Anybody who’s never been bucked off hasn’t been on many.
A few horseback riders may have never hit the ground, but they’re certainly not cowboys. Some claim they haven’t bit the dust, but anybody who climbs on every day is going to take a tumble at some point. It’s not the fall, but the landing that hurts.
Truth is that most horses don’t buck. Even those bred to buck for many generations sometimes have no inclination to do so. However, every horse can buck. When somebody says a horse won’t or can’t buck, they’re wrong. God gave every one that ability.
The very best cowboys have been thrown. A few of the most notable crashes for some champions have even come not from world class rodeo stock, but rather a colt they’re
training, or a well-broke horse that suddenly sashays or takes an ornery notion.
Casey Tibbs, Larry Mahan, Billy Etbauer and Bronc Rumford have records verifying their abilities, but they’ve had wrecks outside the competition arena. Mahan, Etbauer and Rumford have been seriously hurt from getting bucked off horses in training.
Tibbs even got thrown from E.C. Roberts’ pickup horse during a rodeo practice session at Strong City. He sure didn’t want to admit that when Mr. Roberts teased him about it at the premiere of Tibbs’ “Born To Buck” movie at Council Grove in 1966.
Training methods, specifically time and patience, can keep horses from bucking most of the time. However, clinicians who insist their technique will eliminate a hump in every horse’s back are fooling themselves. Real horsemen will admit they’ve fallen
off, and their boot is always placed in the stirrup with prudence, because they know it can happen.
Nastiest situation is when a horse that has never shown any indication of bogging his head, and after months in training, or a lifetime of use, cuts loose and sends its rider
sailing through the air. We’ve heard several times about what were thought to be “broke” horses and for no apparent reason they jumped, kicked and dived like rodeo broncs.
If a horse bucks a rider off, it’ll never forget that accomplishment. Renowned horse trainer Dean Smith, upon prodding, admitted he too has been bucked off. Smith advised that if after 90 days of training, a horse cranks hard enough to pitch a qualified rider, sell him. The horse might not break-in-two again, but that chance isn’t
worth the risk.
People have asked us if we ever get bucked off, and we can’t comprehend how they could wonder. We do too often, but we’ve probably fallen off more than being thrown.
“There ain’t a horse that can’t be rode; there ain’t a cowboy that can’t be throwed.”Therefore, we might question James 3:3: “If we set bits in the horses’ mouths to make them obey us, we can turn their whole bodies about.” Getting bucked off is like sinning: both do happen. Likewise, the most important thing with either is
getting right back on.
God knows when we sin, but with repentance He is ever forgiving. Jesus assured us in Saint Matthew 5:5: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”
+++ALLELUIA+++