Give Your Horse His Head

He would saddle up his pony
and bundle up real good
then load his gear, check the cinch
just like every cowboy should.
Then he'd climb up in the saddle
...feeling happy, as a rule,
then down the trail you'd see him lope
a-headed off for school.
His mom would gladly drive him there
but he did not want that;
he liked to ride his pony
wearin' boots and cowboy hat.
He loved the birds and animals
he'd watch for on the way;
besides it did his pony good
to ride him every day.
Then one day, during recess time
the sky got dark and gray;
a call came that a real bad storm
was headed out that way.
The teacher let the children out,
Little Cowboy headed home;
but soon the snow was blinding him;
he was out there all alone.
He had soon lost his direction
and thought he'd got off course,
and knew the only chance he had
was to trust his little horse.
His mom and dad were worried sick
all they could do was pray.
Where could their little cowboy be
as the blizzard raged that day?

They hoped he'd found a neighbor's home
where he'd be safe and sound;
perhaps he'd stopped at Father Doyle's
but phone lines were all down.
It seemed like an eternity
when suddenly they heard
what sounded like a horse outside
they could neither say a word.
They opened up the back porch door
and shed some tears of joy;
when they saw that dear old pony
and their precious little boy.
Now many years have come and gone;
the little cowboy's growing old,
remembering still that frightful day
...the wind...the snow...the cold.
And as we go through life it seems
there's things that blind our way;
and why we take a dead-end road
is sometimes hard to say.
But we are all aware that life
is full of things we dread;
instead of pulling on the reins,
just give your horse his head.