Tag: Horses

  • How’s Your Hoolihan?

    How’s Your Hoolihan?

    Hoolihan Roping Trick 


    I never laid any claim to being a roper, but I do enjoy tossing a loop now and then. One thing you learn right away. There are different types of throws to lasso a critter. One of the slickest is what old timers call the hoolihan.

    Most often used when the cowboy worked from the ground, the hoolihan proved to be a favorite throw on cattle drives for roping the next horse out of the remuda. This quick, accurate throw doesn’t spook the other horses in line to be caught.

    Here’s how to do it. Carry loop in your hand. When you get close enough to the horse, swing one brisk rotation in front of him toward the right. Then pull the loop over this head. When done right, the loop falls on the horse’s head flat and open, then drops straight down with the honda sliding down the rope. It takes up slack as it moves, so avoids the whirling around the head of standard roping procedure.

    The other horses don’t know what’s happening. Quick, fast, sneaky, like the secret stalk of temptation that plays on the mind. No pre-warning to you or to others close by who could also get caught in the trap.

    Be Wary

    2 Corinthians 2:11 cautions to be prepared “that Satan might not outwit us … for we are not unaware of his schemes.”

    Our main enemy ropes us in with subtle attacks more often than outright assaults. We can get grabbed while we’re on the way to do something else, just minding our business. That’s why we need to be alert at all times.

    Some Hoolihan Advice

    We all face temptations. They can’t be prevented. But we can watch out so we aren’t caught in a sinister, spiritually damaging hoolihan. Shake free of that loop at the first sign, as soon as you sense the shadowy presence nearby, hovering over you.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Audio Podcast “How’s Your Hoolihan?” by Stephen Bly

  • Sixteen Hands Horses

    Sixteen Hands Horses

    A FULL SIXTEEN HANDS HORSE

    At 6’2” I’ve never been accused of being small. In fact, my size 12 cowboy boots are an embarrassment in a world where the smaller the foot, the better. But that’s why I look for a fairly big horse. When I climb on some little Texas pony, my feet drag the trail.

    My horse, Sundance, stands right at sixteen hands. In measuring a horse, a hand equals four inches. This measures from the ground to the top of the horse’s withers. So, a horse of sixteen hands stands about 64”. The horses where I live are larger than those in the southern plains. But, of course, men have been getting taller the past hundred years. So have their horses.

    A Rare Sixteen Hands Find

    Back in the Old West, a sixteen-hand horse was a rare find and considered as big a riding horse as there was. It’s not too surprising then that the cowboys took the term “a full sixteen hands” and began to apply it to men as well as horse.

    Now, when applied to another cowhand, the term had nothing to do with a man’s size or build. It was the supreme compliment of the range to say a man was a full sixteen hands high because that meant he was as trustworthy, reliable and capable a man as ever rode a western trail.

    What Mattered in Old West

    A reputation meant a whole lot in the Old West. And a man who earned the title of a full sixteen hands had the highest and most noble reputation of all. Physical stature and looks meant little. A man’s strength of character and will impressed the most.

    Now, I don’t think times have changed all that much. A man’s real strength can never be seen merely by glancing at his appearance.

    God’s Point of View

    The Bible says, “Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7; Galatians 2:6).

    The Lord pays more attention to inward attitudes. Some men stand a full sixteen hands. They might not look like body builders or ride tall horses but they have built lives of honesty, integrity, loyalty, and commitment to God’s principles. They are pillars of moral strength and families, churches, communities all across the country.

    Stephen Bly signature

    Stephen Bly

    Circa 1995

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    “A Full Sixteen Hands” Audio Podcast: SIXTEEN HANDS PODCAST