(Sung to the tune of Julio Iglesias’ to all the girls I’ve known before) claybank dun is a reddish pale horse color with darker red mane, tail and legs and a dark stripe down the middle of the back.

 

I’ll ne’er forget the claybank dun

I thought she was the only one

I only had one thought

I had to get her bought

I knew she’d be a lot of fun

 

The auction barn was full that day

They came from near and far away

The cowboys and their wives

You could cut the air with knives

Manure,cigars, and alfalfa hay

 

I wandered through the horse corrals

The pens of broncos with my pals

But all of us agreed

One perfect stand-out steed

Just had to come and grace our stalls

 

We sat up in the balcony

The bidding came so furiously

I stood and raised my hand

They ignored me as I fanned

My hat to make them call on me

 

The ringman finally saw me there

He signaled to the auctioneer

And when it all was done

We owned the claybank dun

Our gorgeous fourteen-three hand mare

 

T’was April, but when we walked outside

 A snowstorm covered up our “ride”

The trailer and the truck

Looked permanently stuck

“It’s a bad omen!” someone cried

 

Undaunted we did load the horse

I didn’t even use no force

The clinics I’d attended

My methods had amended

So I whispered to the mare, of course

 

We got her home to our horse barn

Inside where she was nice and warm

We pampered her a lot

Till spring when it got hot

Then started seeing what she’d learned

 

It was the perfect sunny day

In the round pen she did run and play

She seemed so very sweet

It didn’t seem no feat

To crawl aboard and ride away

 

She stood and chewed so quietly

I saddled her with no anxiety

We took a couple rounds

And the only sounds

We’re the saddle moving squeakily

 

Assuming she was saddle broke

By some well-meaning old cowpoke

I tightened up the girth

For all that I was worth

And crawled up, laughing at the joke

 

For she had sold for killer price

T’was said she’d had some awful vice

But here I was on top

Her chewing did not stop

It looked like we’d won the roll of dice

 

I called out to my chums,”look here!”

“She’s calm, there seems nothing to fear

I think we robbed the bank

Stealing this claybank

We got a kid horse sure right here!”

 

So I proceeded to “ride up”

I kicked and said “Now mare, git up!”

I don’t remember more

Except that I was sore

When I “came to” and tried to sit up

 

They said I’d put in quite a ride

In admiration they did finally confide

I’d stayed with her ten jumps

They saw tops of oil pumps

Clearly through her underside!

 

By Fall I’d mostly healed my wounds

Laid up for nearly seven moons

As we drove back to town

You couldn’t hear a sound

No one was singing happy tunes

 

A lesson we had learned that year

One that I hope your heart will hear

Your mama said to you

With horses it’s also true

Beauty is only skin deep, my dear!