Cowgirl Ingenuity…or A Particular Tool

While visiting with my family, at Christmas this year, we somehow got on the subject of ingenuity.  We laughed about my Dad and his teeth floating and they supplied me a couple of stories about cowgirl ingenuity.  Now, before I go any further it should be stated that there is not another profession in the world that celebrates their wrecks like those in any agriculture profession.  Just something about the hardy nature of these people makes them laugh at their own misfortune.  Along with the wrecks there is a healthy thought process to adapt everyday things into what a person might need at the moment.

My sister told me about a friend of hers who went out in the pasture to catch a horse.  When she got about half way out there she realized she did not have a halter, piece of rope, belt or anything.  But, it appears she was able to adapt.  As she stood there by her horse, she racked her brain to come up with a way to lead that horse back to the barn.  After a couple of short seconds, it hit her.  She had the perfect tool, so she whipped her bra off and headed for the barn.  I would be willing to bet that men would not have thought to use what she caught the horse with, mainly because they don’t have the proper plumbing to have a need for this particular tool. 

Now there are many jokes that could be made about this situation, most would be off color.  But the one thing that comes to my mind is that this lady was pretty quick thinking.  I think I would have been trying to braid some rope out of grass or use a long bendy stick….

Nope, this quick thinking cowgirl used the tool she had on hand…so to speak….

In one case this particular tool got another lady in a bind.  A friend of my folks (who has been taking lessons from them and has turned into a pretty good hand) was bound a determined to ride one day,  no matter what the weather was like!  So she headed out with the sky just a little over cast and at some point the heavens fell and drenched her.  If you’ve ever ridden in the rain, it doesn’t take very long before there is no point in hurrying…you’re not going to get any wetter.  They only reason to hurry would be a lightning strike…at least that is what I think!  Those are pretty unforgiving.

This hardy lady headed back to the barn and as she got wetter, her clothes got heavier.  By the time she arrived at the barn she probably looked like a drowned cat.  So she leaned a little forward to slide off her horse.  Lo and behold, her saddle horn went up the front of her shirt and hung in the front of her bra.  She is not a real tall lady, so once she released the saddle her feet were not touching the ground.  There she stood, or hung would be the correct way to put it.  All of the hard work on her horse was paying off at this point, because her horse just stood there with this crazy lady hanging off his side…patiently waiting for her to finish getting off!

I don’t really know how long she hung there, but it was long enough that a neighbor noticed.  The neighbor headed over to see if he could help out, I suppose being the good neighbor he was…he probably didn’t laugh….probably did!  This tough lady, who is a cancer nurse, was not the least bit bothered.  She did that magic trick that all women know and just shucked the bra off.  Dropping to the ground with a “no thanks, I got this” response.

Which just goes to show you that if you use a little common sense, you can get out of most any bind…using the tools on hand….so to speak!