Top 25 Reasons to Be a Cowboy | #5: Horses
We’ve reached rarified air, unveiling the top 5 in our top 25 reasons to be a cowboy in honor of the 25th Annual World Championship Ranch Rodeo this Nov. 12–15 in Amarillo, Texas. As this list unfolds, I will say that any of these top 5 could be arranged in any order and I wouldn’t argue with you. But for number 5, I’m going with horses.
Really, an entire book series could be written on the importance of the horse to the cowboy and the beef industry. So cramming it into 400 words won’t be easy.
Without the horse, there is no cowboy. Cattle would probably still be running wild from Mexico to Canada, and we’d be hunting them like we hunt feral hogs.
From an even broader perspective, the horse has sometimes been the difference between life and death for man. And once that hurdle was crossed, the horse has meant the difference between surviving and thriving for countless cultures throughout time.
What’s interesting, though, is within the span of just a couple generations, horses went from being a necessity to a luxury. In America alone, the horse is used almost exclusively as recreation. In fact, other than a few, minor exceptions (mounted police, Amish), the horse isn’t a necessity for any profession other than the cowboy.
And really, if we’re honest, there are some ranches that don’t require the use of horses, either. But in the roughest, toughest part of the nation, where the brush is thick, the canyons are deep, or the mountains are steep, a horse is the only way to manage cattle in an essential business such as feeding the world.
But it’s not merely the fact that horses are necessary that make them a great reason to be a cowboy. Rather, it’s that a horse becomes a partner in meaningful work that makes this connection so special.
In the combination of man and horse, one’s weakness is the other’s strength. The horse has speed, endurance, and muscle; man has courage, plans, and direction. Cow horses are born knowing they should do something with the bovine, but man has to teach him the “how” and the “why.” But if the horse doesn’t have the “want,” he won’t be a special one.
When a cowboy finds that special one, though, there can almost be nothing more. A great horse sticks with a cowboy throughout his life: either in pursuit of, in possession of, or in memory of. It’s a rare bond.
