Cowboying up North

[Horsewright]

Good deal Bigfattyt glad ya were able to get to another one. Like to see the pics.

Interesting M MaverickFZX750 I was watching the news last night and Wasington state had a deadly mountain lion attack over the weekend. Two mountain bikers out in the hills and a mountain lion stalked them, pounced, mauled one and killed the other. First deadly attack in 94 years in that state. California leads the US in mountain lion attacks and has for sometime. Two years ago the ranch to our east lost a horse to a mountain lion, the ranch that borders us to the north and west lost several cattle (they eat diffferently then coyotes so you can tell if ya find a carcass whether it was a lion or dogs as we will call the coyotes). We were gathering our ranch and didn't find most of the cattle but did find a mountain lion in a tree. We'd also seen the 4 old horses that are retired out there. One of them is an old mustang, 34 years old at the time. Now ya don't get to be that old in the mustang world by being a wuss. Next day found all the cattle and saw the horses again. This time Apache, the old mustang, had claw marks all up and down his face. We've never seen the cat again, the neighbors havn't lost and more stock and I always figured in the wild like that it was an either or kind of thing. Like I said ya don't get to be that old in the mustang world by being a wuss. Somewhere out in our mountains there is a flattened cat carcass with hoof marks on his head!

 

[Dusty One]

Looks like a lot of hard work and some fun...Thanks for showing !

 

[Horsewright]

Ya bet Dusty One

 

[Bigfattyt]

Horsewright, I posted a few pics over in the Traditional knives forum.

 

[Misplaced Hillbilly]

Three cheers for Ol'Apache!! Maybe bit of Ol' Geronimo's spirit runs in that one

 

[MaverickFZX750]

Agree with Misplaced Hillbilly. This story reminds me the animated movie "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron".

 

[bike4fun919 OpbunchKnives]

This post and photos are pure awesomeness!! Thanks for sharing.

 

[Horsewright]

You are welcome guys, and thanks! Apache is a tough old guy, 36 now and still kicking, if ya pardon the pun. He's how Nichole and I met. She was new up here in the mountains. She was having trouble getting on Apache, take her 20-30minutes to get on. He was great to ride once you were on, just couldn't get on. A neighbor of hers told her to go see the guy down the road, he fixes problem horses and here we are.

 

[Misplaced Hillbilly]

Hey, hope you don't mind me popping up on this thread and asking this. Anyways, I was talking to a friend today about cows,and somewhere in the convo I mentioned "nose pliers" as I remember them being called. Years ago when I was much younger, my Dad and me helped a older neighbor vaccinate some yearlings. He'd lead them into a head chute with these. Seems nobody I talk to in eastern North Carolina where I'm at now has ever heard of them. I was wondering if you or any outfits you know ever used anything like this? Thanks for indulging my curiosity.

 

[Azula Gun Holsters]

Your pictures are always outstanding. Really enjoy your posts, thanks for taking the time and effort to share.

 

[Horsewright]

Yep we've got a pair. Not as cool as that set though. Ours are stainless and don't have that great patina of age like those ones. So if we're having to doctor something in the chute thats where and when we'll use em. We call em nose tongs though. While back we were running our cows through the chute. Every three months our entire herd gets a vitamin/mineral shot. Our grass is low in selenium and copper so this shot balances em out. One cow was coming through and we noticed something on her eye. By happenstance our vet was there as a friend and was helping out. I've made him lots of cool stuff that has appeared in these pages. Like this carry bag for his Sharps:

His leggings for when he's riding his mule, the spurstraps and that sheath attached to his saddle behind his leg:

Holsters knife and sheath:

Anyhoo when he can he'll come and help. He looked at the cow and she had cancer on one of her eyelids. So we pulled out the nose tongs, put em on and pulled her head around to immobilize her and he got all his stuff out of his vet truck and did surgery on her right then and there. He figured he gave her another four or five years getting rid of it then when we saw it.

 

[Horsewright]

Thanks Azula Gun Holsters !

 

[Misplaced Hillbilly]

That's some amazing top notch leather work, I wish those tongs were mine I had to Google it to find a pic to show my buddy and explain them. They mostly have big agricultural farms in this area, but some scattered livestock. Seems like nobody here ever heard of them. But then again I could probably find an ol'timer that has if I looked. These plus nose rings probably originated the saying "being led by the nose" once they was got I don't remember those yearlings arguing much after lol, thanks for the reply and great pics

 

[Horsewright]

Thought ya might like to see some of Mike our cowboss' work too. As a bit and spur maker, in our California tradition, he's a heck of an engraver too. When some one orders one of my knives engraved I send it up to him to do:

He made the two bridle bits on the right in this pic. Ya can see the 50 on the inside of the cheek piece on the right one inlaid in silver. This bit was my 50th birthday present from Nichole some years back. This is Sonny's bit, use it every time I ride him. The center bit is one he and Nichole designed at a show one time. Mike made the very first one for her which is this one. This is now one of his most popular bits.

If ya look real close ya see he even engraves the inside of the cheek pieces.

One of his spade bits he had for sale at a show we both did last Oct. The Brannaman Pro Am Ranch Roping.

A pair of his spurs:

Mike hanging out in his booth just down the aisle from ours. there's those white shirts again:

Mike talking to my son Logan, while they were waiting for Logan's turn in the finals. Huero (Blondie in the Spanish around here), the horse, has one of our carved martingales on his chest and carved slobber straps attaching the mecate (more Spanish, hair rope) reins to the snaffle bit.

Getting er done. He's made the finals every year.

Sonny and I roped too and got er done but just out of the finals.

Just more cool cowboy stuff Misplaced Hillbilly

 

[Misplaced Hillbilly]

Incredible work, I am truly in awe. The engraving inside the bit reminds me of something my best friend and I agreed upon once at a car show. There was some California style lowriders there. While personally that kind of car ain't my style, the attention to detail was astounding.there was a mirror under a car, and you could see intricate pinstriping underneath the car. We agreed any man that put that much effort into something you'd normally never see,truly loved his craft and is a real master. Every item I've seen in your posts of your work and others reflect your love for the craft and traditions. I really enjoy seeing people keeping the old ways alive. I'm proud of my Appalachian heritage, and I still like to wear my cowboy hat, jeans and boots. To be honest I ain't rode in years. I'd like to get me a big strong mule. But even then I'd honestly have to put an effort to losing some weight for the mules sake if not mine lol. Anyways its late and I'm rambling lol thanks for the pics I love seeing great craftsmanship

 

[Misplaced Hillbilly]

I didn't get to go last year but this is my bro-in-law and their pastor/boss packing in to deer hunt for several weeks. They do this every year,sometimes I can get time to join as well. They all save up vacation time and pretty much live in the woods on the mountain from thanksgiving til Christmas.

everything for camp is packed in. Hunting on national forest, however the pastor owns property at the foot of the mountain pretty close to the trailhead.

 

[Misplaced Hillbilly]

One more of my ugly mug, friend took this I was getting into the truck after spending the whole day trying to fix frozen water lines and septic lines at a trailer park where we do maintenance, it sleeted/rained the whole day off and on and I was wet and froze half to death

 

[Horsewright]

Very cool Misplaced Hillbilly . Thanks for posting those pics! And a very cool deal too! I've done quite a bit of packing in years past. But that was pretty much all pre digital camera days so no real pics. This is a friend of mine and some years he does a lot of guiding for hunters. I've made him a lot of gear too including these leggings and his knives and sheaths. He designed my Camp Knife and carries the very first one in a small of the back sheath which ya can almost make out in this pic.

He and his wife are from Alaska but now live in Nevada.

Made her leggings too:

Back in NV.

He can find ya the big ones:

I make a lot of rifle scabbards for horseback use, This one in roughout:

This one with Carlos border stamping.

And designed and make a hard use field holster too:

 

[Misplaced Hillbilly]

Very cool, wow I definitely got to go see the western mountains some day. Far west as I've been is the Oklahoma panhandle, to deer hunt. We hunted a property divided by the Cimarron near the Kansas border. We actually stayed in a little tiny place in Kansas called Englewood. I really wanted to go up to Dodge City, but the weather turned bad last few days we was there, and decided not to risk it just to go sight seeing. Really like the flap holster, great protection for the pistol plus great retention. Hollywood has most people believing EVERYONE in the old west carried low slung quick draw holsters. Bet far more cowboys and outdoorsmen carried flap holsters than not back then. Far more important to make sure such a valuable thing wasn't damaged or lost. Yours looks rugged and tough, but with a nice touch of class with the buckle. Also a simple but elegant form I think. I like the rough out scabbard as well. Rough out will start to wear smooth in areas as it ages, that tells a story of its "life".

 

[WEB2]

That mule carrying that rolled up mattress had me chuckling!...