Friday, March 27, 2009

Wild about Wildrags

Regular people call them scarves, cowboys call ‘em wildrags.
I call them a necessity.



A wildrag is a functional piece of gear for a cowboy. It keeps the trail dust off his face. It can tie down his hat in a storm. It can be used as a towel, a sling, a hobble, a napkin, a water filter, even a disguise should one desire to rob a bank.

Me? I use mine mainly to stay warm, indoors and out.



My favorite wildrags come from a place called Horsewright Clothing & Tack Co. in Tehachapi, California. These swatches of love are 38” square and made of a soft and luxurious sandwashed silk. At this size, there’s enough fabric to style and tie it any way you’d like.



Horsewright also sells wildrag slides, like this hollowed out piece of deer antler. (It’s a safety thing - if you tie a knot in your wildrag and get dumped off your horse, you might hang yourself on the saddle horn on the way down.)

I have two Horsewright wildrags so far, in sage and in sky blue. They come in 22 other colors! And as fate would have it, when I went over to their website to grab a link for this post, I discovered their wildrags are on sale - $25 instead of the regular $29. I’m going to take that as a sign that it’s time to order my spring collection.

Not that it’s spring yet. Spring was last week.
We’re back to winter today.




Of course my wildrag was around my neck keeping me warm while I was outside doing chores. Did I mention that a wildrag also makes a handy camera cover in a storm? And a nifty carryall for a loose flake of hay? And an emergency kleenex? And of course they're washable.

I'm thoroughly hooked on wildrags. To see what other folks are hooked on this week, check out the links at Julia's Hooked on Fridays post.

21 comments:

  1. Love the wildrags, they are so versatile and look great. I think you should get one in each color, this way you can wear the color of your mood for the day.

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  2. I love cowboy gear. I'll have to get myself over to that site and order. And I'd love to see stylin' windrags on the Burros!

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  3. thats cool, I learned something new today, love the photos

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  4. Arlene, I just ordered two more - copper and pink. I guess I'll wear the copper when I'm feeling thrifty and the pink when I'm feeling frilly.

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  5. I'm with Deb ... I learned something new today, and oooh, spring passed by here too and within a couple of days we'll be back to winter! Crazy weather!!

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  6. Wow, what a co-ink-a-dink! It's snowing here, too! ;0)

    Have a great week-end.

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  7. I have three! One red, one sage, and one red. I like mine as well... I have one slide, a rawhide natural/red colored one. Great post on "hooked on Friday!"

    PS: Just sent away some lamb pelts (from fall) to get tanned, they said ETA of being done would be around two months. I'll send you pics when I get them back. :D

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  8. I don't have any, well, I have one gorgeous silk horseprint one I'll have to blog about someday, but it was a gift and I'm too afraid to wear it around my horse, LOL!
    I have worn bandanas, and soaking them in ice water and wrapping them around your neck on a 100 degree day works wonders!

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  9. Wow - I wish I had one of those right now so I could cover my nose and mouth when I brush my filthy horses. Thanks for the tip! Snow? What's that about? I'm seeing it on some other blogs - hope it doesn't blow my way. We've got daffodils getting ready to bloom.

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  10. I never knew they were called wildrags--I always learn something when I'm over here! Great post, as usual. :-)

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  11. I'm going to have to check that site out. I agree with Victoria, I could use something to cover my face while I'm de-mudding and de-furring my horses.

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  12. Mine are put away in a drawer since I moved here to Lake Erie from the Rockies, but I do have a couple of my hats on pegs on the front porch. They draw a lot of stares around here when I wear them!

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  13. I have always admired the wildrags, never had purchased one. I may have to break down now that I see they have so many more uses than just when you're riding!!

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  14. Hmmm, I love them too. Essential for trail riding. And, in the summer you can dip them in the cold creek water and tie them around your neck after you've washed the dust off of your face. They really help cool you down on a hot day. They make excellent bee swatters too! Think I'll mosey on over and have a little looksee...

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  15. I love colour and fabrics, so these are wonderful.

    Weird weather...there's a rumour that we might get more snow in the next few days, too. I refuse to believe it!

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  16. Tehachapi...That's a fun word to have visitors to Kern County try to prounounce. Mojave is another.

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  17. Hmmm...the black cat photo is going to have me singing Stray Cat Strut all day now...

    "...and I strut right by with my tail in the air!"

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  18. I'll have to check out the wildrags. Brr, more snow!

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  19. Absolutely!!!

    I got a chuckle from one of the comments on my Sunday Stills self portrait edition...I was thanked for dressing up for the photo shoot...heck, that's how we dress all the time! ;~)

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  20. My sister lives in Tehachapi. I'll have to check them out next time I visit.

    Best,
    Gail

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