A Horse with Cow

On the surface, the phrase “That horse has cow” is strange. Of course, those in the cow horse world understand it means that a horse has a particular drive or talent for working with cows. It manifests itself in all kinds of ways—some love to chase cows and make great rope horses and others are taught to read, react, and influence a cow’s movement and make great cutting or reined cow horses. Some can do both—and more. In many ways, “cow sense” is horseman shorthand for intelligence.

For many cowboys today, a horse with cow is an expectation. In fact, sometimes a top hand might even be offended by a horse without any cow sense at all. The “cow sense” trait has been tirelessly bred over many generations to the point that it’s virtually a prerequisite for any horse to be called a ranch horse.

Of course, throughout history, there have always been horses with cow sense, but in the early days of the Open Range West, they were a true rarity.

If a horse was found to have an exceptional amount of cow and could work the herd, he was saved. The ranchers would ride a different horse and lead their cutting horse to the roundup grounds. In fact, many of the famous cutting horses of the Open Range days enjoyed long lives and even became children’s horses in their retirement because they were so meticulously cared for.

A very basic definition of the word “technology” is a tool that is used to solve a problem. In the same way the horse was a technological improvement for the Plains Indians for migration, hunting, and warfare, the cutting horse was a technological development for the cowman in the 1860s. A horse that could quickly and effectively sort up a marketable herd from the range gathers solved a problem.

What a feeling of discovery it must have been when a would-be cowman (who more than likely grew up on a Southern or Midwestern farm), who only knew a horse as a beast of burden or transport, felt a horse hook onto a cow for the first time! It’s a feeling we still experience today—and many find as useful and addicting as the original cowmen must have. What’s more, it’s a talent shown off every time the Working Ranch Cowboys Association sanctions an event. Whether it be in the sorting, branding, or roping events, a horse that will watch a cow will never go out of style.