Western Horse Tales

by Donald E. Worcester

Book by Worcester, Donald Emmet

274 pages, Paperback

First published February 28, 1998

Reviews

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an uneven anthology consisting of mostly non-fiction articles about horses west of the Mississippi. There are no author biographies or sources cited. There is an index. The editor wrote two of the selections, unfortunately, but he isn't very good.

This was published in 1994, long before a lot of long-held assumptions about Mustangs have been questioned, such as the Mustang's origins. This also shows the cowboys had distinct color preferences in their horses, even though a horse's color has nothing to do with a horse's temperament or abilities. Whites were just as prejudiced against certain colors as they were against non-White people.

It's way too long of a book, so I found myself skimming at times. I advise to skip Part One and "The Cinnamon Colt."

Selections:

* "Introduction" by Our Editor. The usual intro, very short and easily skipped.

Part I: Wild Ones

* "The Ghost of the Llano Estacado" by Our Editor. Typical wild horse story, possibly true and very sad. The author notes that the most legendary Mustangs weren't Mustangs, but escaped purebreds. Even the editor doesn't seem to like Mustangs.
* "Rainbow, the Wild Horse of the Owyhee" by Kay L. Macdonald. This author also does not like Mustangs, describing them in ugly terms. States that the last two good looking Mustangs were a chestnut stallion named Rainbow and his palomino lead mare Stardust. Supposedly they lived in the 1940s, but something about this story smells like bullshit. What cowboy would name a horse Rainbow or Stardust?
* "Snip, a Genuine Mustang" by Ernest Pulsipher. A ramble about the author's Grandfather's Mustang, who lived in the 1930s.
* "The Mustang Saddle Horse" by Parley J. Paskett. From Along the Thousand Spring Creek, a manuscript that apparently was never published. Bullshit by a mustanger who helped nearly wipe out wild horses and has an axe to grind. Accompanied by photos of his saddle horses, Pal and Rocket.

Part II: Fast Ones

* "The Skimmer of the Plains and His 'Inestimable Dolly'" by Joseph B. Herring. Well written and researched. This was the sad story of a "yellow" Mustang mare owned by a cruel and greedy man.
* "A Sheep of a Pony" by Benton White. I've no idea if this quarter racing story is true, but it's a dandy.

Part III: Rodeo Horses

* "The Big Three of Bucking Horses" by Jane Pattie. Fascinating mini-biographies of the three best Rodeo bucking horses who ever lived -- Steamboat, Midnight and Five Minutes to Midnight (Little Five). Included are photos of all three blacks in action.
* "The Bluebird Mare From Sterling City" by Patrick Dearen. Dearen champions a little-known blue roan mare that lived in the early 1900s as the greatest bucker ever. Unfortunately, she was competed under different names, but was often just called the Blue Filly. She had the remarkable trait of urinating every time she bucked. Photo of her standing, not urinating, included.
* "Baby Doll: A Rodeo Horse" by Cena Golder Richeson. Really good profile of a bulldogging mount, Baby Doll. Photo included.

Part IV: Famous Sires

* "The Steel Dust Legacy" by Anne Bailey. Impressive biography of a late 1800s Thoroughbred stallion so admired that Quarter Horses nearly were called Steel Dusts. Even better than the chapter devoted to him in the Legends series by Western Horseman Publications.
* "Old Billy's Blood" by Mike Bedwell. Pretty good biography of Quarter Horse sire Billy (also known by a variety of names, especially Old Billy).
* "Old Sorrel: Founder of an Equine Dynasty" by Our Editor. Rather pale biography of the King Ranch's foundation stallion. By the way, the Pennsylvania branch of the King Ranch is no more.
* "Monarch of the Mountains" by Gaydell Collier. Not a Mustang stallion, but an Arabian with the manners of a gentleman. This is a memorial in prose to FaSaab, by an admirer and friend of his final owner. Three photos included.

Part V: Under Harness

* "The Fire Horses of San Francisco" by Natlee Kenoyer. Very good, but a bit too sentimental, review of San Francisco's fire horses, which were often Thorcherons. Two photos are included.
* "Blue Ribbons" by George H. Gardiner. Author reminisces about his Grandfather's pair of grey draft horses. Set in Ohio -- not usually the first place that springs to mind when you think of the West.
* "The Mismates" by Ernest Pulsipher. The second offering from Pulsipher, talking about his Grandfather's plow horse team, Pet and Old Blue.

Part VI: The Younger Set

* "Blue" by Fred Grove. My favorite writer of Westerns describes the almost magical horse that made the most impact on his life.
* "Makin' of a Cowboy" by Stella Hughes. The author reminisces about her son's first horses.
* "Cinnamon Colt" by J. P. S. Brown. AAAAAAAnd we're back to killing horses again, in the usual tradition of animal anthologies. What a disappointment.
* "Traveler, Mr. Fish and the J F Steers" by Stella Hughes. The second offering from Stella Hughes is crap. Beat a horse and he misbehaves? Whodathunk.

Part VII: Smart Ones

* "Old Dick Head" by Nellue Snyder Yost. Actually, this was by the father of NSY. Dick Head was named after a cowboy named Dick Head. Pull the other one. Dull and sad.
* "A Bronc with Horse Sense" by Jim Marion Etter. A no-nonsense modern cowboy talks about his favorite horse -- a grey Quarter Horse stallion who bucks at unpredictable times.

Part VIII: Horses In Service

* "The Fleet Steed Our Pride: The Horses of the Texas Rangers" by Stephen L. Harding. Brief look at the history of the Texas Rangers' mounts -- usually Thoroughbreds. Numerous photos.
* "United States Cavalry Mounts" by Emmett M. Essen, III. Long and tedious look at the Western cavalry units from the 1830s to 1949. Several photos.

Part IX: Royalty

* "Of Horses and Kings" by Lolo Westrich. A lively little look at the first Hawaiian King to become a rider.