Under the Wire

Writers occasionally develop something called writers block. In cowboy terms that means you can’t think of nuthin’ to say. Different writers do different things to get rid of it. Some go to a bar, others to a mountain top. All seek inspiration. Me? I go to a horse sale.

When my brain says to me, “You’ve written about every odd thing you’ve ever seen or heard," it leaves me no choice but to go directly to the source of human oddity, variety and ingenuity ... the local horse auction. There, in one afternoon or evening I can amass enough story lines to fill pages for months to come.

Even if you don’t really care for horses, I would recommend the experience. With just a little imagination and by squinting a little bit, you can imagine turbans instead of cowboy hats on the sellers and buyers and put yourself at a camel bazaar in Morocco. There the Bedouins from Baggs, Wyoming chatter with the camel buyers from North Platte over “a slightly used” dromedary.

Apply a little more imagination and the horses become rugs haggled over by Egyptians at a dusty outdoor market in Cairo.

If your mind won’t let you play those exotic games, just set back and enjoy the cowboy show in front of you. As each horse enters the sales rings, there’s always “the story.” “The story” is very important. It is the reason this outstanding animal finds itself here, for sale, today. These stories include the pedigree and history of this horse’s accomplishments. Here is where I get interested. “The story” has to be just right to fit the horse’s obvious strengths (or flaws). “The story” can’t be so specific as to be traceable.

“He’s won a lot of races” can’t really say where. “He’s been roped on a lot” never mentions a place for fear someone will say "So … that’s the one.”

What’s really important is the part left out of “the story.” “I haven’t ridden him in a year” (unspoken “I got so tired of being bucked off”). “This horse does it all!” (Unspoken “He bucks, kicks and bites but only when he quits coughing”). “The story” to really watch out for is “I don’t know a thing about him. Some guy out back just paid me ten dollars to ride him in.” (Unspoken “That guy up there in the full body cast in the last row.”)

Yep, whenever I need something to get the creative juices flowing, I just go observe the “real pros” at the horse sale.

By the way, it must be mentioned most “horse traders” don’t make a lot of money selling horses. However, you should not feel sorry for them all. Many supplement their horse trading profits with a pretty much standard second job, selling used cars.