Mary Jane’s Farm magazine once again was kind enough to publish an article of mine: Overalls Beat All, p. 29, in the June-July 2024, issue. This issue is on newsstands now. I hope you enjoy the magazine.

I can’t share that article from the current issue yet. Instead, I’ll share my last article, Feeling Her Oats, that was published in the April-May issue of Mary Jane’s Farm magazine. The theme for that “Keeping In Touch” section of the magazine was “Pony Up”.

Feeling Her Oats

The phrase “pony up” means to make good on a debt. However, as a horseperson, I focus on the word “pony.” To me, pony up means to mount up and ride. It reminds me of other sayings that started with horses, or that can apply to horses. Such as, “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” This phrase originates from the fact that you can tell a horse’s age by looking at the wear on its teeth. Generally, only old horses are given away, so don’t look if you don’t want to know. Don’t ask if the gift is too good to be true. Young horses are expensive; you need to pony up substantial money for a good young horse.

Another phrase is “Don’t go against the grain.” I was taught to brush a horse with the grain of the hair, following the growth along the neck, over the back, and then dipping where the hair turns down in front of the flank. You brush with the grain because if you brush the wrong way, it may tickle the horse. And a ticklish horse may surprise you with a kick.

Paper has a grain. Paper tears and folds more easily in one direction than the other. The grain of the paper comes from the way the wood fiber was laid down when the paper was made. Wood has a grain, too. If you are carving, or even just whittling, the flakes will come off smoothly in one direction, while in the other direction, they will break off in jagged chunks. Always follow the grain of the wood with your knife, and always whittle away from you. I know this; my family usually cringes when I pick up a sharp knife. This reminds me of another saying: “A dull knife cuts worse than a sharp knife.” I have the scars to prove this.

Sand has grains. Sand grains flow with gravity, or with the wind. The tiniest grains can make a large dune. Just like the tiniest effort can make a change in the world. Rice is a grain, but in that case, you need to “separate the grain from the chaff,” or focus on the important stuff. Then there is salt: “Take that with a grain of salt.” Don’t always believe what you hear. Or better yet, don’t believe something unless it comes “straight from the horse’s mouth.”

Oats are also a grain. A horse that is “feeling its oats” is very rambunctious, as if it had sugar for breakfast and is full of energy. Sometimes, if a horse is feeling its oats, the rider gets dumped. Then the expectation is to “get back on the horse.”

I tried this recently, after an unplanned dismount. I insisted on finishing the ride because I follow through on commitments. But then I felt my injured hand swelling up inside my leather glove and the pain got worse. When I saw the lumps on my wrist, I decided that getting back on the horse was overrated. After a visit to the doctor and a diagnosis of a broken bone, I relearned another old saying: “Rest is the best medicine.”

Unfortunately, a rest for me means a rest for my horse. When I finally get back to riding again, he is likely to be feeling his oats. Hopefully, the next time I pony up, I will stay in the middle of the saddle and won’t need to revisit getting back on the horse. I am optimistic that instead, we will be calmly putting one hoof in front of the other and riding off into the sunset.

[Photo Credit pexels.com]