His job requires strength and skill, and he has to possess the "sixth sense" of knowing which way the horse will jump next. Once in the saddle, he does his best to keep the bronc's head up. If he is thrown, he is certain to crawl back on the animal immediately, provided he has not been crippled. To let the horse think he has won the fight gives him bad ideas. Falls have no terrors for the seasoned rider, but the thought of a foot's becoming hung in the stirrup, or of finding himself under a man-killer's hoofs worries him plenty. How to fall is one of the first things he learns. He learns how to kick free of the stirrups, to go limp and hit the ground rolling. He always knows he is going a jump or two before he actually goes.
His working years are short, and he is too old for the game at thirty. Then he has to be content to ride horses other men have gentled, the jar and lunge of the rougher ones having torn him up inside.
Western Words, A Dictionary of the Range, Cow Camp and Trail by Ramon F. Adams
University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, page 19