Horses, Cattle, and Good Friends 

Watching Pat closely it’s nice to see him doing the steps and practices that he teaches. Many “instructors” are going through motions because its what they teach. Just reinforces that everything Pat teaches comes from a places of “that’s what he knows, that’s what he’s learned and found to have worked”. I’ve never heard Pat or Deb say “this is how you have to do it”. Never trust that logic. Be well.

Many of my most favorite memories look just like this

Low stress and slow gets the job done.

We’ve been duped The wool has been pulled over our eyes since 1945 when Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters took the song wide. There are verses that have been hidden from us that involve drag racing, picking up girls, a high-speed crash and an unneighbourly man. But we will get to that in a minute. Jingle Bells is a Christmas favorite, but it was not written with yuletide merriment in mind. It clearly states in the song “sing a sleighing song tonight” and we have no one to blame but ourselves for this misunderstanding. The song, written 164 years ago, was a “sleighing song” and its jolly cadence mimics that of a trotting horse. These types of tunes were a thing in the 1800s, something akin to 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall I suspect, only shorter. Songwriter James Pierpont, J.P. Morgan’s uncle as it happens, was said to have found his inspiration for the song when, one winter’s day, he happened upon sleigh races held on the snow-packed streets of Salem, Massachusetts. So taken, he was compelled to write the little ditty that we all know and probably love or at very least tolerate. Sleigh racing was a popular pastime during the winter months in New England, so popular in fact, local newspapers used to report on the winners, horse’s lineage and the racing conditions. The drag racing scene, as it were, sounds like a bunch of bored teenagers getting into mischief. You got your girl and your one horsepower vehicle and off you go. If you wanted to win, the song suggests, “Just get a bob-tailed bay, two-forty as his speed” and “you’ll take the lead.” This is when my investigative instincts really kicked in, and after more digging, I learned a two-forty horse can trot one mile in two minutes and forty seconds. Unclear if a “two-forty” horse would be considered fast today, I researched further. The first horse to trot a mile under two minutes was a standardbred named Lee Axworthy (1911-1918). As Lee Axworthy was a trained racehorse rather than a trained regular mode of transport, I’d say a two-forty horse was moving at a fair clip. The average horse, that is to say a non-trotter type, trots about eight miles per hour, whereas Lee Axworthy was going approximately 30 miles per hour. Jingle Bells goes on and on about bobtailed horses and this is because sleigh racers had bobbed tails to prevent tangling with the reins and I think it may have been trendy at the time. Though, not being an overly trendy person myself, I admit, I am guessing at that. The song’s original title was One Horse Open Sleigh, which makes perfect sense. These sleighs were called cutters and designed for two people to ride in and for one horse to pull. The perfect sort of vehicle in which to pick up girls. And while I find this part of the original amusing, I feel no need for explanation as the act of picking up girls is as old as time and has changed little, I’m sure, over the centuries. Now, these jingling bells Pierpont wrote about, the ones on the bobbed tail, harness and sleigh were there, not as festive adornments but because it was the law. Heavy fines were issued if you didn’t “jingle all the way!” This type of research is how you zap the romance out of things by the way. Since snow muffles the clippety clop of hooves on a road and since the sleigh rails make little noise, you were just asking for trouble without the jingle jangle of bells alerting oncoming traffic. As for the crash, the only thing to learn there is that snowbanks have clearly been a problem for a long time. And the unneighbourly man probably hadn’t yet sensed the magic of Christmas. And there you have it. We may have been duped, which lacks Christmas spirit, but we’ve all come away with a little more useless information than before we entered. That is my gift to you, and Pierpont’s gift is to have you “laughing all the way, ha ha ha ha.” The Original Lyrics Dashing through the snow On a one-horse open sleigh, Over the fields we go, Laughing all the way; Bells on bob-tail ring, Making spirits bright, What fun it is to ride and sing A sleighing song tonight Jingle bells, jingle bells, Jingle all the way! O what fun it is to ride In a one-horse open sleigh. A day or two ago, I thought I’d take a ride, And soon Miss Fanny Bright Was seated by my side; The horse was lean and lank; Misfortune seemed his lot; He got into a drifted bank, And we, we got upsot. Chorus A day or two ago, The story I must tell I went out on the snow And on my back I fell; A gent was riding by In a one-horse open sleigh, He laughed as there I sprawling lie, But quickly drove away. Chorus Now the ground is white Go it while you’re young, Take the girls tonight And sing this sleighing song; Just get a bob-tailed bay Two-forty as his speed Hitch him to an open sleigh And crack! you’ll take the lead. Chorus

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Really liked this video. I liked the intimacy of seeing the cowboys and cowgirls working and I liked the still shots of the ranch hands expressions.. Good photography. I think I just realized when Styx was bending his head down to check out the "real cow", that the more seasoned ranch horses do not engage with the cows, they do their job and that's it.

Merry Solstice to all. More light is coming back into our lives here in the Northern Hemisphere.

Happy New Year Pat & Deb. Love the jingle bells by guitar.

Merry Christmas

Nice to see old Shoshone, I sure like that big horse. Merry Christmas to the Puckett's, and thank you for these videos!

Styx did great. Good head on that fellow.

Amen.. Thank Y’all… My Prayer is Peace to ALL..

Thank you for this wonderful video and the beautiful message at the end. Styx is a beautiful horse and a great partner. He aced it!

Some great still photos!

What a delightful video!

Let there be peace on earth. So be it!

Merry Christmas to you as well. It is delightful to see a group of people working together with that sort of calm proficiency, efficiency and confidence, with care and respect for the horses and the cattle. Also lovely to see Styx and how he handles his new job. Thank you for sharing this video.

What a fun day. Thanks for the video. I love the message at the end. I’ve been to The Broken Arrow Ranch several times for clinics. It’s a wonderful place to ride. Brandie and Jeremy Dunn are awesome hosts.

Styx surely was taking alot in and handling it well for his first time out. If I ever get to visit, Deb and Pat, you can bet I will be wanting to do a ride outside on Shoshone . Peace and joy from Nova Scotia to all .

Merry Christmas and Happy New year ..Folks ...THANK YOU very much for letting us watch you guys ... It's a pleasure😊 to watch a GREAT CREW work ...

Merry Christmas and a happy and safe new year!

Merry Christmas, Thanks for the wonderful share!

Merry Christmas . I can’t express in words how grateful I am that I’ve found your channel. Inspirational and life changing. Love and blessings from Ewa from Poland

You fellers sure have some big windmills in that country!

Merry Christmas from us in Canada 🇨🇦 and a Happy New Year Ride safe , Ride free

MERRY CHRISTMAS to you guys.......and Many More ! it don't get much better than that .....OnWard.....

Merry Christmas and Thank you for all you do and share with us that don't have horses (used too) but love watching them!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Pat and Deb! Deb, I got my colt back... so worth the extra time they did. Thank you for encouraging that. They worked thru what I would never be able and I have this pretty awesome little guy now! Sure wish we had those roping times again, like we had in these videos. Kindra got a new colt from Connor and we talked about getting back to the fun times of learning loops and being handy with our horses. Happy New Year, may it truly be...praying for Australia, especially.

Merry Christmas to all!

Merry Christmas from Thomaston, Georgia! I would like to see a short demonstration on the Vaquero figure 8 loop please.. FYI it will have to be detailed because I can “miss” with the best of em and occasionally I’d like to “catch” one! Thanks in advance

Wonderful video. Merry Christmas everyone! Many blessings to all.

Happy New Year to you and Deb. All the best. From your Canadian friend Peace ✌️

What an absolute joy to watch and listen to. The best wishes for a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.

Thank you guys. Great job Styx ! Merry Christmas - all the best!

Pat and Deb, Merry Christmas and God bless to you and yours!

What a great bunch of people :) Merry Christmas from Australia

Merry Christmas I have learned so much from you thank you

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! From Oregon.

Stunning

Good Morning Pat & Deb Happy Holidays .

What a great video! Thank you for posting it. Merry Christmas! From Tucson, AZ

Feliz Navidad!

So nice to see Shoshone. Merry Christmas from Bugs and Donna.

schön

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Merry Christmas! Beautiful images! Thank you for this content This will be unpopular but it’s business Cowboys by the hour I can’t pay to process cattle at this rate. This is not for profit ranching Yeah I said it. This is a $100 steak video Patience is beautiful but not cheap. Just my outfit

Did I see Shoshone? And the Grey whose name I don't remember? Stix looked great. He was curious about that cow on the ground.

Hoping you read this. Watermax is a water making device from Isreal. I may be a great asset for the Indian reservation.

And a double rigged saddle.