Beyond Repair

It's sad to see something you once love be neglected to the point of decomposer and decay;  Something neglected to the point of worthlessness;  Something neglected to the point of inability to rectify or repair; Something neglected to the point of rottenness and the inability to reconcile.  That's the way the "saddle house" was today when I walked in it.  It started with the door, hole ridden and swollen to the point of inability to open it.

Once I got it open the sight inside was devastating, unbelievable.  It had a dark musty rotten smell.  The floor was rotten beyond recognition.  Everywhere I stepped I stepped softly for fear of falling through.

Evidence of mice and rats was everywhere; spider webs and visual scorpions kept my eyes open wide.  This is a place I used to frequent numerous times a week, gathering up my tack and equipment to ride those rides that gave me peace and comfort for so many years.  Since I've been gone from here, the place has gone to ruin, literally.  The saddles are gnawed and chewed on by who knows what type of vermin.  Many would now be unsafe to ride besides just being unsightly and, in my opinion, ruined.  Varmints of all types have lived and continue to live in this once safe place to keep your saddle.  To those of you who don't ride, don't have the love for your equipment that I do, don't have the desire for your saddle and tack to be in good safe shape, this might not seem like such a big deal.  But for a true rider and horse lover, it's a travesty.  It's unacceptable.  While my pony will most likely be spending his time back at this place in the pasture, my saddles will remain safely in my home, taken care of and free of mice teeth!  Without a good safe saddle and good strong feet on your horse, a cowgirl or cowboy is just out of luck.  So my hope is that the recent prosperity of this ranch will one day soon see the need of a new saddle house to keep the pride in the tack and the saddles that kept the cowboy, the rancher, and the way of the West, alive.