He’s branded with DS.  I thought my husband was clever with the name, don’t you?

Tyler starts with ground work, which he claims is not near as fun as just getting on them and going, but it’s a better, safe way.  You want to give the animal respect but also demand things of him.  He needs to know who boss is but also needs to learn that.  My son uses a long halter so that he has plenty of room to swing the end of it to make the horse go, without getting kicked.  He usually takes that halter and lets the horse smell it, then he rubs the halter all over him, then puts it on.  He asks him to give and he won’t let go until he does.  He just holds it there and waits.  It takes lots of patience to do this kind of work. That’s when he teaches him to lope in circles in each direction.

He pulls him to a stop, making sure he’s facing his direction and pulls him forward….then pets on his nose to let him know he’s doing good.  You can tell the horse is very alert, watching Tyler, listening to Tyler.

Next comes the saddle blanket.  He lets the horse see it, smell it, and then he rubs it all over the horse so that Nintendo knows the saddle blanket won’t hurt him.

He does the same thing with the saddle.  He tosses on his back a few times so that he understands the saddle won’t hurt him either. Then he lets the horse “soak”.  He lets him sit a minute with the saddle on.

So now once the saddle is on, Tyler does more ground work because almost always, a colt will buck a little.  He knows there’s something on his back, doesn’t really know what and is unsure about whether or not that saddle is gonna hurt him.  Once Tyler’s done some ground work with the saddle on, Nintendo quits pitchin’ and realizes it’s okay.

Pulling him towards him again, just like at the beginning.

It’s amost time for Tyler to get on the horse.   Before he does though, he steps up on the stirrups on both sides and kinda jumps around like he’s gonna jump up on the saddle.  It just lets the horse know that there’s nothing to be skittish about. He pets him all over once he’s up there on the sides, letting him know all is okay.

He finally gets on Nintendo and all he does it sit there, letting the horse feel him up there.  He sticks his foot out letting the horse smell of the stirrup.  He reaches around petting on him, moving around up there.

After that, he finally makes him go.  There’s a little resistance but not much with horse. Nintendo seems to learn well.   Once he goes how Tyler wants him to go, he stops, gets off, and lets him sit a minute, while he takes his own break.  Tyler gets to rest a second and reflect on how he did and Nintendo gets to think about everything that just happened.  The whole process takes at least an hour, if not longer.  From day 2 and beyond, the ground up work is not near as much because the horses already knows all that.

And that my friends, is how Tyler breaks a horse.

Remember Sparkplug?  Well, we still have him and Truett loves him but he really needed a gentle horse that he could ride all by himself right now.  We bought an old horse named Smokey who is super gentle and gets Truett perfectly.  I’m not particularly fond of gray colored horses but Truett loves him and that’s all that matters.  He goes everywhere on him and rides every day.  I can’t wait to take his first ‘cowboy works’ photos!

Man I just love that kiddo.  He has such a sense of pride when riding him and I LOVE the way he watches me to see if I’m watching him.  He shows off by turning Smokey in circles and backing him up.  4 year olds rock!

Anyways, I’m gonna take video next time so you can listen to him.  He’s fun to listen to ’cause you never know what’s gonna come out of his mouth.  Until then…

p.s. He is bareback. We believe a kiddo should first learn to ride bareback before a saddle. He’s been doing really good at staying in the middle….

When the horses come close to the yard, he doesn’t care a lick whether or not he’s got pants on. He shoots outside just so he can get close enough to pet on them.  If you listen closely, you can hear him whispering things to them too. I don’t know what exactly but most of the time it seems like a deep conversation by the way his hands move around.

He’s fun to watch and if you bother him during his convos with the horses, he’ll stomp all the way back and tell you to leave him alone and that he’s busy!

While Sparkplug doesn’t stay in the yard anymore, we do occasionally let him in so that Truett can pet on him, lead him around, and now check his “shoes”. He’s been watching my man shoe horses and pretends to shoe Sparkplug.  If you look closely, you can see him lifting Sparkplug’s foot………

Days like this just make me smile.  Absolutely precious to see how smart and independent he is.

From the day Truett’s Uncle Andy sent us a text photo of Sparkplug, little man has not stopped thinkin’ ’bout his horse. You know they’re excited and all but it’s when you pull up to the ranch and see the expression on his face that makes the $100+ of gas & spur of the moment drive worth the trip. Of course getting to see family is icing on the cake.

He was tickled now. He kept saying, “that’s MY horse Dad!” and even told Nana, “now I can chase cows”. Yep, he thinks he’s set to go horseback and work cattle with his Dad now but little does he realize he’s got to learn how to ride first.

His cousin Prescott (pronounced Presscut) was there to greet him and walk him over to look at his horse. It was such a sweet moment. Even though they’re cousins, it seemed like they were brothers.

In no time, Prescott helped him settle and saddle his horse.  Cowboys hard at work.

Moments later, both were saddled, Prescott on his new horse and Truett on his.  Two cowboys ready to ride the long trail………….

After a fun day with family, we headed home, Truett in front, Sparkplug in the back.  It was a funny site to see us hauling a big ol’ trailer with this little fella in it.  I’m sure my man would have loved for folks to see that a 3yr old was in the truck as well…cowboys do have reputations to uphold after all and hauling anything miniature doesn’t exactly spell out MANLY. lol

We decided to let Sparkplug hang out and graze in our yard for a few days.  He might help keep the grass mowed down a bit and definitely doesn’t take up too much room.  Truett couldn’t wait to get him saddled again and ride.

He wanted Dad close by for a little bit but then in no time, he didn’t need his Dad around.  He said he could do it.  So grownup…just like someone else I know.

He went from holding Dad, to hands free with Dad close, to holding the rope himself.  A proud moment for anyone, but especially for ranch folk who raise their kids in this lifestyle.  He was truly becoming a real cowboy.

After all the ridin’, and for the next 2hrs, Truett hung around Sparkplug like he was his shadow.  While Sparkplug grazed on the grass, Truett knelt down beside him, watching and even helping by tossing a few grass blades his Sparkplug’s way.  It was one of the most precious moments ever and it reminded me of when my oldest were that little with their first horse.

and my favorite….a perfect picture to a perfect day.

Thank you Kelly for being so generous. I thank you, we thank you and most of all Truett thanks you.  He’s couldn’t be any happier.

If any of you would like to do something generous, consider attending the Tom Butler Memorial Bronc Riding in Post Texas or purchase a piece of Ridin’ High Butler Style apparel.  All proceeds go to the Tom Butler Memorial Scholarship Foundation, helping ease the financial burden a bit for those attending college, a worthy investment.

Tyler, my oldest, has sorta always felt like my brother in a way.  I mean, I did have him at 17 after all so we kinda grew up together in a sense I suppose.  He always gave me a hard time from the early newborn days until about 14.  I remember waking up at 2am trying to soothe him with no luck at all and my husband walking over, patting him on the back and him falling right to sleep.  He’s always been a daddy’s boy.  He was also the one carving on saddles, writing his name with a marker under out dinner table, acting up in class, and hiding all sorts of snacks in his room.  He’s now almost all grown up it seems.  He’ll be 16 in September and he’s a good young man.  He’s so very polite and respectful.  He has this unbelievable work ethic, something many teens lack these days.  He’s been breakin’ horses since he was 7 or so and he’s still doing it, only now he’s earning a man’s wages.

He’s just waiting for the day he can leave home to go daywork on other ranches.  I can’t imagine him leaving home though.  He’s just like me whether he wants to admit it or not.  He’s silly and is always cracking me up.  He’s my best friend now.  I know I still have a few years left with him but God how I’ll miss him when he’s gone to live out his cowboy days.