ole knife

he was a bay, tall , narrow and lean. he showed some breeding of the thourobred line but was snorty and hard to catch. i was told he wasnt broke until he was seven or so. he didnt buck , but was hard to bridle if you didnt know him. his neck had been creased at one time. therefore  he couldnt flex and was a little hard mouthed. but the old feller could catch a cow. just after you caught that cow he wouldnt drag him to a tree to be tied. somewhere in his distant past he had been balked.  the rougher the country the better he liked it. i never had him take a bad step, stumble or fall. the side of a rocky mountain was the same as a race track to him. if a cow brute would lead he was a outstanding lead out horse. just dont tighten the lean rope or there you set!
     when i went to the ox ranch at congress he and a bay mare were in a horse trap. kinda poor. they didnt belong to the ranch but were pastured there with out anybodies consent. a local cowboy had put them there when he couldnt feed them anymore. ole knife didnt belong to him but was the property of a fellow in town. i contacted him and asked if he wanted his horse back home. he declined and told me to keep him as he couldnt even catch him let alone ride him.  i kept him til he died. his last few years were easy turned out with some mares in a pasture.
   i found him on a monday mornin, where his great old heart had quit and left his carcass in a trail to water. he was as fat as he had ever been, and had a contented look about him. he had carried me into many a battle and never let me down. he didnt care how rough, steep wild it got, he always carried you through. the mrs. rode him in later years because he was so sure footed. and she took better care of him, i was a little demanding  of him at times, forgetting his age.  many times after retiring him i was tempted to go get him up and use him when i knew there was a nasty job to do, ime glad i didnt.