Cowboy Poetry

Farming Unlimited Network

Join your favorite "Poet Lariat" the best cowboy poetry comes from real life, and Ron Wilson has been there.

  1. 03/23/2021

    Wind and Water

    One of many things which we take for granted in our modern society, is that we can walk into the house flip a handle and a stream of pure clean water will flow out for our use. But it was not the case for those pioneer settlers who came west. In many cases, the search for water was a matter of life and death. And but the ranchers found that they could use the wind they could harvest the wind and use windmills to produce that life giving water. This poem is titled Wind and Water. When the pioneers came west, and as conditions grew hotter, at stake was life itself and the endless search for water. In their quest for new lands and the destiny of their dreams. They came west along the rivers and stayed quite close along the streams. But when they settled down to farm and find a place to dwell, it was essential that they find a productive waterwell for watering the livestock and as domestic needs were asked a windmill was important to meet these vital tasks. In a machine shop in Connecticut. One Daniel Halliday designed the type of windmill that is still in use today, with a fixed vein and blades that could adjust to the wind and pump the life giving water on which their hopes were pinned. There was no electric power or gas engines for the well. So the windmill was a godsend as a pioneer would tell. Some 6 million windmills were installed across the nation until there came gas engines and rural electrification. But it's possible to find where such a relic still remains the windmill of the West, a sentinel of the plains. Happy trails!

    2 min
  2. 02/18/2021

    Beuno Chaparreras

    If you go to a rodeo, you'll see that the bull riders and the bronc riders are wearing fancy Batwing chaps, usually with friends that really shows for the competition. I have a couple of chaps that we use here at the ranch. One are these heavy duty workshops, complete with manure. They're very thick and heavy leather. They really come in handy if you're working like with locust trees on the fence line. And then I have my fancy show chaps made by an outfit in Abilene. And these are great for performance, or for riding in a parade. I really like to look at these chaps. If you study the history of chaps, you'll find that it goes back to the Hispanic culture. That's where the name chaps originates. This poem is called Bueno Chaparerras. When a cowboy is riding hard, his legs need protection from stickers or thorns that might need deflection. Centuries ago writers wore a kind of apron of leather, but those were awkward for riding in any kind of weather than the wise vaqueros in old Mexico made leggings of leather to wear on the go. They were called scheppers and Mexican lingo soon shortened to shops by the American gringo. Chaparerras took their name from the low Chaparral with thorns which gave the shops rationale. The first chaps were called shotguns with like tight leather pants. Then Batwing chaps were the ones that supplants chinks are shorter for the legs top half of course, which is handy for a farrier, who'd be shooting a horse. Now motorcycle riders wear leather chaps too, for protecting their legs just like the Cowboys do. We give thanks for this protection when we get into mishaps, and we thank the Hispanic culture for giving us chaps Happy trails.

    2 min

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Join your favorite "Poet Lariat" the best cowboy poetry comes from real life, and Ron Wilson has been there.