CADE SCHALLA
New Ulm, Texas
About Cade Schalla

Photo courtesy Scott Bumgardner

 

 

Nuts and Bolts

I remember it was years ago
Back when I was green
A driftin' about from place to place
Young, hungry and lean
I hired on a horse ranch
Up the Colorado way
Breakin' colts which suited me fine
So I decided I would stay
There was and old cowboy by the name of Ben
Who worked for this outfit
And when it came to taming horses
I've seen nobody better yet
He could take a wild, white eyed nag
And in an hour or two
The horse would do just about anything
Ol' Ben asked him to do
His voice was low and smooth
And his hands had a velvet touch
I figured there must be a trick to it all
So I asked him if there was such
Now he sat there and thought awhile
A scratchin' on his chin
Spit out a string of tobacco
Then looked up at me and grinned
"Well... son when it comes to hosses
There ain't no formula on key
They all pretty much want to be a man's friend
But if your asking me
Of some wise words of some sort
That you can put down in some quotes
Well when it comes down to horses
It's just all about nut's and bolts"
And he must of caught my puzzled look
for he continued to explain
"It's really pretty simple
And it works just the same
For studs, mares, fillies
Or even a feisty colt
If the rider is a little nuts
The horse is sure to bolt!"


© 2002, Cade Schalla
This poem may not be reprinted or reposted without the author's written permission.

 

 

Colored Water

Nothin' is really simple these days
When it comes to choosing
And if you happen to be the indecisive type
Well it's a battle you are losing
The clothes you wear, the car you drive
Even the food you buy
And that's the one that gets to me
A let me tell you why

For example a bag of taters
Different kinds from one to three
But I can't seem to tell 'em apart
They all look the same to me
And even though they appear the same
One will cost you a nickle more
And you can bet they'll be switched around
Down the street at a different store
Less fat here, no fat there
A third less fat per cup
But does it really matter
Cause when your number's up it's up

And I have to really wonder
How they take some poor milk cow
And extract from her this colored water
Folks seem to be drinking now
And water is really all it is
If you look from where I sit
That gets strained through some ol' cow
To get some white to stick to it

And if you stop to think about it
Heck it's really quite a prank
Cause it ain't even mountain spring water
But that from the ol' stock tank!

© 2004, Cade Schalla
This poem may not be reprinted or reposted without the author's written permission.

 

 

See Cade Schalla's When Cowboys Saved Christmas, posted with 2005 Christmas poems,

 

 

About Cade Schalla:

I grew up in Bridger Montana, a small farming and ranching town south of Billings. My dad trained race horses and ran cattle on the side and my grandfather who lived close by was a veterinarian. As a kid I learned to break horses and learned a great deal about cattle and from my grandfather I learned a lot about doctoring animals. When I was a sophomore in high school we moved to Belen, New Mexico where I became friends with some other kids who rode bulls and bucking horses. I tried my hand at in and did very well, qualifying for the National High School Finals my Junior and Senior year in all 3 rough stock events. My senior year I placed 4th in the nation and was offered a Rodeo scholarship to Odessa College. I attended college there for 2 years and then I filled my PRCA permit and got my Pro card. I rodeoed as a professional for about 3 years and it was during this time that I started writing Cowboy Poetry. I would be on the road in between rodeos and would get and idea and write it down. I then joined the Navy and spent 3 years overseas in Japan and the combination of boredom and the missing of home, of my horse and of the cowboy lifestyle caused me to pick up my pen and write. I put together a book had a friend of mine illustrate it for me and spent a couple years trying to get it published and I finally got it published in 2002. The book, What's a Steer?, was in the top ten of the Academy of Western Artists' Buck Ramsey Award books.

What's a Steer?

$20.00, discounts on orders of 5 or more.

Order from:

Cade Schalla
20984 FM 1094
New Ulm TX 78950
979-992-3066
cschalla@yahoo.com

And it is:

The book is also available at www.amazon.com