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A cowboy is an animal herder who tends
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquero'' traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of special significance and legend.Malone, J., p. 1. A subtype, called a wrangler, specifically tends the horses used to work cattle. In addition to ranch work, some cowboys work for or participate in rodeos. Cowgirls, first defined as such in the late 19th century, had a less-well documented historical role, but in the modern world work at identical tasks and have obtained considerable respect for their achievements. Cattle handlers in many other parts of the world, particularly South America and Australia, perform work similar to the cowboy. The cowboy has deep historic roots tracing back to Spain and the earliest European settlers of the Americas. Over the centuries, differences in terrain and climate, and the influence of cattle-handling traditions from multiple cultures, created several distinct styles of equipment, clothing and animal handling. As the ever-practical cowboy adapted to the modern world, his equipment and techniques also adapted, though many classic traditions are preserved.


Etymology and mainstream usage

The English word ''cowboy'' has an origin from several earlier terms that referred to both age and to cattle or cattle-tending work. The English word ''cowboy'' was derived from ''vaquero'', a Spanish word for an individual who managed cattle while mounted on horseback. ''Vaquero'' was derived from ''vaca'', meaning "cow", which came from the Latin word ''vacca''. "Cowboy" was first used in print by Jonathan Swift in 1725, and was used in the British Isles from 1820 to 1850 to describe young boys who tended the family or community cows. Originally though, the English word "cowherd" was used to describe a cattle herder (similar to "shepherd", a sheep herder), and often referred to a pre-adolescent or early adolescent boy, who usually worked on foot. This word is very old in the English language, originating prior to the year 1000. By 1849 "cowboy" had developed its modern sense as an adult cattle handler of the American West. Variations on the word appeared later. "Cowhand" appeared in 1852, and "cowpoke" in 1881, originally restricted to the individuals who prodded cattle with long poles to load them onto railroad cars for shipping. Names for a cowboy in American English include ''buckaroo'', ''cowpoke'', ''cowhand'', and ''cowpuncher''.Vernam, p. 294. Another English word for a cowboy, ''buckaroo'', is an
anglicization Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
of ''vaquero'' (). Today, "cowboy" is a term common throughout the west and particularly in the Great Plains and
Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
, "buckaroo" is used primarily in the
Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...
and California, and "cowpuncher" mostly in Texas and surrounding states. Equestrianism required skills and an investment in horses and equipment rarely available to or entrusted to a child, though in some cultures boys rode a donkey while going to and from pasture. In
antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...
, herding of sheep, cattle and goats was often the job of minors, and still is a task for young people in various Developing World cultures. Because of the time and physical ability needed to develop necessary skills, both historic and modern cowboys often began as an adolescent. Historically, cowboys earned wages as soon as they developed sufficient skill to be hired (often as young as 12 or 13). If not crippled by injury, cowboys may handle cattle or horses for a lifetime. In the United States, a few women also took on the tasks of ranching and learned the necessary skills, though the "cowgirl" (discussed below) did not become widely recognized or acknowledged until the close of the 19th century. On western ranches today, the working cowboy is usually an adult. Responsibility for herding cattle or other livestock is no longer considered suitable for children or early adolescents. Boys and girls growing up in a ranch environment often learn to ride horses and perform basic ranch skills as soon as they are physically able, usually under adult supervision. Such youths, by their late teens, are often given responsibilities for "cowboy" work on the ranch.


Other historic word uses

"Cowboy" was used during the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
to describe American fighters who opposed the movement for independence.
Claudius Smith Claudius Smith (1736 – January 22, 1779) was a Loyalist guerrilla leader during the American Revolution. He led a band of irregulars who were known locally as the 'cowboys'. Claudius was the eldest son of David Smith (1701–1787), a respected ...
, an outlaw identified with the Loyalist cause, was called the "Cow-boy of the Ramapos" due to his penchant for stealing oxen, cattle and horses from colonists and giving them to the British. In the same period, a number of guerrilla bands operated in
Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...
, which marked the dividing line between the British and American forces. These groups were made up of local farmhands who would ambush convoys and carry out raids on both sides. There were two separate groups: the "skinners" fought for the pro-independence side, while the "cowboys" supported the British.''Pictorial History of the Wild West'' by James D. Horan and Paul Sann, , . In the Tombstone, Arizona, area during the 1880s, the term "cowboy" or "cow-boy" was used pejoratively to describe men who had been implicated in various crimes. One loosely organized band was dubbed "
The Cowboys ''The Cowboys'' is a 1972 American Western film starring John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, and Bruce Dern, and featuring Colleen Dewhurst and Slim Pickens. It was the feature film debut of Robert Carradine. Based on the 1971 novel of the same na ...
", and profited from smuggling cattle, alcohol, and tobacco across the U.S.–Mexico border. '' The San Francisco Examiner'' wrote in an editorial, "Cowboys rethe most reckless class of outlaws in that wild country ... infinitely worse than the ordinary robber." It became an insult in the area to call someone a "cowboy", as it suggested he was a horse thief, robber, or outlaw. Cattlemen were generally called herders or ranchers. Other synonyms for cowboy were ranch hand, range hand or trail hand, although duties and pay were not entirely identical. The Cowboys' activities were ultimately curtailed by the
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral The gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a thirty-second shootout between law enforcement officer, lawmen led by Virgil Earp and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cochise County Cowboys, Cowboys that occurred at about 3: ...
and the resulting
Earp Vendetta Ride The Earp Vendetta Ride was a deadly search by a federal posse led by Deputy U.S. Marshal Wyatt Earp for a loose confederation of outlaw " Cowboys" they believed had ambushed his brothers Virgil and Morgan Earp, maiming the former and killing t ...
.


History

The origins of the cowboy tradition come from Spain, beginning with the hacienda system of
medieval Spain Spain in the Middle Ages is a period in the History of Spain that began in the 5th Century following the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and ended with the beginning of the Early modern period in 1492. The history of Spain is marked by waves ...
. This style of cattle ranching spread throughout much of the Iberian peninsula, and later was imported to the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with t ...
. Both regions possessed a dry climate with sparse grass, thus large herds of cattle required vast amounts of land to obtain sufficient
forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...
. The need to cover distances greater than a person on foot could manage gave rise to the development of the horseback-mounted ''vaquero''.


Spanish roots

Various aspects of the Spanish
equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...
tradition can be traced back to Islamic rule in Spain, including
Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...
elements such as the use of Oriental-type horses, the '' la jineta'' riding style characterized by a shorter stirrup, solid-treed
saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kn ...
and use of
spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to back ...
s, the heavy
noseband A noseband is the part of a horse's bridle that encircles the nose and jaw of the horse. In English riding, where the noseband is separately attached to its own headstall or crownpiece, held independently of the bit, it is often called a cavesson ...
or
hackamore A hackamore is a type of animal headgear which does not have a bit. Instead, it has a special type of noseband that works on pressure points on the face, nose, and chin. Hackamores are most often seen in western riding and other styles of rid ...
, (Arabic ''šakīma'', Spanish ''jaquima'') and other horse-related equipment and techniques.Bennett, pp. 54–55 Certain aspects of the Arabic tradition, such as the hackamore, can in turn be traced to roots in
ancient Persia The history of Iran is intertwined with the history of a larger region known as Greater Iran, comprising the area from Anatolia in the west to the borders of Ancient India and the Syr Darya in the east, and from the Caucasus and the Eurasian St ...
. During the 16th century, the
Conquistadors Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to ...
and other Spanish settlers brought their cattle-raising traditions as well as both horses and domesticated
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
to the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with t ...
, starting with their arrival in what today is Mexico and Florida.Vernam, p. 190. The traditions of Spain were transformed by the geographic, environmental and cultural circumstances of New Spain, which later became Mexico and the Southwestern United States. In turn, the land and people of the Americas also saw dramatic changes due to Spanish influence. The arrival of horses was particularly significant, as equines had been extinct in the Americas since the end of the prehistoric ice age. Horses quickly multiplied in America and became crucial to the success of the Spanish and later settlers from other nations. The earliest horses were originally of Andalusian,
Barb Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to: People * Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves * The Barbs, a band Places * Bar ...
and
Arabian The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
ancestry,Denhardt, p. 20. but a number of uniquely American
horse breeds This article is a list of horse and pony breeds with articles on Wikipedia, and also includes terms for types of horse that are not necessarily standardized breeds but are often labeled as breeds. While there is no scientifically accepted defini ...
developed in North and South America through selective breeding and by natural selection of animals that escaped to the wild. The
mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, the ...
and other colonial horse breeds are now called "wild", but in reality are feral horses—descendants of domesticated animals.


Vaqueros

Though popularly considered
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
, the traditional cowboy began with the Spanish tradition, which evolved further in what today is Mexico and the Southwestern United States into the ''vaquero'' of northern Mexico and the ''
charro Charro has several meanings, but it generally refers to Mexican horse riders, who maintain traditional dress, such as some form of sombrero, which in Mexican Spanish are called ''sombrero de charro'' (a charro's hat). The charros could also ...
'' of the
Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...
and Michoacán regions. While most ''hacendados'' (ranch owners) were ethnically
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
''
criollos In Hispanic America, criollo () is a term used originally to describe people of Spanish descent born in the colonies. In different Latin American countries the word has come to have different meanings, sometimes referring to the local-born majo ...
'', many early ''vaqueros'' were Native Americans trained to work for the Spanish missions in caring for the mission herds. ''Vaqueros'' went north with livestock. In 1598,
Don Juan de Oñate Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places * County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia * Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name * Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a ...
sent an expedition across the Rio Grande into New Mexico, bringing along 7000 head of cattle. From this beginning, ''vaqueros'' drove cattle from New Mexico and later Texas to Mexico City. Mexican traditions spread both South and North, influencing equestrian traditions from Argentina to Canada.


American development

As English-speaking traders and settlers expanded westward, English and Spanish traditions, language and culture merged to some degree. Before the Mexican–American War in 1848, New England merchants who traveled by ship to California encountered both ''hacendados'' and ''vaqueros'', trading manufactured goods for the hides and tallow produced from vast cattle ranches. American traders along what later became known as the
Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, t ...
had similar contacts with ''vaquero'' life. Starting with these early encounters, the lifestyle and language of the ''vaquero'' began a transformation which merged with English cultural traditions and produced what became known in American culture as the "cowboy". The arrival of English-speaking settlers in Texas began in 1821.
Rip Ford John Salmon Ford (May 26, 1815 – November 3, 1897), better known as "Rip" Ford, was a member of the Republic of Texas Congress and later of the State Senate, and mayor of Brownsville, Texas. He was also a Texas Ranger, a Confederate colonel, ...
described the country between Laredo and Corpus Christi as inhabited by "countless droves of mustangs and ... wild cattle ... abandoned by Mexicans when they were ordered to evacuate the country between the Nueces and the Rio Grande by General
Valentin Canalizo Valentin is a male given name meaning "strong, healthy, power, rule, terco". It comes from the Latin name ''Valentinus'', as in Saint Valentin. Commonly found in Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Scandinavia, Latin America ...
 ... the horses and cattle abandoned invited the raids the
Texians Texians were Anglo-American residents of Mexican Texas and, later, the Republic of Texas. Today, the term is used to identify early settlers of Texas, especially those who supported the Texas Revolution. Mexican settlers of that era are ref ...
made upon this territory."Ford, J.S., 1963, ''Rip Ford's Texas''. Austin: University of Texas Press, page 143. California, on the other hand, did not see a large influx of settlers from the United States until after the Mexican–American War. In slightly different ways, both areas contributed to the evolution of the iconic American cowboy. Particularly with the arrival of
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
s and an increased demand for
beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...
in the wake of the American Civil War, older traditions combined with the need to drive cattle from the ranches where they were raised to the nearest
railhead In the UK, railheading refers to the practice of travelling further than necessary to reach a rail service, typically by car. The phenomenon is common among commuters seeking a more convenient journey. Reasons for railheading include, but are ...
s, often hundreds of miles away.
Black cowboys Black cowboys in the American West accounted for up to an estimated 25% of cowboys "who went up the trail" from the 1860s to 1880s and substantial but unknown percentage in the rest of the ranching industry, estimated to be at least 5000 workers ...
in the American West accounted for up to 25 percent of workers in the range-cattle industry from the 1860s to 1880s, estimated to be between 6,000 and 9,000 workers. Typically former slaves or children of former slaves, many black men had skills in cattle handling and headed West at the end of the Civil War. By the 1880s, the expansion of the cattle industry resulted in a need for additional open range. Thus many ranchers expanded into the northwest, where there were still large tracts of unsettled grassland. Texas cattle were herded north, into the
Rocky Mountain The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
west and the Dakotas.Malone, J., p. 76. The cowboy adapted much of his gear to the colder conditions, and westward movement of the industry also led to intermingling of regional traditions from California to Texas, often with the cowboy taking the most useful elements of each. Mustang-runners or ''Mesteñeros'' were cowboys and vaqueros who caught, broke and drove mustangs to market in Mexico, and later American territories of what is now Northern Mexico, Texas, New Mexico and California. They caught the mustangs that roamed the Great Plains and the San Joaquin Valley of California, and later in the
Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...
, from the 18th century to the early 20th century. Large numbers of
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
lived in a semi-feral or a completely
feral A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...
state on the open range and were left to graze, mostly untended, for much of the year. In many cases, different ranchers formed "associations" and grazed their cattle together on the same range. In order to determine the ownership of individual animals, they were marked with a distinctive
brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
, applied with a hot iron, usually while the cattle were still calves. In order to find young calves for branding, and to sort out mature animals intended for sale, ranchers would hold a
roundup A roundup is a systematic gathering together of people or things. Roundup, Round Up or Round-up may also refer to: Agriculture * A muster (livestock) (AU/NZ) or a roundup (US/CA) is the process of gathering livestock. * Roundup (herbicide), a M ...
, usually in the spring. A roundup required a number of specialized skills on the part of both cowboys and horses. Individuals who separated cattle from the herd required the highest level of skill and rode specially trained "
cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scalpel and ...
" horses, trained to follow the movements of cattle, capable of stopping and turning faster than other horses. Once cattle were sorted, most cowboys were required to rope young calves and restrain them to be branded and (in the case of most
bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Neutering, castrated) adult male of the species ''Cattle, Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., Cattle, cows), bulls have long been an important symbol i ...
calves)
castrated Castration is any action, surgical, chemical, or otherwise, by which an individual loses use of the testicles: the male gonad. Surgical castration is bilateral orchiectomy (excision of both testicles), while chemical castration uses pharmaceu ...
. Occasionally it was also necessary to restrain older cattle for branding or other treatment. A large number of horses were needed for a roundup. Each cowboy would require three to four fresh horses in the course of a day's work. Horses themselves were also rounded up. It was common practice in the west for young
foal A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal i ...
s to be born of tame
mares A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four y ...
, but allowed to grow up "wild" in a semi-feral state on the open range. There were also "wild" herds, often known as
mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, the ...
s. Both types were rounded up, and the mature animals tamed, a process called
horse breaking Horse training refers to a variety of practices that teach horses to perform certain behaviors when commanded to do so by humans. Horses are trained to be manageable by humans for everyday care as well as for equestrian activities from horse r ...
, or "
bronco A bucking horse is any breed or either gender of horse with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for ro ...
-busting", usually performed by cowboys who specialized as horse trainers. In some cases, extremely brutal methods were used to tame horses, and such animals tended to never be completely reliable. Other cowboys recognized their need to treat animals in a more humane fashion and modified their
horse training Horse training refers to a variety of practices that teach horses to perform certain behaviors when commanded to do so by humans. Horses are trained to be manageable by humans for everyday care as well as for equestrian activities from horse r ...
methods, often re-learning techniques used by the ''vaqueros'', particularly those of the ''Californio'' tradition. Horses trained in a gentler fashion were more reliable and useful for a wider variety of tasks. Informal competition arose between cowboys seeking to test their cattle and horse-handling skills against one another, and thus, from the necessary tasks of the working cowboy, the sport of rodeo developed.


Cattle drives

Prior to the mid-19th century, most ranchers primarily raised cattle for their own needs and to sell surplus meat and hides locally. There was also a limited market for hides, horns, hooves, and tallow in assorted manufacturing processes.Malone, J., p. 5. While Texas contained vast herds of stray, free-ranging cattle available for free to anyone who could round them up, prior to 1865, there was little demand for beef. At the end of the American Civil War,
Philip Danforth Armour Philip Danforth Armour Sr. (16 May 1832 – 6 January 1901) was an American meatpacking industrialist who founded the Chicago-based firm of Armour & Company. Born on an upstate New York farm, he made $8,000 in the California gold rush, 1852 ...
opened a meat packing plant in Chicago, which became known as
Armour and Company Armour & Company was an American company and was one of the five leading firms in the meat packing industry. It was founded in Chicago, in 1867, by the Armour brothers led by Philip Danforth Armour. By 1880, the company had become Chicago's most ...
. With the expansion of the
meat packing industry The meat-packing industry (also spelled meatpacking industry or meat packing industry) handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Poultry is generally ...
, the demand for beef increased significantly. By 1866, cattle could be sold to northern markets for as much as $40 per head, making it potentially profitable for cattle, particularly from Texas, to be herded long distances to market. The first large-scale effort to drive cattle from Texas to the nearest railhead for shipment to Chicago occurred in 1866, when many Texas ranchers banded together to drive their cattle to the closest point that railroad tracks reached, which at that time was in Sedalia, Missouri. Farmers in eastern Kansas, afraid that Longhorns would transmit cattle fever to local animals as well as trample crops, formed groups that threatened to beat or shoot cattlemen found on their lands. Therefore, the 1866 drive failed to reach the railroad, and the cattle herds were sold for low prices. In 1867, a cattle shipping facility was built west of farm country around the railhead at
Abilene, Kansas Abilene (pronounced ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Dickinson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 6,460. It is home of The Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum and the G ...
, and became a center of cattle shipping, loading over 36,000 head of cattle that year. The route from Texas to Abilene became known as the
Chisholm Trail The Chisholm Trail was a trail used in the post-Civil War era to drive cattle overland from ranches in Texas to Kansas railheads. The trail was established by Black Beaver, a Lenape guide and rancher, and his friend Jesse Chisholm, a Cheroke ...
, after
Jesse Chisholm Jesse Chisholm (''circa ''1805 - March 4, 1868) (Cherokee) was a Cherokee fur trader and merchant in the American West. He is known for having scouted and developed what became known as the Chisholm Trail, later used to drive cattle from Texas to ...
, who marked out the route. It ran through present-day Oklahoma, which then was Indian Territory. Later, other trails forked off to different railheads, including those at
Dodge City Dodge City is the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States, named after nearby Fort Dodge. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. The city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier tow ...
and Wichita, Kansas.Malone, J., p. 42. By 1877, the largest of the cattle-shipping boom towns, Dodge City, Kansas, shipped out 500,000 head of cattle. Cattle drives had to strike a balance between speed and the weight of the cattle. While cattle could be driven as far as in a single day, they would lose so much weight that they would be hard to sell when they reached the end of the trail. Usually they were taken shorter distances each day, allowed periods to rest and graze both at midday and at night. On average, a herd could maintain a healthy weight moving about per day. Such a pace meant that it would take as long as two months to travel from a home ranch to a railhead. The Chisholm trail, for example, was miles long. On average, a single herd of cattle on a drive numbered about 3,000 head. To herd the cattle, a crew of at least 10 cowboys was needed, with three horses per cowboy. Cowboys worked in shifts to watch the cattle 24 hours a day, herding them in the proper direction in the daytime and watching them at night to prevent
stampede A stampede () is a situation in which a group of large animals suddenly start running in the same direction, especially because they are excited or frightened. Non-human species associated with stampede behavior include zebras, cattle, elephants ...
s and deter theft. The crew also included a cook, who drove a
chuck wagon A chuckwagon is a type of field kitchen covered wagon historically used for the storage and transportation of food and cooking equipment on the prairies of the United States and Canada. Such wagons formed part of a wagon train of settlers or fed ...
, usually pulled by oxen, and a horse wrangler to take charge of the ''
remuda A remuda is a herd of horses that ranch hands select their mounts from. The word is of Spanish derivation, for 'remount' i.e. "change of horses" and is commonly used in the American West. The person in charge of the remuda is generally known as a ...
'', or herd of spare horses. The wrangler on a cattle drive was often a very young cowboy or one of lower social status, but the cook was a particularly well-respected member of the crew, as not only was he in charge of the food, he also was in charge of medical supplies and had a working knowledge of practical medicine.


End of the open range

Barbed wire A close-up view of a barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is ...
, an innovation of the 1880s, allowed cattle to be confined to designated areas to prevent
overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...
of the range. In Texas and surrounding areas, increased population required ranchers to fence off their individual lands. In the north, overgrazing stressed the open range, leading to insufficient winter
forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...
for the cattle and starvation, particularly during the harsh winter of 1886–1887, when hundreds of thousands of cattle died across the Northwest, leading to collapse of the cattle industry.Malone, J., p. 79. By the 1890s, barbed-wire fencing was also standard in the northern plains, railroads had expanded to cover most of the nation, and meat packing plants were built closer to major ranching areas, making long cattle drives from Texas to the railheads in Kansas unnecessary. Hence, the age of the open range was gone and large
cattle drives A cattle drive is the process of moving a herd of cattle from one place to another, usually moved and herded by cowboys on horses. Europe In medieval central Europe, annual cattle drives brought Hungarian Grey cattle across the Danube River t ...
were over. Smaller cattle drives continued at least into the 1940s, as ranchers, prior to the development of the modern cattle truck, still needed to herd cattle to local railheads for transport to stockyards and packing plants. Meanwhile, ranches multiplied all over the developing West, keeping cowboy employment high, if still low-paid, but also somewhat more settled.


Culture


Ethnicity

American cowboys were drawn from multiple sources. By the late 1860s, following the American Civil War and the expansion of the cattle industry, former soldiers from both the Union and Confederacy came west, seeking work, as did large numbers of restless white men in general. A significant number of
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensla ...
freedmen also were drawn to cowboy life, in part because there was not quite as much racial discrimination in the West as in other areas of American society at the time. A significant number of Mexicans and American Indians already living in the region also worked as cowboys.Malone, J., p. 48. Later, particularly after 1890, when American policy promoted "assimilation" of Indian people, some Indian boarding schools also taught ranching skills. Today, some Native Americans in the western United States own cattle and small ranches, and many are still employed as cowboys, especially on ranches located near Indian reservations. The "Indian Cowboy" is also part of the rodeo circuit. Because cowboys ranked low in the social structure of the period, there are no firm figures on the actual proportion of various races. One writer states that cowboys were "of two classes—those recruited from Texas and other States on the eastern slope; and Mexicans, from the south-western region". Census records suggest that about 15% of all cowboys were of African-American ancestry—ranging from about 25% on the trail drives out of Texas, to very few in the northwest. Similarly, cowboys of Mexican descent also averaged about 15% of the total, but were more common in Texas and the southwest. Some estimates suggest that in the late 19th century, one out of every three cowboys was a Mexican vaquero, and 20% may have been African-American. Other estimates place the number of African-American cowboys as high as 25 percent. Regardless of ethnicity, most cowboys came from lower social classes and the pay was poor. The average cowboy earned approximately a dollar a day, plus food, and, when near the home ranch, a bed in the
bunkhouse A bunkhouse is a barracks-like building that historically was used to house working cowboys on ranches, or loggers in a logging camp in North America. As most cowboys were young single men, the standard bunkhouse was a large open room with na ...
, usually a
barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...
-like building with a single open room.


Social world

Over time, the cowboys of the
American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
developed a personal culture of their own, a blend of frontier and Victorian values that even retained vestiges of
chivalry Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours were governed b ...
. Such hazardous work in isolated conditions also bred a tradition of self-dependence and individualism, with great value put on personal honesty, exemplified in songs and poetry.Atherton, Lewis ''The Cattle Kings'', Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press 1961 pp. 241–262. The cowboy often worked in an all-male environment, particularly on
cattle drives A cattle drive is the process of moving a herd of cattle from one place to another, usually moved and herded by cowboys on horses. Europe In medieval central Europe, annual cattle drives brought Hungarian Grey cattle across the Danube River t ...
, and in the frontier west, men often significantly outnumbered women. Some men were attracted to the frontier by other men. At times, in a region where men outnumbered women, even social events normally attended by both sexes were at times all male, and men could be found partnering up with one another for dances.Wilke, Jim. "Frontier Comrades: homosexuality in the America West". pp. 164–172; ''Out In All Directions: The Almanac of Gay and Lesbian America''; Edited by Lynn Witt, Sherry Thomas and Eric Marcus; New York: Warner Books; 1995; p. 635
Homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to p ...
acts between young, unmarried men occurred, but cowboys culture itself was and remains deeply homophobic. Though anti-sodomy laws were common in the Old West, they often were only selectively enforced.


Popular image

Heather Cox Richardson Heather Cox Richardson is an American historian and professor of history at Boston College, where she teaches courses on the American Civil War, the Reconstruction Era, the American West, and the Plains Indians. She previously taught history at ...
argues for a political dimension to the original cowboy image in the 1870s and 1880s:
The timing of the cattle industry's growth meant that cowboy imagery grew to have extraordinary power. Entangled in the vicious politics of the postwar years, Democrats, especially those in the old Confederacy, imagined the West as a land untouched by Republican politicians they hated. They developed an image of the cowboys as men who worked hard, played hard, lived by a code of honor, protected themselves, and asked nothing of the government. In the hands of Democratic newspaper editors, the realities of cowboy life -- the poverty, the danger, the debilitating hours -- became romantic. Cowboys embodied virtues Democrats believed Republicans were destroying by creating a behemoth government catering to lazy ex-slaves. By the 1860s, cattle drives were a feature of the plains landscape, and Democrats had made cowboys a symbol of rugged individual independence, something they insisted Republicans were destroying.
The traditions of the working cowboy were further etched into the minds of the general public with the development of
Wild West Show Wild West shows were traveling vaudeville performances in the United States and Europe that existed around 1870–1920. The shows began as theatrical stage productions and evolved into open-air shows that depicted romanticized stereotypes of co ...
s in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which showcased and romanticized the life of both cowboys and Native Americans. Beginning in the 1920s and continuing to the present day,
Western movie The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly refer ...
s popularized the cowboy lifestyle but also formed persistent
stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...
s. In some cases, the cowboy and the violent
gunslinger Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the t ...
are often associated with one another. On the other hand, some actors who portrayed cowboys promoted other values, such as the "cowboy code" of Gene Autry, that encouraged honorable behavior, respect and patriotism. Historian Robert K. DeArment draws a connection between the popularized Western code and the stereotypical rowdy cowboy image to that of the "subculture of violence" of drovers in Old West Texas, that was influenced itself by the Southern
code duello A code duello is a set of rules for a one-on-one combat, or duel. Codes duello regulate dueling and thus help prevent vendettas between families and other social factions. They ensure that non-violent means of reaching agreement be exhausted and ...
. Likewise, cowboys in movies were often shown fighting with American Indians. Most armed conflicts occurred between Native people and
cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...
units of the
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
. Relations between cowboys and Native Americans were varied but generally not particularly friendly.Carter, Sarah, ''Cowboys, Ranchers and the Cattle Business: Cross-Border Perspectives on Ranching History'', University Press of Colorado (2000) p. 95. Native people usually allowed cattle herds to pass through for a toll of ten cents a head, but raided cattle drives and ranches in times of active white-Native conflict or food shortages. In the 1860s, for example, the Comanche created problems in Western Texas.Lewis, Mary C. ''Ebony Jr., Black Settlers of the Old West''. Johnson Publication. May 1984 . pp. 18–19 Similar attacks also occurred with the
Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño and ...
,
Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...
and Ute Indians. Cowboys were armed against both predators and human thieves, and often used their guns to run off people of any race who attempted to steal, or '' rustle'' cattle. In reality, working ranch hands past and present had very little time for anything other than the constant, hard work involved in maintaining a ranch.


Cowgirls

The history of women in the west, and women who worked on cattle ranches in particular, is not as well documented as that of men. Institutions such as the
National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame The National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame is located in Fort Worth, Texas, US. Established in 1975, it is dedicated to honoring women of the American West who have displayed extraordinary courage and pioneering fortitude. The museum is an educ ...
have lately tried to gather and document the contributions of women. There are few records mentioning girls or women working to drive cattle up the cattle trails of the Old West. Women did considerable ranch work, and in some cases (especially when the men went to war or on long cattle drives) ran them. There is little doubt that women, particularly the wives and daughters of men who owned small ranches and could not afford to hire large numbers of outside laborers, worked side by side with men and thus needed to ride horses and be able to perform related tasks. The largely undocumented contributions of women to the west were acknowledged in law; the western states led the United States in granting women the right to vote, beginning with Wyoming in 1869. Early photographers such as Evelyn Cameron documented the life of working ranch women during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While impractical for everyday work, the
sidesaddle Sidesaddle riding is a form of equestrianism that uses a type of saddle which allows female riders to sit aside rather than astride an equine. Sitting aside dates back to antiquity and developed in European countries in the Middle Ages as a wa ...
was a tool that gave women the ability to ride horses in "respectable" public settings instead of being left on foot or confined to
horse-drawn vehicle A horse-drawn vehicle is a mechanized piece of equipment pulled by one horse or by a team of horses. These vehicles typically had two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers and/or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have m ...
s. Following the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policie ...
,
Charles Goodnight Charles Goodnight (March 5, 1836 – December 12, 1929), also known as Charlie Goodnight, was a rancher in the American West. In 1955, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Early y ...
modified the traditional English sidesaddle, creating a western-styled design. The traditional ''charras'' of Mexico preserve a similar tradition and ride sidesaddles today in '' charreada'' exhibitions on both sides of the border. It was not until the advent of Wild West shows that "cowgirls" came into their own. These adult women were skilled performers, demonstrating riding, expert marksmanship, and trick roping that entertained audiences around the world. Women such as
Annie Oakley Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoverished family in western ...
became household names. By 1900, skirts split for riding astride became popular, and allowed women to compete with the men without scandalizing Victorian Era audiences by wearing men's clothing or, worse yet,
bloomers Bloomers, also called the bloomer, the Turkish dress, the American dress, or simply reform dress, are divided women's garments for the lower body. They were developed in the 19th century as a healthful and comfortable alternative to the heavy, ...
. In the movies that followed from the early 20th century on, cowgirls expanded their roles in the popular culture and movie designers developed attractive clothing suitable for riding Western saddles. Independently of the entertainment industry, the growth of rodeo brought about the rodeo cowgirl. In the early Wild West shows and rodeos, women competed in all events, sometimes against other women, sometimes with the men. Cowgirls such as
Fannie Sperry Steele Fannie Sperry Steele (March 27, 1887 – February 11, 1983), born Fannie Sperry, was an American bronc rider and rodeo performer from Montana. She was one of the first women inducted into the Rodeo Hall of Fame of the National Cowboy and Western ...
rode the same "rough stock" and took the same risks as the men (and all while wearing a heavy split skirt that was more encumbering than men's trousers) and competed at major rodeos such as the Calgary Stampede and
Cheyenne Frontier Days Cheyenne Frontier Days is an outdoor rodeo and western celebration in the United States, held annually since 1897 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It bills itself as the "World's Largest Outdoor Rodeo and Western Celebration." The event, claimed to be one of ...
. Rodeo competition for women changed in the 1920s due to several factors. After 1925, when Eastern promoters started staging indoor rodeos in places like Madison Square Garden, women were generally excluded from the men's events and many of the women's events were dropped. Also, the public had difficulties with seeing women seriously injured or killed, and in particular, the death of Bonnie McCarroll at the 1929
Pendleton Round-Up The Pendleton Round-Up is a major annual rodeo in the northwestern United States, at Pendleton in northeastern Oregon. Held at the Pendleton Round-Up Stadium during the second full week of September each year since 1910, the rodeo brings roug ...
led to the elimination of women's bronc riding from rodeo competition. In today's rodeos, men and women compete equally together only in the event of
team roping Team roping also known as heading and heeling is a rodeo event that features a steer (typically a Corriente) and two mounted riders. The first roper is referred to as the "header", the person who ropes the front of the steer, usually around th ...
, though technically women now could enter other open events. In all-women rodeos, women compete in
bronc riding Bronc riding, either bareback bronc or saddle bronc competition, is a rodeo event that involves a rodeo participant riding a bucking horse (sometimes called a ''bronc'' or '' bronco'') that attempts to throw or buck off the rider. Originally ...
,
bull riding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to bucking, buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." ...
and all other traditional rodeo events. In open rodeos, cowgirls primarily compete in the timed riding events such as
barrel racing Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which a horse and rider attempt to run a cloverleaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time. In collegiate and professional ranks, it is usually a women's event, though both sexes compete at amateur and ...
, and most professional rodeos do not offer as many women's events as men's events. Boys and girls are more apt to compete against one another in all events in high-school rodeos as well as O-Mok-See competition, where even boys can be seen in traditionally "women's" events such as barrel racing. Outside of the rodeo world, women compete equally with men in nearly all other
equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...
events, including the Olympics, and
western riding Western riding is considered a style of horse riding which has evolved from the ranching and welfare traditions which were brought to the Americas by the Spanish Conquistadors, as well as both equipment and riding style which evolved to meet the ...
events such as
cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scalpel and ...
, reining, and
endurance riding Endurance riding is an equestrianism, equestrian sport based on controlled long-distance races. It is one of the international competitions recognized by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports, FEI. There are endurance rides worldw ...
. Today's working cowgirls generally use clothing, tools and equipment indistinguishable from that of men, other than in color and design, usually preferring a flashier look in competition. Sidesaddles are only seen in exhibitions and a limited number of specialty
horse show A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days, sometimes longer ...
classes. A modern working cowgirl wears jeans, close-fitting shirts, boots, hat, and when needed, chaps and gloves. If working on the ranch, they perform the same chores as cowboys and dress to suit the situation.


Regional traditions

Geography, climate and cultural traditions caused differences to develop in cattle-handling methods and equipment from one part of the United States to another. The period between 1840 and 1870 marked a mingling of cultures when English and French-descended people began to settle west of the Mississippi River and encountered the Spanish-descended people who had settled in the parts of Mexico that later became Texas and California.Bennett, p. 125 In the modern world, remnants of two major and distinct cowboy traditions remain, known today as the " Texas" tradition and the "Spanish", "Vaquero", or " California" tradition. Less well-known but equally distinct traditions also developed in Hawaii and Florida. Today, the various regional cowboy traditions have merged to some extent, though a few regional differences in equipment and riding style still remain, and some individuals choose to deliberately preserve the more time-consuming but highly skilled techniques of the pure ''vaquero'' or "buckaroo" tradition. The popular "horse whisperer" style of
natural horsemanship Natural horsemanship is a collective term for a variety of horse training techniques which have seen rapid growth in popularity since the 1980s. The techniques vary in their precise tenets but generally share principles of "a kinder and gentler ...
was originally developed by practitioners who were predominantly from California and the Northwestern states, clearly combining the attitudes and philosophy of the California vaquero with the equipment and outward look of the Texas cowboy.


California and Pacific region

The vaquero, the Spanish or Mexican cowboy who worked with young, untrained horses, arrived in the 18th century and flourished in
Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...
and bordering territories during the Spanish Colonial period. Settlers from the United States did not enter California in significant numbers until after the Mexican–American War, and most early settlers were miners rather than livestock ranchers, leaving livestock-raising largely to the Spanish and Mexican people who chose to remain in California. The California vaquero or buckaroo, unlike the Texas cowboy, was considered a highly skilled worker, who usually stayed on the same ranch where he was born or had grown up and raised his own family there. In addition, the geography and climate of much of California was dramatically different from that of Texas, allowing more intensive grazing with less open range, plus cattle in California were marketed primarily at a regional level, without the need (nor, until much later, even the logistical possibility) to be driven hundreds of miles to railroad lines. Thus, a horse- and livestock-handling culture remained in California and the Pacific Northwest that retained a stronger direct Spanish influence than that of Texas. The modern distinction between ''vaquero'' and ''buckaroo'' within American English may also reflect the parallel differences between the California and Texas traditions of western horsemanship.


Buckaroos

Some cowboys of the California tradition were dubbed ''buckaroos'' by English-speaking settlers. The words "buckaroo" and ''vaquero'' are still used on occasion in the
Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...
, parts of California and, less often, in the Pacific Northwest. Elsewhere, the term "cowboy" is more common. The word ''buckaroo'' is generally believed to be an anglicized version of ''vaquero'' and shows phonological characteristics compatible with that origin. ''Buckaroo'' first appeared in American English in 1827. The word may also have developed with influences from the English word "buck" or
bucking Bucking is a movement performed by an animal in which it lowers its head and raises its hindquarters into the air while kicking out with the hind legs. It is most commonly seen in herbivores such as equines, cattle, deer, goats, and sheep. Most r ...
, the behavior of young, untrained horses. In 1960, one etymologist suggested that ''buckaroo'' derives, through gul, buckra, from the
Ibibio Ibibio may refer to: *Ibibio language *Ibibio people * Ibibio Sound Machine, an English electronic afro-funk band who sing in Ibibio See also * Ibiblio ibiblio (formerly SunSITE.unc.edu and MetaLab.unc.edu) is a "collection of collections", ...
and efi, mbakara, meaning "white man, master, boss". Although that derivation was later rejected, another possibility advanced was that "buckaroo" was a
pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophonic ...
on ''vaquero'', blending both Spanish and African sources.


Texas tradition

In the 18th century, people in
Spanish Texas Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1690 until 1821. The term "interior provinces" first appeared in 1712, as an expression meaning "far away" provinces. It was only in 1776 that a leg ...
began to herd cattle on horseback to sell in Louisiana, both legally and illegally.Bennett, pp. 362–362 By the early 19th century, the Spanish Crown, and later, independent Mexico, offered ''empresario'' grants in what would later be Texas to non-citizens, such as settlers from the United States. In 1821,
Stephen F. Austin Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...
led a group which became the first English-speaking Mexican citizens. Following
Texas independence Texas secession movements, also known as the Texas independence movement or Texit, refers to both the secession of Texas during the American Civil War as well as activities of modern organizations supporting such efforts to secede from the Uni ...
in 1836, even more Americans immigrated into the ''empresario'' ranching areas of Texas. Here the settlers were strongly influenced by the Mexican ''vaquero'' culture, borrowing
vocabulary A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the la ...
and
attire Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...
from their counterparts,Bennett, p. 363 but also retaining some of the livestock-handling traditions and culture of the Eastern United States and Great Britain. The Texas cowboy was typically a bachelor who hired on with different outfits from season to season. Following the American Civil War, vaquero culture combined with the cattle herding and drover traditions of the southeastern United States that evolved as settlers moved west. Additional influences developed out of Texas as cattle trails were created to meet up with the
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
lines of Kansas and Nebraska, in addition to expanding ranching opportunities in the Great Plains and
Rocky Mountain Front The Rocky Mountain Front is a somewhat unified geologic and ecosystem area in North America where the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains meet the plains. In 1983, the Bureau of Land Management called the Rocky Mountain Front "a nationally signif ...
, east of the
Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not c ...
.Vernam, p. 289. The new settlers required more horses, to be trained faster, and brought a bigger and heavier horse with them. This led to modifications in the bridling and bitting traditions used by the vaquero.Bennett, p. 126 Thus, the Texas cowboy tradition arose from a combination of cultural influences, in addition to the need for adaptation to the geography and climate of west Texas and the need to conduct long
cattle drives A cattle drive is the process of moving a herd of cattle from one place to another, usually moved and herded by cowboys on horses. Europe In medieval central Europe, annual cattle drives brought Hungarian Grey cattle across the Danube River t ...
to get animals to market. Historian Terry Jordan proposed in 1982 that some Texan traditions that developed—particularly after the Civil War—may trace to colonial South Carolina, as most settlers to Texas were from the southeastern United States. These theories have been questioned by some reviewers. In a subsequent work, Jordan also noted that the influence of post-War Texas upon the whole of the frontier Western cowboy tradition was likely much less than previously thought.


Florida and the southeastern US

The Florida "cowhunter" or "
cracker Cracker, crackers or The Crackers may refer to: Animals * ''Hamadryas'' (butterfly), or crackers, a genus of brush-footed butterflies * '' Sparodon'', a monotypic genus whose species is sometimes known as "Cracker" Arts and entertainment Films ...
cowboy" of the 19th and early 20th centuries was distinct from the Texas and California traditions. Florida cowboys did not use lassos to herd or capture cattle. Their primary tools were
bullwhip A bullwhip is a single-tailed whip, usually made of braided leather or nylon, designed as a tool for working with livestock or competition. Bullwhips are pastoral tools, traditionally used to control livestock in open country. A bullwhip's leng ...
s and dogs. Since the Florida cowhunter did not need a saddle horn for anchoring a
lariat A lasso ( or ), also called lariat, riata, or reata (all from Castilian, la reata 're-tied rope'), is a loop of rope designed as a restraint to be thrown around a target and tightened when pulled. It is a well-known tool of the Spanish an ...
, many did not use
Western saddle Western saddles are used for western riding and are the saddles used on working horses on cattle ranches throughout the United States, particularly in the west. They are the "cowboy" saddles familiar to movie viewers, rodeo fans, and those who ha ...
s, instead using a McClellan saddle. While some individuals wore boots that reached above the knees for protection from snakes, others wore brogans. They usually wore inexpensive wool or straw hats, and used
poncho A poncho (; qu, punchu; arn, pontro; "blanket", "woolen fabric") is an outer garment designed to keep the body warm. A rain poncho is made from a watertight material designed to keep the body dry from the rain. Ponchos have been used by the ...
s for protection from rain. Cattle and horses were introduced into Spanish Florida in the 16th century, and
flourished ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...
throughout the 17th century. The cattle introduced by the Spanish persist today in two rare breeds:
Florida Cracker cattle The Florida Cracker or Florida Scrub is an American breed of cattle which originated in Spanish Florida and later in the American state of Florida. It is named for the Florida cracker culture in which it was kept. It is one of the Criollo breeds ...
and Pineywoods cattle. The
Florida Cracker Horse The Florida Cracker Horse is a breed of horse from the state of Florida in the United States. It is genetically and physically similar to many other Spanish-style horses, especially those from the Spanish Colonial horse group. The Florida ...
, which is still used by some Florida cowboys, is descended from horses introduced by the Spanish. From shortly after 1565 until the end of the 17th century, cattle ranches owned by
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
officials and missions operated in northern Florida to supply the Spanish garrison in
St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...
and markets in Cuba. Raids into Spanish Florida by the
Province of Carolina Province of Carolina was a province of England (1663–1707) and Great Britain (1707–1712) that existed in North America and the Caribbean from 1663 until partitioned into North and South on January 24, 1712. It is part of present-day Alaba ...
and its Native American allies, which wiped out the native population of Florida, led to the collapse of the Spanish mission and ranching systems. In the 18th century, Creek, Seminole, and other Indian people moved into the depopulated areas of Florida and started herding the cattle left from the Spanish ranches. In the 19th century, most tribes in the area were dispossessed of their land and cattle and pushed south or west by white settlers and the United States government. By the middle of the 19th century white ranchers were running large herds of cattle on the extensive open range of central and southern Florida. The hides and meat from Florida cattle became such a critical supply item for the Confederacy during the American Civil War that a unit of ''Cow Cavalry'' was organized to round up and protect the herds from
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''U ...
raiders. After the Civil War, and into the 20th Century, Florida cattle were periodically driven to ports on the Gulf of Mexico, such as
Punta Rassa Punta Rassa is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lee County, Florida, United States. The population was 1,620 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geo ...
near
Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 202 ...
, Florida, and shipped to market in Cuba. The Florida cowhunter or cracker cowboy tradition gradually assimilated to western cowboy tradition during the 20th century. Texas tick fever and the screw-worm were introduced to Florida in the early 20th century by cattle entering from other states. These pests forced Florida cattlemen to separate individual animals from their herds at frequent intervals for treatment, which eventually led to the widespread use of lassos. Florida cowboys continue to use dogs and bullwhips for controlling cattle.


Hawai'i

The Hawaiian cowboy, the ''paniolo'', is also a direct descendant of the ''vaquero'' of California and Mexico. Experts in Hawaiian etymology believe "Paniolo" is a Hawaiianized pronunciation of ''español''. (The Hawaiian language has no /s/ sound, and all
syllable A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of Phone (phonetics), speech sounds typically made up of a syllable nucleus (most often a vowel) with optional initial and final margins (typically, consonants). Syllables are often considered t ...
s and words must end in a vowel.) Paniolo, like cowboys on the mainland of North America, learned their skills from Mexican ''vaqueros''. Other theories of word origin suggest ''Paniolo'' was derived from ''pañuelo'' (Spanish for handkerchief) or possibly from a Hawai'ian language word meaning "hold firmly and sway gracefully". Captain
George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what a ...
brought cattle and sheep in 1793 as a gift to Kamehameha I, monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom. For ten years, Kamehameha forbade killing of cattle, and imposed the death penalty on anyone who violated his edict. As a result, numbers multiplied astonishingly, and were wreaking havoc throughout the countryside. By the reign of
Kamehameha III Kamehameha III (born Kauikeaouli) (March 17, 1814 – December 15, 1854) was the third king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from 1825 to 1854. His full Hawaiian name is Keaweaweula Kīwalaō Kauikeaouli Kaleiopapa and then lengthened to Keaweaweula Kī ...
the number of wild cattle were becoming a problem, so in 1832 he sent an emissary to California, then still a part of Mexico. He was impressed with the skill of the vaqueros, and invited three to Hawai'i to teach the Hawaiian people how to work cattle. The first horses arrived in Hawai'i in 1803. By 1837 John Parker, a sailor from New England who settled in the islands, received permission from Kamehameha III to lease royal land near Mauna Kea, where he built a ranch. The Hawaiian style of ranching originally included capturing wild cattle by driving them into pits dug in the forest floor. Once tamed somewhat by hunger and thirst, they were hauled out up a steep ramp, and tied by their horns to the horns of a tame, older steer (or ox) that knew where the
paddock A paddock is a small enclosure for horses. In the United Kingdom, this term also applies to a field for a general automobile racing competition, particularly Formula 1. Description In Canada and the United States of America, a paddock is a small ...
with food and water was located. The industry grew slowly under the reign of Kamehameha's son Liholiho (
Kamehameha II Kamehameha II (November 1797 – July 14, 1824) was the second king of the Kingdom of Hawaii. His birth name was Liholiho and full name was Kalaninui kua Liholiho i ke kapu ʻIolani. It was lengthened to Kalani Kaleiʻaimoku o Kaiwikapu o Laʻa ...
). Even today, traditional paniolo dress, as well as certain styles of Hawaiian formal attire, reflect the Spanish heritage of the vaquero. The traditional Hawaiian saddle, the ''noho lio'', and many other tools of the cowboy's trade have a distinctly Mexican/Spanish look and many Hawaiian ranching families still carry the names of the vaqueros who married Hawaiian women and made Hawai'i their home.


Virginia

On the Eastern Shore of Virginia, the "Salt Water Cowboys" are known for rounding up the
feral A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...
Chincoteague Ponies from
Assateague Island Assateague Island is a long barrier island located off the eastern coast of the Delmarva Peninsula facing the Atlantic Ocean. The northern two-thirds of the island is in Maryland while the southern third is in Virginia. The Maryland sectio ...
and driving them across Assateague Channel into pens on
Chincoteague Island Chincoteague may refer to: Geography in the United States *Chincoteague Bay, a bay on the coast of Maryland and Virginia *Chincoteague Channel, a channel in Virginia connecting Chincoteague Bay and Chincoteague Inlet *Chincoteague Inlet, an inlet o ...
during the annual
Pony Penning Pony Penning, sometimes known as Pony Penning Days or Pony Swim, is an annual event held in Chincoteague, Virginia on the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday in July. The Chincoteague Fire Department conducts the event, which consists of a ...
.


Canada

Ranching in Canada has traditionally been dominated by the province of
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Terri ...
. The most successful early settlers of the province were the ranchers, who found Alberta's foothills to be ideal for raising cattle. Most of Alberta's ranchers were English settlers, but cowboys such as John Ware—who brought the first cattle into the province in 1876—were American. American style open range dryland ranching began to dominate
southern Alberta Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2004, the region's population was approximately 272,017.Saskatchewan) by the 1880s. The nearby city of Calgary became the centre of the Canadian cattle industry, earning it the nickname "Cowtown". The cattle industry is still extremely important to Alberta, and cattle outnumber people in the province. While cattle ranches defined by barbed-wire fences replaced the open range just as they did in the US, the cowboy influence lives on. Canada's first rodeo, the
Raymond Stampede The Raymond Stampede is an annual rodeo that is held in the town of Raymond, Alberta, Canada every 1 July. Famous for being Alberta's oldest rodeo, the Raymond Stampede is also known for being Canada's oldest professional rodeo, having started a ...
, was established in 1902. In 1912, the Calgary Stampede began, and today it is the world's richest cash rodeo. Each year, Calgary's northern rival Edmonton, Alberta stages the
Canadian Finals Rodeo The Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) is the national championship professional rodeo in Canada, held in Red Deer, Alberta, and previously in Edmonton. The CFR takes place in early November and is the final event of the Canadian Professional Rodeo Assoc ...
, and dozens of regional rodeos are held through the province. British Columbia also has a significant ranching history and cowboy culture in the interior, and has been home to the Williams Lake Stampede since 1920.


Outside North America

The necessity for horse riders who guard herds of cattle, sheep or horses is common wherever wide, open land for grazing exists. In the French
Camargue Camargue (, also , , ; oc, label= Provençal, Camarga) is a region of France located south of Arles, between the Mediterranean Sea and the two arms of the Rhône delta. The eastern arm is called the ''Grand Rhône''; the western one is the '' ...
, riders called "
gardian A is a mounted cattle herdsman in the Camargue delta in Provence, southern France. The work is akin to that of the Mexican , the North American cowboy, the Tuscan buttero A buttero (, plural butteri) or cavalcante is a mounted herder, usua ...
s" herd cattle and horses. In Hungary,
csikós The csikós is the mounted horse-herdsman of Hungary. The csikós tradition is closely associated with the Hungarian ''puszta'', in recent times particularly in the environs of Debrecen and Hortobágy National Park. It is also closely linke ...
guard horses and gulyás tend to cattle. The herders in the region of
Maremma The Maremma (, ; from Latin , "maritime and) is a coastal area of western central Italy, bordering the Tyrrhenian Sea. It includes much of south-western Tuscany and part of northern Lazio. It was formerly mostly marshland, often malarial, but ...
, in Tuscany ( Italy) are called butteri (singular: ''buttero''). The Asturian pastoral population is referred to as ''
vaqueiros de alzada The Vaqueiros de Alzada ( Asturian: Vaqueiros d'Alzada, "nomadic cowherds" in Asturian language, from their word for cow, cognate of Spanish ) are a northern Spanish nomadic people in the mountains of Asturias and León, who traditionally practi ...
''. The Spanish exported their horsemanship and knowledge of cattle ranching not only to North America, but also to South America, where traditions developed such as the ''
gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and the south of Chilean Patagonia. Gauchos became greatly admired and ...
'' of
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, Uruguay, Paraguay and (with the spelling ''gaúcho'') southern Brazil,Atherton, Lewis ''The Cattle Kings'' Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press 1961 p. 243. the '' chalán'' and ''
Morochuco The Morochucos are the cowboys of the plains of the Peruvian Andes, living mainly in the Region of Ayacucho. They raise cattle and tame horses for their livelihood, and they engage in other typical activities of a cattle-horseman cowboy. They are ...
'' in Peru, the '' llanero'' of Venezuela, and the '' huaso'' of
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
. In Australia, where ranches are known as
stations Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...
, cowboys are known as stockmen and ringers, (''jackaroos'' and ''jillaroos'' who also do stockwork are trainee overseers and property managers).Delbridge, Arthur, "The Macquarie Dictionary", 2nd ed., Macquarie Library, North Ryde, 1991 The Australian droving tradition was influenced by Americans in the 19th century, and as well as practices imported directly from Spain. The adaptation of both of these traditions to local needs created a unique Australian tradition, which also was strongly influenced by Australian indigenous people, whose knowledge played a key role in the success of cattle ranching in Australia's climate.


Modern work

On the ranch, the cowboy is responsible for feeding the livestock,
branding Branding may refer to: Physical markings * Making a mark, typically by charring: ** Wood branding, permanently marking, by way of heat, typically of wood (also applied to plastic, cork, leather, etc.) ** Livestock branding, the marking of animals ...
and earmarking cattle (horses also are branded on many ranches), plus tending to animal injuries and other needs. The working cowboy usually is in charge of a small group or "string" of horses and is required to routinely patrol the rangeland in all weather conditions checking for damaged fences, evidence of predation, water problems, and any other issue of concern. They also move the livestock to different pasture locations, or herd them into corrals and onto trucks for transport. In addition, cowboys may do many other jobs, depending on the size of the "outfit" or ranch, the
terrain Terrain or relief (also topography, topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The ...
, and the number of livestock. On a smaller ranch with fewer cowboys—often just family members, cowboys are generalists who perform many all-around tasks; they repair fences, maintain ranch equipment, and perform other odd jobs. On a very large ranch (a "big outfit"), with many employees, cowboys are able to specialize on tasks solely related to cattle and horses. Cowboys who train horses often specialize in this task only, and some may "Break" or train young horses for more than one ranch. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics collects no figures for “cowboys” ''per se'', and the definition is broad, encompassing ranch hands to rodeo performers, so the exact number of working cowboys is unknown. Working cowboys or ranch hands are included in the 2003 category, ''Support activities for animal production'', which totals 9,730 workers averaging $19,340 per annum. In addition to cowboys working on ranches, in stockyards, and as staff or competitors at rodeos, the category includes farmhands working with other types of livestock ( sheep, goats, hogs, chickens, etc.). Of those 9,730 workers, 3,290 are listed in the subcategory of ''Spectator sports'' which includes rodeos,
circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...
es, and theaters needing livestock handlers.


Attire

Most cowboy attire, sometimes termed ''
Western wear Western wear is a category of men's and women's clothing which derives its unique style from the clothes worn in the 19th century Wild West. It ranges from accurate historical reproductions of American frontier clothing, to the stylized garment ...
'', grew out of practical need and the environment in which the cowboy worked. Most items were adapted from the Mexican ''vaqueros'', though sources from other cultures, including Native Americans and
mountain men A mountain man is an explorer who lives in the wilderness. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s (with a peak population in the early 1840s). They were instrumental in opening up ...
contributed.Rickey, Don, Jr. ''$10 Horse, $40 Saddle: Cowboy Clothing, Arms, Tools and Horse Gear of 1880s'' The Old Army Press, First printing, 1976. LC no. 76-9411. *
Bandanna A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvrechief'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana, bandanna, or "Wild Rag" (in cowboy culture), is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the head, face or neck for protective or decorative purpo ...
; a large cotton
neckerchief A neckerchief (from ''neck'' (n.) + ''kerchief''), sometimes called a necker, kerchief or scarf, is a type of neckwear associated with those working or living outdoors, including farm labourers, cowboys and sailors. It is most commonly still see ...
that had myriad uses: from mopping up sweat to masking the face from dust storms. In modern times, is now more likely to be a silk neckscarf for decoration and warmth. *
Chaps Chaps ( or ) are sturdy coverings for the legs consisting of leggings and a belt. They are buckled on over trousers with the chaps' integrated belt, but unlike trousers, they have no seat (the term "assless chaps" is a tautology) and are not jo ...
(usually pronounced "shaps") or chinks protect the rider's legs while on horseback, especially riding through heavy brush or during rough work with livestock. *
Cowboy boot Cowboy boots are a specific style of riding boot, historically worn by cowboys. They have a high heel that is traditionally made of stacked leather, rounded to pointed toe, high shaft, and, traditionally, no lacing. Cowboy boots are normally ma ...
s; a boot with a high top to protect the lower legs, pointed toes to help guide the foot into the stirrup, and high heels to keep the foot from slipping through the stirrup while working in the saddle; with or without detachable
spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to back ...
s. * Cowboy hat; High crowned hat with a wide brim to protect from sun, overhanging brush, and the elements. There are many styles, initially influenced by
John B. Stetson John Batterson Stetson (May 5, 1830 – February 18, 1906) was an American hatter, hat manufacturer, and in the 1860s, the inventor of the cowboy hat. He founded the John B. Stetson Company as a manufacturer of headwear. The company's hats ...
's
Boss of the Plains The Boss of the Plains was a lightweight all-weather hat designed in 1865 by John B. Stetson for the demands of the American West. It was intended to be durable, waterproof and elegant. This design and the term "Stetson" eventually became all- ...
, which was designed in response to the climatic conditions of the West. * Gloves, usually of deerskin or other leather that is soft and flexible for working purposes, yet provides protection when handling barbed wire, assorted tools or clearing native brush and vegetation. * Jeans or other sturdy, close-fitting trousers made of canvas or denim, designed to protect the legs and prevent the trouser legs from snagging on brush, equipment or other hazards. Properly made cowboy jeans also have a smooth inside seam to prevent blistering the inner thigh and knee while on horseback. Many of these items show marked regional variations. Parameters such as hat brim width, or chap length and material were adjusted to accommodate the various environmental conditions encountered by working cowboys.


Tools

*
Lariat A lasso ( or ), also called lariat, riata, or reata (all from Castilian, la reata 're-tied rope'), is a loop of rope designed as a restraint to be thrown around a target and tightened when pulled. It is a well-known tool of the Spanish an ...
; from the Spanish "la riata", meaning "the rope", sometimes called a ''lasso'', especially in the East, or simply, a "rope". This is a tightly twisted stiff rope, originally of rawhide or leather, now often of nylon, made with a small loop at one end called a "hondo". When the rope is run through the hondo, it creates a loop that slides easily, tightens quickly and can be thrown to catch animals.Vernam, p. 297. *
Spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to back ...
s; metal devices attached to the heel of the boot, featuring a small metal shank, usually with a small serrated wheel attached, used to allow the rider to provide a stronger (or sometimes, more precise) leg cue to the horse. * Firearms: Modern cowboys may utilize a rifle to protect livestock from wild animals or feral dogs. Rifles may be carried on horseback in a scabbard attached to a
saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kn ...
. Riders may instead carry a
pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, a ...
. ln modern use, firearms are often carried in a pickup truck or ATV. *
Knife A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidence ...
; cowboys have traditionally favored some form of
pocket knife A pocketknife is a knife with one or more blades that fold into the handle. They are also known as jackknives (jack-knife), folding knives, or may be referred to as a penknife, though a penknife may also be a specific kind of pocketknife. A ty ...
, specifically the folding cattle knife or stock knife. The knife has multiple blades, usually including a leather punch and a " sheepsfoot" blade.


Horses

The traditional means of transport for the cowboy, even in the modern era, is by
horseback Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...
. Horses can travel over terrain that vehicles cannot access. Horses, along with mules and
burro The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...
s, also serve as
pack animals A pack animal, also known as a sumpter animal or beast of burden, is an individual or type of working animal used by humans as means of transporting materials by attaching them so their weight bears on the animal's back, in contrast to draft anim ...
. The most important horse on the ranch is the everyday working ranch horse that can perform a wide variety of tasks; horses trained to specialize exclusively in one set of skills such as
roping Team roping also known as heading and heeling is a rodeo event that features a steer (typically a Corriente) and two mounted riders. The first roper is referred to as the "header", the person who ropes the front of the steer, usually around t ...
or
cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scalpel and ...
are very rarely used on ranches. Because the rider often needs to keep one hand free while working cattle, the horse must
neck rein A neck rein is a type of ''indirect'' rein aid. The horse responds to a neck rein when it has learned that a light pressure of the right rein against its neck on that side means for the horse to turn left, and vice versa. The neck rein is used i ...
and have good ''cow sense''—it must instinctively know how to anticipate and react to cattle. A good stock horse is on the small side, generally under 15.2
hands A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each "han ...
(62 inches) tall at the
withers The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle ar ...
and often under 1000 pounds, with a short back, sturdy legs and strong muscling, particularly in the hindquarters. While a
steer roping Steer roping, also known as steer tripping or steer jerking, is a rodeo event that features a steer and one mounted cowboy. Technique The steer roper starts behind a "barrier" - a taut rope fastened with an easily broken string which is fastene ...
horse may need to be larger and weigh more in order to hold a heavy adult
cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
,
bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Neutering, castrated) adult male of the species ''Cattle, Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., Cattle, cows), bulls have long been an important symbol i ...
or
steer Steer, Steers or Steering may refer to: Animals * Steer or bullock, castrated male cattle * Ox, a steer used as a draft animal People * Steer (surname) * Steers (surname) Places * Steer Creek (West Virginia), a tributary of the Littl ...
on a rope, a smaller, quick horse is needed for herding activities such as
cutting Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force. Implements commonly used for cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scalpel and ...
or
calf roping Calf roping, also known as tie-down roping, is a rodeo event that features a calf and a rider mounted on a horse. The goal of this timed event is for the rider to catch the calf by throwing a loop of rope from a lariat around its neck, dismou ...
. The horse has to be intelligent, calm under pressure and have a certain degree of 'cow sense" – the ability to anticipate the movement and behavior of cattle. Many breeds of horse make good stock horses, but the most common today in North America is the American Quarter Horse, which is a
horse breed A horse breed is a selectively bred population of domesticated horses, often with pedigrees recorded in a breed registry. However, the term is sometimes used in a broader sense to define landrace animals of a common phenotype located within a lim ...
developed primarily in Texas from a combination of Thoroughbred bloodstock crossed on horses of
mustang The mustang is a free-roaming horse of the Western United States, descended from horses brought to the Americas by the Spanish. Mustangs are often referred to as wild horses, but because they are descended from once-domesticated animals, the ...
and other
Iberian horse The Iberian horse is a designation given to a number of horse breeds native to the Iberian peninsula. At present, some breeds are officially recognized by the FAO,
ancestry, with influences from the Arabian horse and horses developed on the east coast, such as the Morgan horse and now- extinct breeds such as the Chickasaw and Virginia Quarter-Miler.


Tack

Equipment used to ride a horse is referred to as ''
tack TACK is a group of archaea acronym for Thaumarchaeota (now Nitrososphaerota), Aigarchaeota, Crenarchaeota (now Thermoproteota), and Korarchaeota, the first groups discovered. They are found in different environments ranging from acidophilic ...
'' and includes: *
Bridle A bridle is a piece of equipment used to direct a horse. As defined in the '' Oxford English Dictionary'', the "bridle" includes both the that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit. Headgea ...
; a Western bridle usually has a
curb bit A curb bit is a type of bit used for riding horses that uses lever action. It includes the pelham bit and the Weymouth curb along with the traditional "curb bit" used mainly by Western riders. Kimblewicks or "Kimberwickes" are modified curb ...
and long split reins to control the horse in many different situations. Generally the bridle is open-faced, without a
noseband A noseband is the part of a horse's bridle that encircles the nose and jaw of the horse. In English riding, where the noseband is separately attached to its own headstall or crownpiece, held independently of the bit, it is often called a cavesson ...
, unless the horse is ridden with a tiedown. Young ranch horses learning basic tasks usually are ridden in a jointed, loose-ring snaffle bit, often with a
running martingale A martingale is any of several designs of tack that are used on horses to control head carriage. Martingales may be seen in a wide variety of equestrian disciplines, both riding and driving. Rules for their use vary widely; in some disciplines t ...
. In some areas, especially where the "California" style of the ''vaquero'' or ''buckaroo'' tradition is still strong, young horses are often seen in a ''
bosal A bosal (, , or ) is a type of noseband used on the classic hackamore of the ''vaquero'' tradition. It is usually made of braided rawhide and is fitted to the horse in a manner that allows it to rest quietly until the rider uses the reins to ...
'' style
hackamore A hackamore is a type of animal headgear which does not have a bit. Instead, it has a special type of noseband that works on pressure points on the face, nose, and chin. Hackamores are most often seen in western riding and other styles of rid ...
. * Martingales of various types are seen on horses that are in training or have behavior problems. * Saddle bags (leather or nylon) can be mounted to the saddle, behind the cantle, to carry various sundry items and extra supplies. Additional bags may be attached to the front or the saddle. *
Saddle blanket The terms saddle blanket, saddle pad (or numnah), and saddle cloth refer to blankets, pads or fabrics inserted under a saddle. These are usually used to absorb sweat, cushion the saddle, and protect the horse's back. There are lighter type ...
; a blanket or pad is required under the Western saddle to provide comfort and protection for the horse. *
Western saddle Western saddles are used for western riding and are the saddles used on working horses on cattle ranches throughout the United States, particularly in the west. They are the "cowboy" saddles familiar to movie viewers, rodeo fans, and those who ha ...
; a saddle specially designed to allow horse and rider to work for many hours and to provide security to the rider in rough terrain or when moving quickly in response to the behavior of the livestock being herded. A western saddle has a deep seat with high pommel and
cantle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kn ...
that provides a secure seat. Deep, wide stirrups provide comfort and security for the foot. A strong, wide
saddle tree The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kn ...
of wood, covered in rawhide (or made of a modern synthetic material) distributes the weight of the rider across a greater area of the horse's back, reducing the pounds carried per square inch and allowing the horse to be ridden longer without harm. A
horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various a ...
sits low in front of the rider, to which a
lariat A lasso ( or ), also called lariat, riata, or reata (all from Castilian, la reata 're-tied rope'), is a loop of rope designed as a restraint to be thrown around a target and tightened when pulled. It is a well-known tool of the Spanish an ...
can be snubbed, and assorted dee rings and leather "saddle strings" allow additional equipment to be tied to the saddle.Vernam, p. 298–299.


Vehicles

The most common motorized vehicle driven in modern ranch work is the pickup truck. Sturdy and roomy, with a high ground clearance, and often four-wheel drive capability, it has an open box, called a "bed", and can haul supplies from town or over rough trails on the ranch. It is used to pull stock trailers transporting cattle and livestock from one area to another and to market. With a
horse trailer A horse trailer or horse van (also called a horse float in Australia and New Zealand or horsebox in the British Isles) is used to transport horses. There are many different designs, ranging in size from small units capable of holding two or t ...
attached, it carries horses to distant areas where they may be needed. Motorcycles are sometimes used instead of horses for some tasks, but the most common smaller vehicle is the
four-wheeler An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike, or simply a quad, as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI); is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is strad ...
. It will carry a single cowboy quickly around the ranch for small chores. In areas with heavy snowfall, snowmobiles are also common. Some jobs remain, particularly working cattle in rough terrain or close quarters, that are best performed by cowboys on horseback.


Rodeo

The word ''rodeo'' is from the Spanish ''rodear'' (to turn), which means ''roundup''. In the beginning there was no difference between the working cowboy and the rodeo cowboy, and in fact, the term ''working cowboy'' did not come into use until the 1950s. Prior to that it was assumed that all cowboys were working cowboys. Early cowboys both worked on ranches and displayed their skills at the roundups.Vernam, pp. 394–395. The advent of professional rodeos allowed cowboys, like many
athletes An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-develo ...
, to earn a living by performing their skills before an audience. Rodeos also provided employment for many working cowboys who were needed to handle livestock. Many rodeo cowboys are also working cowboys and most have working cowboy experience. The dress of the rodeo cowboy is not very different from that of the working cowboy on his way to town. Snaps, used in lieu of buttons on the cowboy's shirt, allowed the cowboy to escape from a shirt snagged by the horns of
steer Steer, Steers or Steering may refer to: Animals * Steer or bullock, castrated male cattle * Ox, a steer used as a draft animal People * Steer (surname) * Steers (surname) Places * Steer Creek (West Virginia), a tributary of the Littl ...
or
bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Neutering, castrated) adult male of the species ''Cattle, Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., Cattle, cows), bulls have long been an important symbol i ...
. Styles were often adapted from the early movie industry for the rodeo. Some rodeo competitors, particularly women, add sequins, colors, silver and long fringes to their clothing in both a nod to tradition and showmanship. Modern riders in "rough stock" events such as
saddle bronc Bronc riding, either bareback bronc or saddle bronc competition, is a rodeo event that involves a rodeo participant riding a bucking horse (sometimes called a ''bronc'' or ''bronco'') that attempts to throw or buck off the rider. Originally ba ...
or
bull riding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to bucking, buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." ...
may add safety equipment such as
kevlar Kevlar (para-aramid) is a strong, heat-resistant synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, the high-strength material was first used commercially in the early 1970s ...
vests or a neck brace, but use of safety helmets in lieu of the cowboy hat is yet to be accepted, in spite of constant risk of injury.


In popular culture

As the frontier ended, the cowboy life came to be highly romanticized. Exhibitions such as those of
Buffalo Bill Cody William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but he lived for several years in ...
's Wild West Show helped to popularize the image of the cowboy as an idealized representative of the tradition of
chivalry Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours were governed b ...
.Agnew, Jeremy. December 2, 2014. ''The Creation of the Cowboy Hero: Fiction, Film and Fact'', pp. 74. McFarland. In today's society, there is little understanding of the daily realities of actual agricultural life.Savage, Williams. ''The Cowboy Hero: His Image in American History & Culture''. University of Oklahoma Press (March 15, 1985). pp. 3–4, 24, 117–118. Cowboys are more often associated with (mostly fictitious) Indian-fighting than with their actual life of ranch work and cattle-tending. The cowboy is also portrayed as a masculine ideal via images ranging from the Marlboro Man to the Village People. Actors such as John Wayne are thought of as exemplifying a cowboy ideal, even though
western movies The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referr ...
seldom bear much resemblance to real cowboy life. Arguably, the modern rodeo competitor is much closer to being an actual cowboy, as many were actually raised on ranches and around livestock, and the rest have needed to learn livestock-handling skills on the job. In the United States, the Canadian West and Australia,
guest ranch A guest ranch, also known as a dude ranch, is a type of ranch oriented towards visitors or tourism. It is considered a form of agritourism. History Guest ranches arose in response to the romanticization of the American West that began to occur ...
es offer people the opportunity to ride horses and get a taste of the western life—albeit in far greater comfort. Some ranches also offer vacationers the opportunity to actually perform cowboy tasks by participating in cattle drives or accompanying
wagon train ''Wagon Train'' is an American western (genre), Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on American Broadcasting Company, ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, ...
s. This type of vacation was popularized by the 1991 movie ''
City Slickers ''City Slickers'' is a 1991 American comedy film, directed by Ron Underwood and starring Billy Crystal, Daniel Stern, Bruno Kirby, and Jack Palance, with supporting roles by Patricia Wettig, Helen Slater, and Noble Willingham with Jake Gyll ...
'', starring
Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...
.


Symbolism

In 2005, the United States Senate declared the fourth Saturday of July as "National Day of the American Cowboy" via a Senate resolution and has subsequently renewed this resolution each year, with the United States House of Representatives periodically issuing statements of support. The long history of the West in popular culture tends to define those clothed in Western clothing as cowboys or cowgirls whether they have ever been on a horse or not. This is especially true when applied to entertainers and those in the public arena who wear
Western wear Western wear is a category of men's and women's clothing which derives its unique style from the clothes worn in the 19th century Wild West. It ranges from accurate historical reproductions of American frontier clothing, to the stylized garment ...
as part of their persona. Many other people, particularly in the West, including lawyers, bankers, and other
white collar White collar may refer to: * White-collar worker, a salaried professional or an educated worker who performs semi-professional office, administrative, and sales-coordination tasks, as opposed to a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor ...
professionals wear elements of Western clothing, particularly
cowboy boot Cowboy boots are a specific style of riding boot, historically worn by cowboys. They have a high heel that is traditionally made of stacked leather, rounded to pointed toe, high shaft, and, traditionally, no lacing. Cowboy boots are normally ma ...
s or hats, as a matter of form even though they have other jobs. Conversely, some people raised on ranches do not necessarily define themselves cowboys or cowgirls unless they feel their primary job is to work with livestock or if they compete in rodeos. Actual cowboys have derisive expressions for individuals who adopt cowboy mannerisms as a fashion pose without any actual understanding of the culture. For example, a "drugstore cowboy" means someone who wears the clothing but does not actually sit upon anything but the stool of the drugstore
soda fountain A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated soft drinks, called fountain drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores. The device combines flavored syrup or syrup concentrat ...
—or, in modern times, a
bar stool Bar stools are a type of tall stool, often with a foot rest to support the feet. The height and narrowness of bar stools make them suitable for use at bars and high tables in pubs or bars. Before Prohibition in the United States, bar stool ...
. Similarly, the phrase "all hat and no cattle" is used to describe someone (usually male) who boasts about himself, far in excess of any actual accomplishments. The word "dude" (or the now-archaic term "greenhorn") indicates an individual unfamiliar with cowboy culture, especially one who is trying to pretend otherwise. Outside of the United States, the cowboy has become an
archetypal The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that ot ...
image of Americans abroad. In the late 1950s, a Congolese youth subculture calling themselves the Bills based their style and outlook on
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...
's depiction of cowboys in movies. Something similar occurred with the term "
Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño and ...
", which in early 20th century Parisian society was a slang term for an outlaw.


Word

The word "cowboy" is sometimes used pejoratively. Originally this derived from the behavior of some cowboys in the boomtowns of Kansas, at the end of the trail for long cattle drives, where cowboys developed a reputation for violence and wild behavior due to the inevitable impact of large numbers of cowboys, mostly young single men, receiving their pay in large lump sums upon arriving in communities with many drinking and gambling establishments. "Cowboy" as an adjective for "reckless" developed in the 1920s. "Cowboy" is sometimes used today in a derogatory sense to describe someone who is reckless or ignores potential risks, irresponsible or who heedlessly handles a sensitive or dangerous task. '' Time'' magazine referred to President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
's foreign policy as " Cowboy diplomacy", and Bush has been described in the press, particularly in Europe, as a "cowboy", not realizing that this was not a compliment. In English-speaking regions outside North America, such as the
British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
and
Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...
, "cowboy" can refer to a tradesman whose work is of shoddy and questionable value, e.g., "a cowboy
plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, and for sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.
". The term also lent itself to the British 1980s TV sitcom, ''
Cowboys A cowboy is a professional pastoralist or mounted livestock herder, usually from the Americas or Australia. Cowboy(s) or The Cowboy(s) may also refer to: Film and television * ''Cowboy'' (1958 film), starring Glenn Ford * ''Cowboy'' (1966 film), ...
''. Similar usage is seen in the United States to describe someone in the skilled trades who operates without proper training or licenses. In the eastern United States, "cowboy" as a noun is sometimes used to describe a fast or careless driver on the highway.


See also

*
American Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
*
American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
*
Black cowboys Black cowboys in the American West accounted for up to an estimated 25% of cowboys "who went up the trail" from the 1860s to 1880s and substantial but unknown percentage in the rest of the ranching industry, estimated to be at least 5000 workers ...
*
Cowboy church Cowboy churches are local Christian churches within the cowboy culture that are distinctively Western heritage in character. A typical cowboy church may meet in a rural setting in a barn, metal building, arena, sale barn, or old western buildi ...
* Estancia *
Gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and the south of Chilean Patagonia. Gauchos became greatly admired and ...
*
Gunfighter Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the te ...
* Herding * List of cowboys and cowgirls * List of Ranches and Stations *
Agricultural fencing In agriculture, fences are used to keep animals in or out of an area. They can be made from a wide variety of materials, depending on terrain, location and animals to be confined. Most agricultural fencing averages about high, and in some places ...
* Livestock branding * Station (Australian agriculture): ** Stockman (Australia) *
Singing cowboys A singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal cowboy hero of early Western films. It references real-world campfire side ballads in the American frontier, the original cowboys sang of life on the trail with all the challenges, hardships, and ...
* Transhumance ;In art and culture *
Audition (performing arts) An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece giv ...
also known as a "cattle call". * Fashion: "
Rhinestone Cowboy "Rhinestone Cowboy" is a song written by Larry Weiss and recorded by American country music singer Glen Campbell. When released on May 26, 1975, as the lead single and title track from his album '' Rhinestone Cowboy'', it enjoyed huge popularity ...
",
Western wear Western wear is a category of men's and women's clothing which derives its unique style from the clothes worn in the 19th century Wild West. It ranges from accurate historical reproductions of American frontier clothing, to the stylized garment ...
* Film: ''
Drugstore Cowboy ''Drugstore Cowboy'' is a 1989 American crime drama film directed by the American filmmaker Gus Van Sant. Written by Van Sant and Daniel Yost and based on an autobiographical novel by James Fogle, the film stars Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch, Heathe ...
'',
Western movie The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly refer ...
("Western"),
List of Western movies This is a list of notable Western films and TV series, ordered by year and decade of release. For a long-running TV series, the year is its first in production. The movie industry began with the work of Louis Le Prince in 1888. Until 1903, fil ...
* Fine art:
Earl W. Bascom Earl Wesley Bascom (June 19, 1906 – August 28, 1995) was an American painter, printmaker, sculptor, cowboy, rodeo performer, inventor, and Hollywood actor. Raised in Canada, he portrayed in works of fine art his own experiences of cowboying ...
,
Frederic Remington Frederic Sackrider Remington (October 4, 1861 – December 26, 1909) was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in the genre of Western American Art. His works are known for depicting the Western United Sta ...
, Charles Russell,
Cowboy Artists of America The Cowboy Artists of America (CAA) is an exclusive organization of artists that was founded in 1965. It was founded in 1965 by four prominent western artists, Joe Beeler, Charlie Dye, John Hampton and George Phippen, who have all since died. Sin ...
* Literature:
Cowboy poetry Cowboy poetry is a form of poetry that grew from a tradition of cowboys telling stories. Authorship Contrary to common belief, cowboy poetry does not actually have to be written by cowboys, though adherents would claim that authors should have so ...
,
Western fiction Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 20th century and ...
,
List of Western fiction authors This is a list of some notable authors in the western fiction genre. Note that some writers listed below have also written in other genres. __NOTOC__ A *Edward Abbey (1927–1989) * Andy Adams (1859–1935) *Rudolfo Anaya (1937–2020) B *Todh ...
* Music: List of famous Cowboy songs, Western Music (North America),
Western swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which attracted huge crowds to dance ...
,
Western Music Association The International Western Music Association was incorporated in 1989 to promote and preserve western music in its traditional, historical, and contemporary forms. The IWMA stages the International Western Music Festival every November during wh ...
,
Academy of Western Artists The Academy of Western Artists, based in Gene Autry, Oklahoma, is an organization that honors individuals who have preserved and perpetuated the heritage of the American cowboy, through rodeo, music, poetry, campfire and chuckwagon cooking, and ...
* Sports:
Cowboy action shooting Cowboy action shooting (CAS, also known as western action shooting, single action shooting, Cowboy 3 Gun, Western 3-gun) is a competitive shooting sport that originated in Southern California in the early 1980s, at the Coto de Caza Shooting ...
, Charreada,
Indian rodeo Indian rodeo is the rodeo subculture of Native American rodeo athletes and, in Canada, First Nations athletes. In the United States there are a number of regional associations and at least two national finals. In Canada, Indian rodeos share a m ...
, Rodeo. * Television:
TV Western Television westerns are a subgenre of the Western, a genre of film, fiction, drama, television programming, etc., in which stories are set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in the American Old West, Western Canada and Mexico during t ...


Notes


References


Bennett, Deb (1998) ''Conquerors: The Roots of New World Horsemanship''
Amigo Publications Inc.; 1st edition. * Denhardt, Robert M. ''The Horse of the Americas'' Norman: University of Oklahoma Press 1947. * Draper, Robert. "21st-Century Cowboys: Why the Spirit Endures". ''National Geographic''. December 2007, pp. 114–135. * Malone, John William. ''An Album of the American Cowboy''. New York: Franklin Watts, Inc., 1971. SBN: 531-01512-2.
Malone, Michael P., and Richard B. Roeder. ''Montana: A History of Two Centuries''
University of Washington Press; Revised edition, 1991. , . * Rickey, Don, Jr. ''$10 Horse, $40 Saddle: Cowboy Clothing, Arms, Tools and Horse Gear of the 1880s'' The Old Army Press, First printing, 1976. LC no. 76–9411. * Vernam, Glenn R. ''Man on Horseback'' New York: Harper & Row 1964.


Further reading

* * * * Beck, Warren A., Haase, Ynez D.; ''Historical Atlas of the American West''. University of Oklahoma Press, Oklahoma, 1989. . * Davis, David Brion. "Ten-Gallon Hero: The Myth of the Cowboy". in ''Myth America: A Historical Anthology, Volume II''. 1997. Gerster, Patrick, and Cords, Nicholas. (editors) Brandywine Press, St. James, NY. * Glasrud, Bruce A. and Michael N. Searles, eds. ''Black Cowboys in the American West: On the Range, on the Stage, behind the Badge'' (U of Oklahoma Press, 2016). xii, 248 pp. * Jordan, Teresa; ''Cowgirls: Women of the American West''. University of Nebraska Press, 1992. . * Nicholson, Jon. ''Cowboys: A Vanishing World''. Macmillan, 2001. . * Phillips, Charles; Axlerod, Alan; editor. ''The Encyclopedia of the American West''. Simon & Schuster, New York, 1996. . * Roach, Joyce Gibson; ''The Cowgirls''. University of North Texas Press, 1990. . * * Slatta, Richard W. ''The Cowboy Encyclopedia''. ABC-CLIO, California, 1994. . * Ward, Fay E.; ''The Cowboy at Work: All About His Job and How He Does It''. University of Oklahoma Press, Oklahoma, 1987. . {{Authority control Pastoralists Equestrianism Western-style riding * Cowboy culture Horse history and evolution Horse-related professions and professionals American folklore Animal husbandry occupations Western (genre) staples and terminology