SHORTY

when I went to work for t and c  cattle co they were raising some really nice horses. some of the best bred horses in the state at the time. in the first bunch of colts I started was a own son of rebel cause, a sorrel leo bred colt and a chesnut  colt of tony breeding.  the rebel cause colt went to the track after I got him saddle broke. he set records and won races every where he went. the sorrel was a sure nuff power house . four stocking legs and a bald face.  he was put together like a cow horse should be. he was hot and would buck at the drop of a hat. he was quick and cowey.  the chesnut was a little smaller, gentle, and good natured.  he had power, and some quick speed, but wasn't as flashey as the other two. he broke out the easiest and went right to work.  for some reason no one kept him in their string very long. he was passed around and was turned out a lot . he would cow and was a nice horse to use, but just didn't seem to fit anybodies need.
  when jimmy came to work at the yard he was given shorty .  but shorty seemed to aggravate jimmy and he fought with shorty a lot.  shorty had been passed around so much he didn't have a lot of sensitivity in his mouth. jimmy rode him in a bear trap hackamore. for some reason jimmy didn't have a throat latch on that rig. one day as we were commin out the end of a ally, jimmy set into fussin with shorty. he was jerking on his head when the curb strap broke! shorty flipped his head and the whole rig flipped back in jimmies lap!! shorty saw the ally gate standing open and stampeded toward the barn, with jimmy holding the saddle horn in a white knuckle grip with a shocked look . as they came by me jimmy was about as pale as a hospital sheet that had just been bleached!! he looked me in the eye with a pleading look. he didn't notice I had a loop built and as shorty made a high speed turn turn on the asphalt feed ally I pitched it on shorty and then followed along to slow him down with out jerking him down on the hard feed ally.  jimmy turned shorty in after that.  as years went by and I left the company I would hear of some stunt that shorty would pull. then when I was workin at the Arlington feedyard  the old timer showed up there, and he had shorty. when he left t and c he bought shorty. and he was roping on him. he had matured, and made a fantastic rope horse. as time went on the old timer passed him over to his cusin pete who roped on shorty a long time. I never knew when shorty passed on but I always had a soft spot for him. he probably out lasted his brothers  but for sure he had a personality.