Frank J. Buchman

Cowboy • Horseman • Writer

Only Keep What’s Needed

“If you don’t use it, you don’t need it and you might as well get rid of it.”

The opinion has been expressed numerous times and repeated frequently as the tack room was being cleaned again.

A longtime friend took home a pickup load of horse paraphernalia when he came several years ago to help reorganize.

This time his pickup bed was refilled with horse items although impossible to figure out where the large accumulation originated. It doesn’t seem like there’s been much equipment acquisition recently but there were sure lots of stuff.

Heavy into collecting and often restoring Western-related trappings for his on ranch museum every saddle caught his eye. Already with a collection of 90 saddles preserved, identified and appropriately displayed, four more went along this time.

Actually the horseman-tack collector had been contacted for a pony harness which he brought along to trade. Somewhere, somehow in earlier reorganizing the one here had disappeared when searching to find it for a young pony owner.

So as dozens of halters, lariats, saddle pads, winter blankets, and headstalls were being loaded, interests swayed to other pieces. Seeming important to the collector were bits and spurs, even broken ones.

“If you don’t use it, you don’t need it so I might as well have it,” he kept repeating. With few exceptions consensus was given and added on top of the pile.

The sidesaddle supposedly ridden by Mom when she was teaching country schools for nine years has come back into possession. It was sent along to be restored and displayed with family ownership identified among his collections.

 A big black and white parade saddle with silver spots and matching bridle and martingale was purchased years ago. Never used and too heavy to ever be ridden personally, the collector smiled putting in into his pickup.

The fox hunter friend who had acquired several draft horses with bucking genes brought them for training decades ago. In appreciation and friendship he’d given a big heavy roping saddle that had become dry and dirty on the rack. Uncertain if the accumulator gets ownership or just cleanup and display privileges.

One high back century old relic he’d restored earlier went back too for exhibit.

Reminded of Mark 6:6: “Don’t think you need a lot of extra equipment just keep what’s necessary.”

+++ALLELUIA+++ 

XIV–39–9-27-2020

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