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Cowboy stuff for non-cowboys.

SteveSS

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It's been a long time since I was a cowboy but most of this hasn't changed. Cattle and horses poop a lot. I have yet to see a western movie where the center of town has horse poop on the ground. Even the hit series Yellowstone doesn't show animal poop. All this poop smells pretty bad and you're working around cattle and horses you going to get some poop on you.

Two main kinds of cowboy boots. Walking cowboy boots are usually called ropers and they are not meant for horseback riding. True cowboy boots have a pointed toe to help your foot into the stirrup. The tall heel keeps your foot planted in the stirrup. The cutback heel is so you can get your spurs on and off. I have never worn chaps but I never had to round up strays in thick brush. I've heard but I can't prove that early cowboys carried a pistol for snakes or if they get thrown from their horse and are being dragged they can shoot the horse.
On a small ranch, a quad is a lot easier than saddling a horse.

Animals have to drink if that means breaking the ice every morning or getting a tank if the pond drys up in the summer. My dad who was in the oil business drove on to one of his leases and started seeing dead cattle. He thought "Oh, no somehow the cattle got into the saltwater tank. Nope, the rancher let the ponds dry up. The rancher was charged with animal cruelty.

What we called working the cattle is a tough job. They have to be put in a holding chute and medicated for all kinds of things. Also, all your yearling male calves have to be turned into steers and you know what that means. It used to be a bloody mess but it's easier now. I won't go into it here. There can only be one bull in the herd. I had a bull in the corral holding him before he went into the chute. I had a big branch to wave around to scare him some. He wasn't having it. He went through the gate and I broke that branch over his head trying to stop him. Nope, sometimes you just can't stop a bull.

You have to feed these animals year-round. Just grass is not enough. They need minerals with a lot of salt blocks. Hay in the winter every day. Minerals in block and pellet form.

Cowboys wear long sleeves in the summer.

Getting kicked is not as common as getting stomped on. Both are bad. When you walk behind your horse keep one hand touching the horse's hindquarters. It's their blindspot and it makes them nervous if they don't know what's back there. You actually will see that in western movies. Always get onto a horse from the left. If you were going to get on from the right the horse gets confused and freaks out. I've been thrown off horses more times than I can count. We never rode our horses enough so when we did jump on, it was "Ridem' Cowboy." Add to that you usually have a farm dog barking and circling the horse.

You have to have a system to get chemicals onto the skin of your animals to repel flies. Dad always called it fly dope.

A cowboy hat has a lot of uses. none of them are indoors. If your straw hat flies off your head you can count on a horse eating it before you get back. When I was a kid we had a horse eat the paint off my dad's new 1965 Chevy Impala.

Your calves and cows are going to die during birth. You'll probably end up raising some calves yourself. It's tough on your pocketbook. Predators are going to prey on young animals. Cattle rustlers are still rampant.

Getting animals to and from the sale barn isn't easy. This is how I learned to drive a clutch. I was a little kid. We dropped off some cattle at the chutes for the sale barn. Dad went in to take care of the business part. There are some rough old cowpokes running things at a sale. They all have whips. I'm sitting in our old Ford truck and a cowboy comes up and starts yelling at me to move our truck, NOW! I didn't know how to drive a manual but he wasn't hearing it. I learned that day.


Merry Christmas,

Still want to be a cowboy?
 
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It's been a long time since I was a cowboy but most of this hasn't changed. Cattle and horses poop a lot. I have yet to see a western movie where the center of town has horse poop on the ground. Even the hit series Yellowstone doesn't show animal poop. All this poop smells pretty bad and you're working around cattle and horses you going to get some poop on you.

Two main kinds of cowboy boots. Walking cowboy boots are usually called ropers and they are not meant for horseback riding. True cowboy boots have a pointed toe to help your foot into the stirrup. The tall heel keeps your foot planted in the stirrup. The cutback heel is so you can get your spurs on and off. I have never worn chaps but I never had to round up strays in thick brush. I've heard but I can't prove that early cowboys carried a pistol for snakes or if they get thrown from their horse and are being dragged they can shoot the horse.
On a small ranch, a quad is a lot easier than saddling a horse.

Animals have to drink if that means breaking the ice every morning or getting a tank if the pond drys up in the summer. My dad who was in the oil business drove on to one of his leases and started seeing dead cattle. He thought "Oh, no somehow the cattle got into the saltwater tank. Nope, the rancher let the ponds dry up. The rancher was charged with animal cruelty.

What we called working the cattle is a tough job. They have to be put in a holding chute and medicated for all kinds of things. Also, all your yearling male calves have to be turned into steers and you know what that means. It used to be a bloody mess but it's easier now. I won't go into it here. There can only be one bull in the herd.

You have to feed these animals year-round. Just grass is not enough. They need minerals with a lot of salt blocks. Hay in the winter every day. Minerals in block and pellet form.

Cowboys wear long sleeves in the summer.

Getting kicked is not as common as getting stomped on. Both are bad. When you walk behind your horse keep one hand touching the horse's hindquarters. It's their blindspot and it makes them nervous if they don't know what's back there. You actually will see that in western movies. Always Get onto a horse from the left. If you were going to get on from the right the horse gets confused and freaks out.

You have to have a system to get chemicals onto the skin of your animals to repel flies.

A cowboy hat has a lot of uses. none of them are indoors. If your straw hat flies off your head you can count on a horse eating it before you get back. I once had a horse eat the paint off my dad's new 1965 Chevy Impala.

Your calves and cows are going to die during birth. You'll probably end up raising some calves yourself. It's tough on your pocketbook. Predators are going to prey on young animals. Cattle rustlers are still rampant.

Getting animals to and from the sale barn isn't easy. This is how I learned to drive a clutch. I was a little kid. We dropped off some cattle at the chutes for the sale barn. Dad went in to take care of the business part. There are some rough old cowpokes running things at a sale. They all have whips. I'm sitting in our old Ford truck and a cowboy comes up and starts yelling at me to move our truck, NOW! I didn't know how to drive a manual but he wasn't hearing it. I learned that day.


Merry Christmas,

Still want to be a cowboy?
Never dreamed of being a cowboy. I wanted to be a bear, chicago bear, but it never came to fruition. :)
 
I have a closet full of boots. I have always worn them. Nope not a cowboy never was. I just love boots. Lot of pointed toe with slanted heal some roper heals for work.
 
It's been a long time since I was a cowboy but most of this hasn't changed. Cattle and horses poop a lot. I have yet to see a western movie where the center of town has horse poop on the ground. Even the hit series Yellowstone doesn't show animal poop. All this poop smells pretty bad and you're working around cattle and horses you going to get some poop on you.

Two main kinds of cowboy boots. Walking cowboy boots are usually called ropers and they are not meant for horseback riding. True cowboy boots have a pointed toe to help your foot into the stirrup. The tall heel keeps your foot planted in the stirrup. The cutback heel is so you can get your spurs on and off. I have never worn chaps but I never had to round up strays in thick brush. I've heard but I can't prove that early cowboys carried a pistol for snakes or if they get thrown from their horse and are being dragged they can shoot the horse.
On a small ranch, a quad is a lot easier than saddling a horse.

Animals have to drink if that means breaking the ice every morning or getting a tank if the pond drys up in the summer. My dad who was in the oil business drove on to one of his leases and started seeing dead cattle. He thought "Oh, no somehow the cattle got into the saltwater tank. Nope, the rancher let the ponds dry up. The rancher was charged with animal cruelty.

What we called working the cattle is a tough job. They have to be put in a holding chute and medicated for all kinds of things. Also, all your yearling male calves have to be turned into steers and you know what that means. It used to be a bloody mess but it's easier now. I won't go into it here. There can only be one bull in the herd.

You have to feed these animals year-round. Just grass is not enough. They need minerals with a lot of salt blocks. Hay in the winter every day. Minerals in block and pellet form.

Cowboys wear long sleeves in the summer.

Getting kicked is not as common as getting stomped on. Both are bad. When you walk behind your horse keep one hand touching the horse's hindquarters. It's their blindspot and it makes them nervous if they don't know what's back there. You actually will see that in western movies. Always Get onto a horse from the left. If you were going to get on from the right the horse gets confused and freaks out.

You have to have a system to get chemicals onto the skin of your animals to repel flies.

A cowboy hat has a lot of uses. none of them are indoors. If your straw hat flies off your head you can count on a horse eating it before you get back. I once had a horse eat the paint off my dad's new 1965 Chevy Impala.

Your calves and cows are going to die during birth. You'll probably end up raising some calves yourself. It's tough on your pocketbook. Predators are going to prey on young animals. Cattle rustlers are still rampant.

Getting animals to and from the sale barn isn't easy. This is how I learned to drive a clutch. I was a little kid. We dropped off some cattle at the chutes for the sale barn. Dad went in to take care of the business part. There are some rough old cowpokes running things at a sale. They all have whips. I'm sitting in our old Ford truck and a cowboy comes up and starts yelling at me to move our truck, NOW! I didn't know how to drive a manual but he wasn't hearing it. I learned that day.


Merry Christmas,

Still want to be a cowboy?

You forgot the part where you do all the work and get almost none of the profit.
 
Talking poop. Was in breakfast diner with the guys and a couple guys came in and sat at a table near us. Started smelling a stink looking around and those guys had some **** feet. There was a small chicken farm near by. They couldn't smell it. They went out and cleaned it off, sort of.
 
Post Script: I had a cow that had a still-born calf the first time. The second time the cow died. You do a lot of fur rubbing when a calf is newborn to stimulate it. Same reason momma animals lick their newborns. Anyway the calf was not looking like it was going to make it. Getting more lethargic by the minute. We took it to the vet and the vet asked if we had any hard alcohol. The vet was a former alkie and didn't keep it around. We ran home and got a bottle of Jack. That vet tilted the calf's head up and poured a bunch of straight Jack Daniels down that calf's throat. Man did that calf ever wake up. He put some more in her milk and forced that down. That cow was hand-raised and was named Bourbon. I don't think she ever knew she was a cow, she thought she was a human.
 
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I’ve rode some, trail ride some.. I know Texas they sell deals for cattle drives, I may get to do it sometime with a good friend. It also includes sleepin out under the stars etc.. I’ve been around. I’d love the real lifestyle .. Been around farming forever so critters don’t bug me.
 
4 yrs ago a farmer west of us a few miles went out to check his cows.
Apparently he found a new calf stuck in the mud.
That's were his wife found him. Stomped into the mud , dead. Mama cow killed him.
He had not came in from chores at supper so she went looking for him.
Yes, ranching , farming is a tuff way to earn a living.
 
In the winter time up north here we would lead them to a river and then chop holes in the ice to water them couldnt belive how much ice cold water horses and cattle can drink . thank god those days are gone
 
At least you can park a car and not have to feed it every day, when you get tired of it., and it will still be there when you feel like "ridin'"...
 
I have yet to see a western movie where the center of town has horse poop on the ground.

And I have yet to see a western movie where the "six guns" didn't fire 50 times without reloading.
 
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