{"id":21402,"date":"2024-09-04T00:21:23","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T06:21:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=21402"},"modified":"2024-09-03T12:23:03","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T18:23:03","slug":"applejack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/04\/applejack\/","title":{"rendered":"APPLEJACK"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bryce Angell – The outdoors has always been a large part of my life. My father was an outfitter and guide for 35 years and I was there to shoe and care for the horses and help him do the cooking. We took many great trips into the Yellowstone area. Even now that I\u2019m older, we still ride into the Tetons, Yellowstone and surrounding areas. My poems are mostly of personal experience. I am now retired and enjoying life to the fullest. I plan to do more riding and writing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Applejack surprised us when he showed one summer morn\u2019. We weren\u2019t aware of any Appaloosa to be born. <\/span><\/p>\n

We raised him from a colt. He was tough as a rhino\u2019s hide. He could pack a half an elk all day and never break his stride. <\/span><\/p>\n

He had the best of qualities; I\u2019d say except for one. \u2018Cuz when you put a shoe on him that horse would come undone. <\/span><\/p>\n

To think you would control him was a notion without hope. He\u2019d unravel faster than a brand new cheap five-dollar rope. <\/span><\/p>\n

Given choice of shoeing Applejack and pounding in my brain, I\u2019d choose nailing apple jelly to a runaway train. <\/span><\/p>\n

The last cowboy who\u2019d shod the horse still wore his right arm sling and looked like he\u2019d gone fifteen with Mike Tyson in the ring. <\/span><\/p>\n

So, when Applejack was needing shoes I hoped that he\u2019d give in. But when I looked into his eyes, I saw the devil\u2019s kin. <\/span><\/p>\n

I picked up Applejack\u2019s right foot. He didn\u2019t move an inch. I wondered if this was the time. Would this shoeing be a cinch?<\/span><\/p>\n

But then he jerked his hoof and gave the halter rope a fling. Applejack was madder than a rooster on caffeine. <\/span><\/p>\n

He was blowing snot, his eyes were wide, and being just plain rude. Applejack was proving his tornado attitude. <\/span><\/p>\n

He reared up too far backward, then fell down and hit his head. I swear I heard my brother say, \u201cLet\u2019s hope that horse is dead!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t dead, just plumb knocked out. I thought, \u201cGood time to shoe.\u201d I tried to grab his leg again, then Applejack came to. <\/span><\/p>\n

He struggled, then he stood right up and looked like he was lost. His expression so bewildered, \u2018cuz both his eyes were crossed. <\/span><\/p>\n

I picked up Applejack\u2019s hind leg and nailed a brand-new shoe. The other three went on so fast, he didn\u2019t have a clue. <\/span><\/p>\n

For three whole hours old Applejack just stood and stared ahead. I\u2019m sure he must have felt like his poor head was made of lead. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now I\u2019m not recommending how to shoe an ornery cuss. But when a horse tips over, then it might just be a plus.<\/span><\/p>\n

And if you\u2019re wondering, did the headache cure old Applejack? It didn\u2019t help a doggone bit. That old devil came right back.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Applejack surprised us when he showed one summer morn\u2019. We weren\u2019t aware of any Appaloosa to be born. We raised him from a colt. He was tough as a rhino\u2019s hide. He could pack a half an elk all day and never break his stride. He had the best of qualities; I\u2019d say except for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160,2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-21402","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-cowboy-poetry","7":"category-commentary"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21402"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21403,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21402\/revisions\/21403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}