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Show Outdoor Wisdom from Hartt Wixom Take Care of Your Horse and He Will Take Care of You By Hartt Wixom My relationship with horses hor-ses over the past several decades has usually been connected with fishing and hunting. But, there are some valuable things to know when using a cayuse for any reason and prticularly if you want more fishing and hunting time. If you neglect your mount, he may neglect you. For example, on a recent five day horse expedition into Wyoming's Wind River Mountains, I met former Oakley rancher Jim Crittenden. Critten-den. Jim also played halfback half-back for Brigham Young University a couple of decades ago, and is now a football official with the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. Asso-ciation. But, mostly, Crittenden Crit-tenden is one of the most skillful wranglers I've met. While I was catching golden trout from Elbow Lake and perhaps a hundred brook and cutthroat trout from lower waters Jim was busy helping make certain the pack string got enough grass. There isn't much of it at 11,000 feet. Yet, Jim and partner Lee Nicholes, Lehi-Highland resident, re-sident, managed to get the job done and also catch a dozen nice goldens between them. "Most people out fishing and hunting riding horses for a reason other than just a ride do not allow their mount enough grazing time," Jim says. "You can't just tie them on a long rope overnight and figure that will do it. They will tangle and rope burn nearly every time. On the other hand, we don't like to hobble them then because it may take so much time to locate next morning, especially with timber around. "We hobble them and let them feed for maybe four hours during the day, then tie them on a short rope at night. If feed was not plentiful earlier, we will let the animal do some munching munch-ing along the trail. A horse can get in poor condition fast, and may even rebel on you if not getting in that four hours of grass a day. If hobbled near water, they can also get to it as much as they want." Crittenden says his days on his father's Oakley ranch also taught him such things as to "run a curry comb" or at least your hand, all over a horse's back, sides, nape before adding blanket ard saddle. The reason is iot only to remove any burrs or foreign matter .which your weight could aggravate, but to determine any sore spots. If located, he has some "old Indian medicine" which heals it right up. Jim is also vigilant along the trail to see if any horse loses a shoe. If so, he has a "patch kit" along to put that shoe right back on again. "You should not, if possible, force an unshod horse to walk far across rocks and rough country if you care much about using him again," he emphasizes. As for casual riding, Crittenden feels too many people don't match their mount. "You don't want a tranquil old lady on a highly-spirited horse, which will run at the drop of one rein," he adds. There are many ways to make a mistake in horsemanship. horse-manship. Some saddles "connect" with a belt-like ' notch, others with a saddle hitch tie. But, make sure you wrap the strap through the ring twice. Once, and you may find yourself hanging upside down, looking at the ground. Since most horses won't tolerate such goings on, you may find anything put in saddle bag or across it kicked to a shambles even if you are not. But. basically, a reasonably reason-ably good horse will just have a few idiosyncracies. He may be frightened of a trail motorcycles' shiny metal, me-tal, or a burned-out black stump. You have to decide if .he is just, being stubborn, and trying to test your mastery of him, or whether he is indeed, afraid. If the latter, do not force him. Walk him around the problem, pro-blem, or talk him into a state of security by the calm sound of your voice. Treat it as a kid's phobia. At first be patient. Only after you have calmed him down can you reason with a horse. When leading and unleading a truck or trailer, Jim seems to know when it give a boot, and when to wait it out. It also helps to realize some horses get along better with other horses. "We don't put our Wyoming and Utah m horses next to one another in the truck or the trail," Jim stresses. "This is one place we let them have their way." He also "controls" some skitterish andor stubborn horses better by strapping their heads down. This way they cannot raise their heads to escape the bridle bit. Interpreted, it means they are more likely to do precisely what the rider wants, without delay. There are riding academies academ-ies throughout Summit. Morgan, Mor-gan, Wasatch Counties, especially es-pecially in the Park City-area. City-area. Or you might have ranching friends who will let you use one. In any event, get to know a horse's needs, and he will take care of many of yours in the outdoors. |