Horses in the Black Hills

Passing Down a Love of Horses
Lame Johnny Creek was named after a scoundrel who was hanged from a tree near the creek.  The land along this creek was desirable grazing land for ranchers in the Black Hills area.  One ranch on this creek called Fleur de Lys was famed for its horses that were imported from France, including Percheron and Arabian breeds.  My grandfather's family owned horses too.  My grandfather, Horace Crofford, used to talk to me for hours about horses, and I hung on every word.  He described each breed and its characteristics, all of which I remember to this day.  From him, I learned about roans, paints, pacers, mules, Appaloosas, palominos, Percherons, Arabs, quarterhorses, and Tennessee Walkers.  I learned which horses were good for racing, plowing, carriage, or riding, and I could tell you which characteristics made them good for the job. He taught me about halters, bits, and bridles. When I went away to college and visited the riding stable there, I was drawn to a beautiful horse that I could immediately recognize as a Morgan because of Baba's description - barrel chest, strong legs and hindquarters, graceful arched neck, broad forehead, and cupped face.  My identification was confirmed by the owner.

Personal Experience
One story Baba told was about a horse on his father's ranch... during the night, the horse squeezed through the door into the stock room and gorged on oats.  The oats swelled up inside the horse and he couldn't get back out through the door.  The horse raised a ruckus, and the family came running.  They got him out of the storage room somehow, and family members had to take turns walking the horse around and around the paddock all night long so he wouldn't get a ruptured intestine and die.  A drink of water would have killed the horse quickly.

Postcards from my Grandfather
Whenever Baba went to Wyoming to visit his family, he sent postcards of horses and wrote about them on the back:

As you can see, I wore these postcards out studying them!