Dan and Camo
I don’t know much about horses. Though there have always been a few here on the ranch, there was never anyone around who was a first rate horseman – so I’ve had to figure horses out on my own. When I was younger I just hopped on and away we went. I never took the time to learn much. Most of what I know, I picked up by watching cowboys and that is barely enough to be safe. Like everyone else we don’t really need horses anymore so I have been trying to figure out why I like to have them around. Why I haven’t made it a point to know more about them?
Probably it has to do with time. I know from being around other animals that to really know horses would take a lot of time and there is never enough time. But a colt in the corral has always been sort of comforting to me and that is why, when Stan & Sharon Holsclaw showed up a couple weeks ago with a two-year-old paint banging around in their horse trailer I became instantly excited. I had seen him at Holsclaw’s a few weeks before and had felt a connection. I was with my brother, Scott, and I guess I commented on how nice it would be to work with that colt in its critical third year of life. The horse showed up on a Sunday afternoon, billed as a wedding gift for Jill and me. Which brings us back to time: Jill and I aren’t married yet but have been trying to find the time to do the deed for at least a year. A new colt, there in the corral just off the deck, is not going to help us find the time to get married – it’s looking more and more like an hour at the courthouse – but there is something necessary in having him there to share and to work with.
It is like my brother to know what I need and to find a way to get it to me. In this case it came in Stan’s horse trailer. “Never had a rope on him,” Stan said as we stood on the running board and peered in at the pretty tri-color Paint.
“How’d you get him in there?”
“Just ran him into the barn and backed the trailer up to the door. When I slid the door open he jumped right in.”
“Surprised?”
Stan laughed. “Oh yea, but he’s calming down.” He pushed his hand through the trailer slats and the colt rolled his eyes.
So we backed the trailer up to the corral and opened the door and the colt jumped out into his new home. Jill was watching the procedure and it didn’t take her long to figure out a name. She loved the black and white tail and the long strips of brown on both sides. “Camo,” she said. The colt paced the corral while a group of us sipped beers on the deck and watched him move. It was not until later that afternoon, when everyone else had gone home, that Jill and I got down into the corral and began making friends with Camo.
Jill’s approach to making friends is time tested and true – food. I stood back, leaning on the corral rail while she talked sweet talk and rattled the sweet chops in the metal pan. Here was a colt that had likely never had a bite of grain and only a little sweet talk, but slowly he came to Jill and, watching that first contact, made me wonder how many times similar scenes had been played out in the hills that surround our ranch. For five hundred years, from South America to the Prairie Provinces and for eons before, on the steps of Europe. The human/horse dance had begun again, and I wondered how it could be that a creature as strong and able as Camo would submit to the hand of a human, and how a creature as smart and fragile as a human could suspend its sense of self preservation enough to actually jump aboard.
We’ve spent a lot of time in the last couple weeks watching Camo flow around the corral, easing the halter over his ears, stroking his neck, and his side. Jill and I have picked up his feet and slid a saddle up and onto his back. I have to admit to a few shutters and the occasional dull memory-ache in my ribs that horses have broken over the years. But neither of us can stay away, the attraction is too great. And for Camo’s part he has begun to nicker and trot across the corral to meet us.
We will never ride him much because no one rides a horse much anymore. We no longer use horses to travel or pull heavy things. Maybe their real value now is metaphoric. In a modern world they might be thieves of the time we need to get things done. Things like getting married. But horses won’t be rushed and so the time we spend with them is stretched and golden. Somebody once said that there is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of man, but it’s more than just the visual. For some reason, that powerful joy that Camo exhibits when he crosses the corral is always duplicated in me. As I sit here and write I am thinking that what I really want to do is to walk out the corral and watch him. It will be months before we completely trust each other and a year before he is strong enough to carry my weight. But until then I want to stay close to him. I want to saddle him up and put my foot in the stirrup and lean on him. He is learning to tolerate Jill and me and I am gathering my courage to step aboard. I dream of setting out across the prairie on his back and I’m hoping that he might be dreaming of the same thing. I’m betting Jill and I will be married by then.
Comments 16
Dan, I can help you with that married thing. As a Circuit Judge I can do weddings. I’ve done three in the last 20 years and all of them seem to be working out just fine. Just name the time and place.
“horses won’t be rushed and so the time we spend with them is stretched and golden”–I think that must be the appeal of all challenging animals: we meet them on their terms, and it’s such a privilege. 🙂
Thanks Dan! Funny how some of the most beautiful things still bring an occassional pain in the ribs. But the relationships we build are still unbeatable, right? Thanks for the beauty of your western writings.
Yes to “horses won’t be rushed and so the time we spend with them is stretched and golden.” That’s how I feel when I work with my horses. Oh you’ve said it well. They calm us and teach us and it’s not always a gentle lesson.
Dan – I would have to disagree about the practicality of a horse in modern times. Some folks, like pioneer-living guru Eustace Conway from my native North Carolina, are turning back the clock and the horse is an integral component of their subsistence lifestyle. I also know of folks that still use draft horses for more ecologically-friendly logging efforts.
Dan – as ever your way with words touches something deep inside. From the first time I read Buffalo for the Broken Heart, I’m moved by how you put your thoughts and feelings into words. Thanks for continuing that gift to us.
Now, get on with that wedding! Life is short!
“In a modern world they might be thieves of the time we need to get things done.” Hmmm… maybe this time is truly a gift of slowing down, learning and enjoying. Whether they’re working at a job plowing or logging, stress-busting for busy exurbanites, teaching buffalo ranchers the finer points of horsemanship, or for sport, horses love to have a job. I’m so glad to read of your and Jill’s interesting times with Camo. He’s lovely!
There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man. ~Winston Churchill
Dan says above:
“…I wondered how it could be that a creature as strong and able as Camo would submit to the hand of a human, and how a creature as smart and fragile as a human could suspend its sense of self preservation enough to actually jump aboard.”
Seems to me there is a synergistic relationship that forms here and this relationship has withstood the test of time.
“We” (or perhaps I should say “many”) may have forgotten a bit about this sort of relationship, but I doubt the horses have!
Peace,
Ken
Living in an area with a large /Amish and Mennonite population, I’m used to seeing horses all the time, the ones that pull the buggies and the powerful work horses. There’s something about seeing them on a regular basis that is satisfying, and it gives me a good feeling to see how well cared for they tend to be. I rode horses as a girl but mostly these days I just enjoy looking at them. They are a beautiful sight to behold! As always I enjoyed reading your essay.
Dan & Jill
If you really want to be in harmony with your horse check out Parelli Natural Horsemanship. He was good frinds with Ray Hunt, Tom Dorrence & other great horsemen.
Keep it Natural
Julie
Finally. You will be a better person for entrusting your soul to a horse!
They are honest and once the bond is made, they aren’t the ones who break it.
That book I sent you a few years back was a personal journey through some of the nuances of “horse country”
Congratulations on your upcoming marriage. The universe always gives us what we need when the time is right! 🙂
What a beautiful horse! Certainly understand why he’s captured your hearts.
Schedule the wedding, enlist Camo to be the best man. Congratulations!
I think a horse can capture the soul’s imagination and vice versa. So can other animals each in their own way. As someone who so loves the effort of Dan and “company”, I must say that I appreciate this conversation.
Thank-you.
And one other thing I have been thinking about with respect to synergies is that they are dependent upon place. So of course there is synergy in having the American Bison back upon the Plains, and it seems obvious to me that horse love to run and the Plains are a good place for this.
I have also lately been thinking much about the Amish (as well as Monnonite) communities and I am so impressed by them. I think they hold onto a kernel of truth that we all sense, but for which we have lost touch, and this lost touch is something we all crave to get back. I know I do.
Anyhow, thanks again for this article, and I hope to hear that the marriage has commenced soon!
Peace,
Ken
Chelsea,
Great to hear from you and great to know that you had a happy experience as a Park Ranger. I’m also very glad to hear that you’ve thought about our class at Carleton. I certainly have. Sometimes I think that you students do more for me than I could ever do for you. I sometimes struggle with finding enough hope to stay positive. You and the other young people I meet have a better grip on that – as you should!
Eric,
There certainly are a few people who are using horses again. But imagine what it was like when EVERYONE dealt with horses everyday. There is a grand picture of the 7th Calvary in the 1870’s. A field full of horses laying on there sides with troopers stand beside them. A few lying behind the horses and resting their rifles on them. The caption reads something like Raw troops drilling with their mounts. Must have been a very different world. Thanks for you comment.
Katie,
Thanks for your comment. Couldn’t agree more.
Kathy,
Life is short indeed. I’m working on the wedding. Promise.
Emily,
Gainful employment is good for us all. The only creatures on this ranch that seem to thrive without it are the cats. They think mice are yucky.
Beth,
Did Winston really say that?
Ken,
It seems that horses don’t forget much.
Julie,
Thanks for the tip.
Marie,
You are indeed fortunate to regularly see horses at work. I envy you.
Sara,
The book has helped to inspire us. Thanks for the gift and for the optimism.
Duane and Carol,
Camo as the best man – now there is good idea.
Jon,
What a great offer – and even with a sort of guarantee. Don’t be surprised if you get a call.
Leslie,
I agree that it is indeed a privilege.
Lucas,
Rib pain seems to be the common denominator.
Dan,
I stumbled across your blog about “Camo” one afternoon while trapped on the INTERNET.. I enjoyed the read, and it made me think about a horse fix of my own..
In fact, back before cowboys could twitter and basketball players could fly helicopters, I had an ole pony that was the spitting image of Camo….His name was Apache..
Apache and I rode the hills and hollows of Appalachia where I spent much of my youth..Our adventures with my fishing pole tied to the saddle kept us out of trouble, most of the time..I eventually grew up and those adventures went by the wayside..
The horse thing snagged me again after college, where I managed to spend five fun years training thoroughbreds at the race track….Reality eventually caught up with me and ended that adventure too…
Now, later in life, and retired from a career in the go-fast with your hair on fire world of Army Aviation, I can see the real value of being in that round pen again….
I look forward to following your progress with the horse- – – – – – –
and the wedding..
Thanks again..
Bill
p.s. Congrats on the Great Plains Book…..your essays fit the bill….