from the summer mountains for winter. During this process the cowboys rely on their horse tack and their cowboy gear.
One of the most important are their chaps and chinks. They are used not only to protect their legs bit to keep them warm!
To understand the importance of the Cowboys gear, here is a brief look at what typically happens on mountain cattle ranches.
Spring can be both wonderful and brutal in the Rockies, with blinding snowstorms one day and soft, lovely sunshine the next. Most Colorado ranchers grow hay on their property, which is baled and stored to feed the animals through the winter and early spring. The herds graze on the hayfields over the winter and clean up the remaining stubble if the snow isn't too deep.
Once the growing season begins, it's every rancher's goal to get those cows off the hayfields so that he can start irrigating and growing hay again. Many ranchers that have dryland pastures use these fields for spring pasture, either grazing on the grass that comes up or feeding hay.
Over the summer, the ranchers must either move their cows to the high country to graze on national forest or BLM property, or to private property in the mountains.
Ranchers, cowboys and cowgirls, hired hands, and anybody who wants to help all work together to bring the cows up to summer pastures. If the ranch is close enough to the grazing permit area, ranchers start early in the morning and drive the cattle with horses to the high country. If the pastures are farther away, they truck the cattle to an off-loading facility, where cowboys on horseback then drive the animals up to summer pasture.
Once they're on the national forest, the cattle must be moved to new pastures on a regular basis so that the range doesn't become overgrazed. It takes cowboys to do that work and it's time to get on your horse and ride.
These roundups are a lot of fun, with great camaraderie, lots of saddle time, and beautiful scenery. If you've never chased an ornery heifer through oak brush and pinyons with a good cowhorse, it's a great time. You start to appreciate all the gear that cowboys use, such as good leather chaps to protect your legs from brush tearing at you.
Ranchers typically try to keep the cattle on the summer range as long as possible, but eventually they need to come down from the mountains. Usually the Forest Service dictates when the cattle must be brought down, but sometimes it's a function of weather. If a big snowstorm comes in September, the cattle may be down at the gates to winter pasture two months before you're ready for them.
Most ranchers try to bring their cows down in October or early November.
Deluxe Chink made from Full Grain Leather in Light Brown, Medium Brown, and Dark Brown Earth Tones. This Hand Crafted Chink has an amazing extra special Glovey Feel!
This Batwing Work/Cutter Chap has a Shaped Edge and a Hand Tooled plaque. You can choose from Basket, Acorn/Basket, and Wild Rose/Basket Tooling.
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History of Chinks and Chaps |
11/01/09
Buckaroo John
Here is a fantastic history of Chaps by a fellow Horseman and writer.
Chaps(pronounced "shaps" and short for chaparajos) were originated as a protective garment worn by cowboys in brushy areas. There are many reasons for the use of chaps from decorative to practical. This study will include the origin as well as the practical uses of chaps.
Chaps originated in Spain and Mexico. The first known use of them was for riders to wear when working cattle. They were two large pieces of cowhide that were used to form a protective shield over both the riders legs as well as the horse's chest. Hooking onto the saddles horn, they served both purposes well, but were bulky and hard to work with; therefore chaps were conceived.
Batwings - Originally the most prevalent type of chaps were batwings. These chaps were mostly just an outer layer of leather, usually with three clasps to hold them on the leg. One clasp was near the top of the leg, one behind the knee and one around mid calf.
Batwing Shotgun Style Chap
You will see batwings in most early westerns and western art. Frederick Remington and Charles Russell probably never heard of shotgun chaps which are more common today. Batwing chaps could keep a cowboy's legs safe from brambles and brush, but they weren't a lot of help keeping the legs warm in cold weather.
Batwings mostly gave way to shotgun chaps in the mid 20th century; however batwings are still popular today among rodeo cowboys for the decorative value as well as the fact that they flop around so much during a ride that they can help show good spurring traits.
Shotgun - Shotgun chaps tend to be more fitted to the individual than batwings. They are formed from leather, usually with a zipper to zip up and encase each leg, as if in armor. Shotguns can be used to keep warm in cold weather as well as protection from thorns and brush.
Both kinds of chaps are also useful in a branding corral protecting against all kinds of dangers such as vaccination needles and hot branding irons.
Chinks (short for chinkaderos) - Chinks came along in the latter part of the 20th century and have grown quite popular, although there are still pockets of holdouts here and there. Chinks have been called "cowboy shorts" by some individuals who don't want to change, but they are quite practical for the working cowboy.
Usually made in a similar fashion to shotguns, chinks are simply cut off around knee to mid-calf level, and have fringe around the outer edge. Much more comfortable in warm weather, chinks, like batwings and shotguns, serve a purpose in the cowboy life style. Since most cowboys wear boots that come up near the knee, chinks protect the area above the boot.
Chaps are also useful for other reasons. Leather chaps stick to a leather saddle or a bareback horse better than do fabric trousers and help the rider stay in the saddle.
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Return from Quarter Crack Hell
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11/01/09
John Silveira
Hello again, Hope everyone is doing well.
Here are the pictures i promised regarding the quarter crack repair. Things have gone very well. If you look at the picture you'll notice about 1/4 inch of new growth from the hairline down.
You will also see how the hose clamp was fastened and notice the heel of the quarter crack is still clearanced between the shoe and hoof to allow for the float of that section of crack.
The clamp method couldn't have worked better. It's quite simple to use , and is very direct and gives full control of drawing the crack back together to heal.
The most critical point of this repair is the drilling of the holes into the foot for the fastening screws. It's important to go very slow with the drilling. Go only as deep as necessary to the length of the "Very short screws" As soon as your horse shows any sign of sensitivity you've gone deep enough "STOP" but only go deep enough for the screw.
you'll see where the strap is fastened at the rear and also where the screw mechanism is mounted to keep it out of the way from being stepped on and ripped off the hoof. After it's all put on wrap the hoof with vet wrap or duct tape to protect the device as well.
This was much easier than any other method I've used and much more direct as well.
If you have any questions about this please feel free to contact me .
I'm still currently giving consultation and advice at no cost ( FREE ) until I no longer have time to keep doing so. So I'm all yours. Take advantage of the opportunity like so many others have before it's not available any longer.
Go !! (-:
Here's the pictures.
and the front view showing the point to fasten the screw mechanism. The extra strap was removed from the front to tidy things up. After it's all vet wrapped and duct taped everything is quite secure.
Another real beauty of the hose clamp method is it's so easy to get a screw driver and just re-tighten this unit as time goes on and you can snug the crack right back up again, it would be much more difficult to do that with other methods. And actually the screw could have been mounted just a bit more to the front than it is - would be safer...
Ok - there you go enjoy yourselves ,happy and safe riding and remember to always care4Horses
thank you
john silveira
650-921-5287
Author Bio: John Silveira, Farrier, Aikido practitioner, spiritualist, born and raised in San Mateo California the bay area. For information on his shoeing method and the 100% track record just go toCare4Horses and leave contact information.
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Problems Or Puzzles - Are You in the Right Job?
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11/01/09
Jay Koch
Is your job full of problems or puzzles?
When I was at the end of my last job as a computer nerd, I was dreaming of making a living working with horses. It seemed like in my job all that faced me each day were a string of problems. Some of them were problems I could not solve. The stress was making me ill.
I dreamed of spending my days with horses. When I am playing with a horse and trying to figure out how to get him to perform some task, my sense of time just falls away. The more difficult the task, the more interesting it is. It's not a problem. It's a puzzle.
In self-help books about business, they say, "Turn your problems into opportunities." If your customer is upset, take the problem and turn it around into an opportunity to make him happy. I thought it was just rah-rah, self-help empty encouragement that wore off as soon as you put down the book or left the seminar. It was all a bunch of empty promises.
One evening, though, while I was discussing with a friend all of my problems at work, I had a revelation. The realization was that if you are in a situation where all you see are problems, the issue is not that you have to turn them into opportunities.
The problem is that you are in the wrong job.
If something is not going exactly right, and you can throw yourself into the solution with gusto and joy without any effort, you're in the right job. If you only see puzzles and not problems, you're in the right job. If you have to make yourself face situations and see them as problems, you're not doing what you love, and you are in the wrong job.
I quit my job within a month after that.
I used to be able to throw myself into computer problems. To me, they were puzzles. Frankly, I got tired of those issues, and they became problems. Conversely, my former boss tackles puzzles with financing deals that have millions of dollars attached to them. To him they are puzzles. To me, they would be huge problems. He's in the right job, and I wouldn't want to do what he does. When my tractor breaks, it's a problem, but for my mechanic, it's a puzzle. When my wife and I published a magazine, almost everything we were presented with was a problem. There were no puzzles. It only took us five years and a lot of money to figure out that we were in the wrong business.
Now that I am working to promote my business of teaching leadership through horsemanship, I have very few problems. Almost everything I do is a puzzle. I know I am in the right business.
The key to being happy in your job is not in turning problems into puzzles. The key is being in a job that you like so much that there are no problems. Only puzzles.
You don't have to have a horse to learn how horsemanship will help you be a better leader. Let me share my life lessons I learned while astride my horse.
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