09/06/2017
I read this poem many years ago and everytime I go to a horse auction or see them advertised it reminds me of this poem and the old cowboy who started it all.
I’LL TROT FOR YOU
Don’t grab those reins
Don’t whip my back
Keep your spurs to yourself
You’ll get more for that
To turn my head just look that way
I’ll trot for you the rest of the day
And I’ll still be going when the sun comes up,
I’ll trot for you, so you can fill your cup
I’ll trot for you ‘til your work is done
If you want more, just ask, I’ll run
I’ll swim the rivers, I’ll get us there, and
I’ll pull your wagon to the country fair
I’ll trot for you, you know by now
To the bear, to the moose, to the biggest cow
I’ll trot for you through snow and sleet
I’ll keep on going, you can save your feet
I’ll trot to the top of that hill right there
I’ll trot for you, just tell me where
Remember the day in the four-up hitch
When the coal black mare just kicked and pitched?
I had the wheel and she was ahead
When you said “whoa,” she went instead
She was hot and nervous and travelin’ tight
Those traces pinched and she started to fight
With the sun beating down and the bugs so bad
Still, she gave every bit she had
But she was mixed up so with pain and fear
She could only think to run from here
Oh, surely you’d cut her a better deal
And reach her worried heart, through feel
I let her know every way I could
I stood with her while she ate her hay
We heard your voice and looked around
Then she saw the saddle layin’ on the ground
When she broke a sweat it was plain to tell
That a man and a saddle meant livin’ hell
She paced that fence all through the night
Come the feed wagon and the new days light
She was still real bothered, not feelin’ right
So I shared my hay, and nuzzled her
She smelled of sage, and wind and conifer
It would be a long day with her troubled so
Where she didn’t know how to free up and go
But I’ll trot for you, ‘cuz you’re my best friend
I’ll trot for you ‘til the long day’s end
And I’ll go right on ‘til my feet give out
It won’t matter if I’m old and slow
I’ll trot for you because I love you so
And that mare would too, if she just knew how
It’s not hard to tell that she’s searching now
She wants things right…it’s plain to see
She’s got one last chance and that’d be me
When the world ain’t safe and the mind ain’t free
That’s a real bad place for a horse to be
It might work out and it just might not
But one thing’s sure, there’s a better spot
The folk she’d known, they weren’t long gone
And they’d given her whippin’s, just plenty strong
But they’d no idea that it wasn’t right
To put a good horse like her on the fight
But the horsey folks come, and soon they go
When they’re done packin’ kids to fairs and horsey shows
They sure want us gentle, and they want us fit and clean
With thick manes, long tails and minds serene
In no time at all, they’re grown and they go,
The backyard horse gets old, you know
So the ads are placed and comes the check
New owner, halter, and what the heck
They don’t really know a better way to do
Than the last folks who tried, and they quit too
They always tried to ride their best
They’d enter in shows like all the rest
To see whose horse could do this or that
And they’d want to win, of course, right off the bat
It takes all kinds but there’s some that’s born
For a horse, reata and saddle horn
This ranch has seen one or two of these
And I thank God my work is between your knees
Now if only the coal black mare could be
Right alongside in your string with me
When she didn’t make the wagon, they gave her to Hank
And he, possessing neither skill nor rank
Was a town sorta fella and a real green dude
And I knew he’d handle her pretty crude
She held her breath and then closed her eyes
There was nothing to do but hope she’d try
I know she’ll make ‘er, if she just gets a chance
To spend a little time with us here on the ranch
But where saddle horses come and go so often
They show up lame, half starved and coughin’
And the boss, he’s busy, and no one here
Really knows a horse or has any idea
So it’s pick of the draw, could be her or me
Fills a spot on the cattle truck leavin’ at three
If I have my way, she’ll trot for you
Right by my side, she’ll trot for you
Her feet will glide over hill and dale
Over rocks, through water, on hard-packed trail
Let her stretch her neck out, long and low
Let her drop her head for a look at the road
On an uphill climb when the flies are thick
You won’t need a spur, no quirt or stick
With a rookie on board and the footing bad
She’ll dig right in and give her all to the lad
If I guess it right….
She’ll trot for you to the very last
She’ll trot for you to forget her past.
That mare and me, we’ll trot for you
We’ll take you there
You can count on us just anywhere
We’ll trot for you and be glad to go
We’re here for you…..because we know you know.
Bill Dorrance
