Out Our Way:

Exodus 20:1-17

Out our way, when you are moving a cow or just riding for the pleasure of it, you need to saddle up. When I was just starting to ride, I had quite a time getting it right - laying down the blanket or pad so there were no wrinkles, making sure it was up high enough on Goliath's back and then placing the saddle just so. More than once I got it wrong and Goliath had a sore back - and more than once I believe he glared at me because of that. But ole "Doc" was, like many horses, a forgiving soul - and put up with my clumsiness and ineptitude until I got it right.

Along with that, I had to learn how to lengthen and shorten my stirrups and keep them even for those fast gallops when I could and often did lose my seat. Above all, I had to learn to tighten the cinch to a snug fit, wait a few seconds and then tighten it again because Goliath tended to puff out his barrel when I cinched him up - with the result of the cinch being looser than it should be and the likelihood of the whole shebang starting to slide around on his back and even under his belly. No thank you!

Fortunately, I had good teachers in Rick and Charley and a few others who came by to check and double-check my efforts. They corrected my errors and patiently taught me (and retaught many times) how to do it right. An improperly saddled horse is no fun to be around for very long, and hard to stay on besides. As a rank novice I was grateful for the experienced folk showing me the right way to do things.

Now some folks who don't understand saddles, cinches and horses might protest that doing it the way these guys told them to do it was too rigid, legalistic and intolerant of other opinions. Well, if you have had a saddle come loose on you on the run, you might be a tad intolerant as well. There may be other ways to put on a saddle or cinch up your ride, but they may also be wrong and lead to a wreck. Nope, I prefer to follow the directions of folks who really know what they are talking about, rather than the opinions and innovation of folks who never stepped up on a 16 ½ hand cowhorse, rode hard on a tough trial or chased an errant calf out of the thickets during the round-up. I prefer actual proven techniques to uniformed theory postulated by a nonrider to the applause and approval of equally ignorant nonriding colleagues.

We come now to the Ten Commandments - an anathema to some folks who hate the idea of God telling humans how to live. I suppose they also hate the owner manuals in their glove compartments for the same reason - after all, what right has GM or Ford to tell me to change my oil, rotate my tires or put unleaded into my gas tank? The nerve of some people!

Well, as I figure it, God has the same right to tell me what works and what doesn't, as GM or Ford when it comes to my car - because after all, He is the manufacturer and knows how we work and what we need to keep on working.

I, for one, appreciated the concern of folks who took the time to help me learn to saddle Goliath "their way" because it works. I appreciated learning to walk him about and then recheck the cinch to make sure it was still tight and the saddle wouldn't slide. I appreciated the way they taught me to make him bend - on both the left and the right - so in a tough time I could circle him before he bolted. If someone wants to object to these thing as "rules that infringe on their freedom," well that's their choice. But when they end up in a cactus or worse, I am not going to be blaming the horse.

Blessings from us both, Brother John and "Doc" Goliath.

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Brother John Bruington and ole Doc hope to serve the community of Havre and First Presbyterian Church by sharing Goliath's unique perspective as a professor of Horse Sense Theology. Hope you enjoy the ride!