You ain't a cowboy unless you wear a scarf/ bandana round your neck.

Some ( alot) of people dress in a way for others to look at them and think they are something they are not.
Cowboys, Bikers, and the best one is, Indians (natives) that wear athletic clothing. Lol.

Some days I'm a cowboy and some days I'm a cow poke. What I usually am is broke.

It even rymed lol

It's straight up the lifestyle AND the skills with cows AND horses you have. Lot of people work with cows or own cows and can get the job done but are very lacking in the finer skills. I took wood working in Jr High and can built things with wood but I'm not a master wood worker or carpenter.


Lot of people dress like a cowboy but won't get anywhere close to a horse. To me it's radiats "fake" but maybe I'm too simple

Most people won't get it because you have to live it and see it from the inside to understand it

i wear cowboy boots only cause its a tough shoe that i can use for trapping and just walking around the woods without having to worry about them ripping

[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/glb2U6y-GdU?si=ZFscbvqPMShZXcml[/video]

Interesting facts. States with the highest cattle population:

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/us-states-with-the-most-cattle.html


List of US States With the Most Beef Cattle
Rank State Estimated Cattle Count
1 Texas 13,000,000
2 Nebraska 6,800,000
3 Kansas 6,350,000
4 Oklahoma 5,300,000
5 California 5,150,000
6 Missouri 4,250,000
7 South Dakota 4,050,000
8 Iowa 3,950,000
9 Wisconsin 3,450,000
10 Colorado 2,850,000



We come in 6th. I was surprised, some of the western states are WAY down the list.

LOTS of beef cattle in SW MO. Not nearly as many milk cows as there use to be. North of Springfield toward the center of the state there are quite a few but not down here.
Cowboys round here usually wear square toes cowboy boots and ball caps.
Drive 4 wheelers and 3/4 or 1 tom dualies.

[video:youtube]https://youtu.be/HflDc7PUT2g?si=n11oTYH54jShEMNE[/video]

I thought back in my college days Florida was in the top 5

Now it's covered with tree farms and condos.

Good friend of mine in N.M. says cowboys are born not made. I think that's true. Much like trappers. Tristan's little brother Aiden has been around cattle and horses growing up as well. Works as a maintenance guy for Hormel. Repairing whatever is broke. Real gearhead. Rides a Harley stead of a horse. Last summer Tristan got Aiden to enter a ranch rodeo by teasing him about being afraid of bucking horses. Aiden won the bareback competition and Tristan got third. I thought it was pretty funny. Haven't heard Tristan tease him about it since.

Very true!

In the east you can run a hundred head on a few hundred acres. In the west it can take a whole section (square mile) for a cow calf pair. We have lots better pasture than that here in KS but depending on the operation a man on a horse is lots more efficient. Often the cattle are not gentle. Especially out west. Don't see a human for months at a time. Most places will gather up first calf heifers and be there for first calf. After that they are turned out for the second one. If she doesn't have a calf when they are gathered again she is gone. Coyote lion bear birthing problems don't matter. Its an entirely different way of beef production. Those calves, essentially born wild often end up in TX OK KS to be finished for slaughter. Cowboys do that as well as care for those animals that pretty much are on their own in the west.

What a Gig!

In this part of the country a cattleman is as much of a grass farmer as he is a cattleman. With rotational grazing you can have pretty high stocking rates and that means almost daily handling of stock. It also means more doctoring in the form of worming.

As Danmy stated better grass helps these states run more cows but feedlots really inflate these numbers.

Is more of an attitude than a profession

I know all types. only a select few would I actually consider a cowboy. not sure what makes the cut but it don't take me long to decide. I sure don't make the cut

I heard cowboys wear ball caps now cause they don't want to be confused with truckers......