A Cowboy and Cowgirl Thanksgiving Prayer.....

Wishing all you Cowboys and Cowgirls a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

 

A Cowboy's Thanksgiving Prayer
by Steve Lucas

Dear Lord....

I turned it all over to you, Lord. Put my trust in your capable hands.
And I thank you that you let us keep on
makin' a living off of your lands.
Thanks for these good friends and neighbors
and the love and the help that they give.
And I thank you Lord for these old cows
and the cowboy life they let me live....
...so Lord on Thanksgiving,
as we take a break from our chores,
we thank you for this year's blessings,
and for what you have in store.

Support your local business and American made products this holiday season. Start with Buckaroo Leather Products. American made quality leather horse tack for over 30 years!!!

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the 
Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality 
American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand 
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The History of the Hackamore and Mecate

 Vaquero's

The Hackamore was used by the Vaquero's in the beginning for horse training. The Vaquero's quickly learned that this piece of horse tack was a must for every day riding too. Today the hackamore is wildly popular among the Natural Horseman and women and horse riders still true to the Vaquero ways.

The unique part of the Hackamore is that it does not have a bit. It uses a braided noseband called a Bosal. The Bosal is a special type of noseband that works on pressure points on the horse's face, nose, and chin. 

 

                      Cadillac Hackamore set with Fiador and Mecate



The mecate is the rein portion of the Hackamore.The Mecate is a rope made from horse hair or soft feeling rope. The mecate can act as a lead rope too.

The traditional Mecate used by the California Vaqueros was made from the long hair of a horse's tail and was hand braided. Modern Mecates are made with horse hair and synthetic rope with a horse hair tassel at one end and a leather popper at the other end.

 

Mecate Rein with Leather Popper

 
The history of the Hackamore and Mecate goes all the way back to 4,000 BC. The first Hackamore was probably a piece of rope placed around the nose or head of a horse not long after domestication. These early devices for controlling horses may have been adapted from equipment used to control Camels. Over time, this means of controlling a horse became more sophisticated.

The Persians in 500 bc were one of the first to use a thick plaited noseband to help the horse look and move in the same direction. This was called a Hakma. On this Hakma was a third rein added at the nose, which allowed the rider to achieve more power from the horse. Later this third rein moved from the top of the noseband to under the chin, where it is still part of the modern Bosal style Hackamore with Mecate reins.

Loping Soft Nose Hackamore

The Hackamore used in the United States came from the Spanish Vaqueros in California. From this, the American Cowboy adopted two different uses, the "Buckaroo" tradition closely resembling that of the original Vaqueros and the "Texas" tradition which blended some Spanish techniques with methods from the eastern states.


Bosal Hackamore Style

These types of Hackamores include the Bosal and side pull. The Bosal Hackamore uses the Vaqueros tradition of the braided noseband and the Mecate rope.

The Mecate is tied to the Bosal in a specialized manner that adjusts the fit of the Bosal around the muzzle of the horse and creates both a looped rein and a long free end that can be used for a number of purposes.

For the mounted rider, the free end is coiled and attached to the saddle or tucked under your belt. When the rider dismounts, the lead rein is not used to tie the horse to a solid object but used as a lead rope and a form of lunge line when needed.

Bosalitos Vaquero Style

                                        
A properly tied Mecate knot allows wraps of rope to be added to the knot in front of the rein loop in order to tighten the Bosal noseband on a horse or the rope can be unwrapped to loosen the Bosal.

This Vaquero style of Hackamore is used in Western Riding and is an indispensable part of the Vaquero way of making a California reined horse. It is also used with horses that have dental issues, where a bit would be painful. Some riders also like to use this style of Hackamore in the winter instead of a frozen metal bit. 


Sidepull Headstall / Hackamore

The side pull Hackamore or headstall is a modern design inspired by the Bosal style. This style has a heavy noseband with side rings that attach the reins on either side of the head. This allows very direct pressure to be applied from side to side.

 

                             Loping Sidepull Hackamore


The noseband is made of leather, rawhide, or rope with a leather or synthetic strap under the jaw. It is held on by a leather or synthetic headstall.

Visit the Buckaroo Leather Website for our full collection of Hackamores......









Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the 
Western Horseman the safest most durable 
Quality American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand 
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

Rose Dunn Old West Outlaw????

 

Rose Dunn, outlaw or rebellious teenager??? One may look back at Rose Dunn’s actions as just a young rebellious teenage girl in love, but history has called her an outlaw. Rose was an attractive young girl who was born in 1879 near Ingalls, Oklahoma. Even though she was from a poor family, she received a formal education at a convent in Wichita, Kansas.  Rose learned to ride, rope and shoot from her 2 older brothers who were minor outlaws when Rose was young. Through her 2 brothers, Rose met George "Bittercreek" Newcomb and it was "love at first site."

Rose or Rose of the Cimarron, as she was called by Newcomb, became romantically involved with him around 1893 when she was either 14 or 15 years old. Newcomb and his gang the Doolin-Wild Bunch Dalton gang worshiped Rose because of her good looks and her calm and kind demeanor. The gang was extremely protective of her and in turn she was especially loyal to them. Rose being completely infatuated by Newcomb began supporting him and his outlaw lifestyle by going into town for the gangs supplies since the law wanted all in the gang.

George "Bittercreek" Newcomb

While Rose was helping the Doolin-Wild Bunch Dalton gang and Newcomb, her 2 brothers left the outlaw life and became well known bounty hunters called the Dunn Brothers. Soon Rose's outlaw life would end too.

In 1893 in Ingalls, Oklahoma the Doolin-Wild Bunch Dalton gang was in George Ransom's saloon. Soon U.S. marshals surrounded the saloon demanding the outlaw’s surrender. Needless to say the gang did not go quietly. The gun battle started and quickly became an intense shootout; know today as the Battle of Ingalls. Now there is some speculation on whether this part of the story is true. It has been said that Newcomb was badly injured during the shootout. While he was lying in the streets, Rose ran from the Pierce Hotel to bring him two belts of ammunition and a Winchester Rifle. When she got to Newcomb she fired the rifle at the Marshals while Newcomb reloaded his revolvers and was able to escape. 

During the shootout 3 deputy Marshals were killed and Newcomb and Charley Pierce were wounded, but they both managed to escape. Newcomb, other members of the gang, and Rose hid out for at least two months. Rose nursed all the injured back to health. At this point there was a $5,000 bounty out for Newcomb, dead or alive.

Now, remember Rose's brothers were bounty hunters. On May 1895 Newcomb and another gang member, named Pierce came to visit Rose at her home. The Dunn Brothers shot both Newcomb and Pierce as they dismounted their horses in front of the house. Rose was later accused of setting the outlaws up by letting her brothers know when they were coming. The Dunn Brothers and Rose denied this fact. Rose was never prosecuted for her involvement with the gang. Rose's life of crime ended and she married a local politician and lived the remainder of life as a respectable citizen until her death at the age of 76.

Her rebellious teenage years or her life as an outlaw however you decide to look at it did one thing and that was to catapult her into the level of a western legend.

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the 
Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality 
American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand 

Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand 
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site