The Dark Horse Quotes

“I should protect and cherish the young, the old, and the infirm, because at some point I would be all of these things before my own journey ended.”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“I don't trust people who don't like animals. Hell, animals are the finest people I know.”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“The old cowboy Hershel, "You know what they say about a horse bein' only afraid of two things?"

Walt, "What's that?"

Hershel, "Things that move and things that don't”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“Some of us are not meant to cowboy-up”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“Most people go through their lives believing in things that they never have much contact with - the police, lawyers, judges, and courts. They have an unstated belief in the system; that it'll be impartial, fair and just. But then there's the moment when it comes to them that the police, the courtroom, and the laws themselves are just human, vulnerable to the same shortcomings as all of us, that they're a mirror of who we are, and that's the heartbreaking dichotomy of it all - that the more contact you have with the law, the less belief you have.”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“In my life, I have been kicked by horses and bitten by them. I've been stepped on, crushed against gates, and thrown to the ground, but I have also been nuzzled, rubbed against, carried by, nickered at, and warmed by the great beasts. I thought of all the horses I'd known and couldn't think of a bad one.”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“Kind of like the tree that falls in the forest when nobody’s around? I mean, if nobody remembers the history, did it still happen?”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“You know the difference between an asshole and an anus?” He spoke from the side of his mouth. “What’s that?” “An anus can’t say ‘that went well.”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“Like some strange little religion all its own, the one thing that makes the whole system work is the one thing that it robs you of - faith.”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“I thought about how we tilled and cultivated the land, planted trees on it, fenced it, built houses on it, and did everything we could to hold off the eternity of distance—anything to give the landscape some sort of human scale. No matter what we did to try and form the West, however, the West inevitably formed us instead.”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“I couldn’t help but remember the one at my parents’ place after they had passed. I’d gone through their things and hadn’t kept much, but when it came time for the auction I’d had a strong impulse to bid on everything like some museum curator attempting to keep the collection whole.”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“She said that I should protect and cherish the young, the old, and the infirm, because at some point I would be all of these things before my own journey ended.”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“said the outside of a horse is always good for the inside of a man.”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“Owls were supposedly not a sign that death was imminent, but were envoys from beyond, and I sometimes felt as though I was on their regular delivery route.”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“We do everything we can to protect those we love, whatever it takes, and it’s not enough. Unlike bone, once that illusionary magic circle of safety is broken, it can never be completely repaired and it is not stronger at the break.”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“had”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“Hey youngster, I didn’t catch your name.” I paused for only a second, continuing to look down the valley at the small town. “I didn’t throw it.”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“The cowboy in the middle has nothing to do. No responsibility, except to avoid the odd scrotal meeting with the gear shift.”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“Savage .22 automatic rifle”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“But then there’s the moment when it comes to them that the police, the courtroom, and the laws themselves are just human, vulnerable to the same shortcomings as all of us, that they’re a mirror of who we are, and that’s the heartbreaking dichotomy of it all—that the more contact you have with the law, the less belief you have.” I took a breath. “Like some strange little religion all its own, the one thing that makes the whole system work is the one thing it robs you of—faith.”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“A butte is taller than it is wide, whereas a mesa, like this one, is wider than it is tall.”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“empty can back on the bar. There wasn’t anything here for me, my head hurt, I was tired, and it was possible that I’d lose my patience, so I figured the best thing for it was to go”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“It was my father who taught me to talk to animals.He said they understand a hell of a lot more than we think they do. I remember him speaking to the horses he shod in a low and reassuring voice, explaining what he was doing to them; he said it was one of the things we owed them for their absolute, unreserved, unswerving loyalty. He said the outside of a horse is always good for the inside of a man.”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“We do everything we can to protect the people we love, whatever it takes, and it's not enough. Unlike bone, once that illusionary magic circle is broken, it can never be completely repaired, and it is not stronger at the break.”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse

“Never, but never, go sneaking around in your own house at odds with some stranger.”
― Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse