My dad had leased 640 acres of ranch land near Post, Texas, where we had a small herd of cattle. The owner of the land had 5 wild horses that roamed the land, one being a large bay stallion that was five years old. Occasionally the owner’s wife liked to go horseback riding on the land but found that when she did so the stallion wanted to fight with her horse so she became afraid of riding. Once when I was there checking on the cattle the owner told me he would give me the stallion if only I could catch him and get him off the property. I accepted the challenge. This was 1967 and I was a college student at Texas Tech University.
Soon after on a Friday afternoon my brother Tom and I loaded two horses in the trailer and took our tent and were prepared to spend the weekend capturing the wild stallion. The owner had told me the stallion was born on that land and never had a human hand on him. We arrived at the pasture before dark, unloaded the horses, and set up the tent. The horses were placed in the windmill lot which contained the only water on the place. We closed the gate which meant the wild horses would be unable to get any water during the night. Tom and I crawled into our tent and went to sleep.
Waking up about day break, we crawled out of the tent to notice the wild horses were about a couple hundred yards away just watching and milling around. We removed our two horses from the lot and tied them to the back side of the coral on the outside. Leaving the gate open, it now became a waiting game, for the wild horses to come inside the lot for water. We had backed up the trailer to the loading chute the night before and left it connected to the pickup truck. Having brought books with us to read, we sat reading and waiting.
By about 11 am we noticed the wild horses inching closer to the coral for water. Tom and I were sitting in the shade next to the pickup truck in lawn chairs that we had brought with us, while waiting for the horses to enter the coral. We still had a view of when the horses might enter the coral so that we might close the gate behind them. By noon we had started eating some of the sandwiches Mom had made us before leaving Lubbock, still watching the wild horses as they inched closer to the coral for water. By the time we had finished our sandwiches and cokes the horses were near the gate entrance but not yet ready to go inside—we waited. About 15 minutes later they entered the coral and headed to water, and we headed to close the gate.
With the gate closed I knew we still had to be careful for wild horses might try to jump the coral fence or completely run through it if scared too much. We let them drink plenty of water and slowly begin to maneuver them into the corner where the chute was located. There I was able to get a rope around the stallion’s neck and quickly get it tied to the bottom of the largest chute post for I knew that would be the strongest point of the post. Soon he realized he was connected to the post and began to rear and pull heavily against the post but it held firmly. With each loosening of the rope we pulled it tighter getting him closer to the chute location. I knew to keep his head as low as possible to keep him from rearing up. As soon as we had inched him close to the post we placed a halter on his head, but not without some difficulty. Also, so we attached a 2-inch diameter block and tackle well rope around his neck and through the halter ring. This 200 foot rope was our safety net just in case he were to break away, we had the chance of catching him again if we got within 200 feet of him. We maneuvered the well rope up the chute and through the stock trailer to the front and pulled it tight. As we loosened the original rope we pulled the well rope tight as we maneuvered him up the chute and into the trailer. Once we had him secured at the front of the trailer we made sure his head was tied to keep it lower than any of the upper rails on the trailer. Next we loaded one of the saddle horses next to him in the trailer, not only for weight distribution, but to provide less room for him to move about. After closing the middle gate we loaded the second saddle horse behind the two. With all gates closed and the wild horse securely tied in the trailer we opened the coral gate for the other horses to have passage out into the pasture and started the pickup to head for home. Tom and I gave him the name of Big Red. Big Red was a beautiful and tall stallion.
A week prior to leaving home, I had dug a hole in the middle of the home coral and placed a large railroad tie in the hole very deeply. I knew this railroad tie would be Big Red’s home for the next several months and wanted to be very sure it would hold him securely. Arriving at home we backed the stock trailer up to the gate of the coral. Unloaded the two saddle horses and placed them in an adjoining coral. While still in the trailer we placed a large and long chain around Big Red’s neck. This chain was to anchor him to the railroad tie. We maneuvered the long and large well rope out of the trailer and around the railroad tie. As the trailer rope was loosened the well rope was pulled tighter. When Big Red came out of the trailer, he came out rearing and falling and pulling against the well rope, but it held securely. We made sure to stay completely out of his way—on one was expected to be hurt in the capture of this wild horse. We finally got him close enough to the railroad tie to attach the chain at the bottom. Big Red was now secure in his new home.
With each passing day he adjusted to the feeding and watering schedule without too much commotion. Still being a full time college student with a part-time job, I didn’t have lots of time for him, but then he needed time to gentle down. I always made sure he had plenty of food and water for throughout the day. After several months and when time was available, I started spending more time with him—rubbing his neck, his head, and between his ears. He adjusted to my being around and was no longer startled with my approaching him. In the beginning I would just place the saddle blanket on his back for about 5 to 10 minutes with lengthening the time periods as time when along. Eventually I would place the saddle on him and leave it for the day. I would saddle him every morning and leave it on until late in the afternoon. At no time did I ever try to get on him. As my confidence in his gentleness grew, I unhooked the chain at the railroad tie and began to lead him around the coral. But still the long well rope was attached for backup safety. Gradually, I was able to sling the saddle on his back like any other saddle horse without his flinching one bit.
Next came teaching him how to load and unload from a trailer. At first he balked at loading in the trailer, but with a rope to pull him into the trailer and someone from behind him, he finally hopped in. I let him stand inside the trailer about an hour before attempting the unload process. With a little goading I was able to get him to back out of the trailer. We practiced loading and unloading, loading and unloading, hundreds of times over the next few weeks, until it was no problem at all. One day with Big Red loaded into the trailer, I climbed up on the sides of the trailer and got on him inside the trailer. He didn’t seem to notice at all. I twisted and turned, shifted my weight from side to side, and it seemed to make no difference to him at all. This process was repeated time and again over the next several weeks, until one day in the coral I just stepped up in the saddle and climbed aboard his back. He gave no indication I had done anything out of the ordinary. I repeated the process day after day until it was routine for both of us. He never bucked once, not ever.
Next came the bridle. He had never had a bridle on with a bit in his mouth. At first he chewed on it but after a while adjusted to being bridled and unbridled easily. Next was the process of teaching him to neck rein. My brother, Tom, on another horse with a lead rope attached to Big Red would turn and turn and I would practice neck reining Big Red with the bridle. We practiced this until Big Red had no problems in neck reining.
The last thing to do was take him out of the coral and go for a real ride with other horses. We saddled the other horses and headed across the field. At first I stayed behind and followed the other horses for a while, but soon we were galloping across the field as usual. Big Red was now a saddle horse.
One weekend we placed the horses in the trailer and returned to the ranch pasture where we had captured Big Red and went riding for the day. If he ever recognized the place, I could never tell. He handled very well.