by Terry Cutler

About 150 years ago, manyyoung boys and men - and somewomen - lived a rough, hard lifeas cowboys in the western Unit-ed States. Every day they rodebucking broncos, herded cattle,sheep, or goats, roped ealves, andtook care of, or "doctored" sickanimals. rupc to catch a calf.A cowboy is s

Many people think this typeof life died out years ago. It's true that big cities have grown up in theWest. Cars and trucks have replaced horses for transportation. Modernmedicines have eliminated many livestock diseases.

The cowhoy survived these changes. Today there are cowboys onranches from Texas to Montana. Their lives aren't much different fromthose of the cowboys you've seen on TV or read about in books.

A modern cowboy's day starts before dawn. He dresses for workjust as they did in the Old West: boots with spurs, heavy jeans, andchaps. Then he puts on a heavy work shirt, a silk or cotton necker-chief, and to top it off, a wide-brimmed hat. Each of these items has apurpose, as it did way back in history.

After dressing, a cow-boy catches and brusheshis favorite horse. Hemust also check thehorse's feet. Horses needshoes, just as you do, toprotect their feet fromsharp rocks and thorns.A person who puts shoeson horses for a hving iscalled a farrier, but a realcowboy can do this him-self.

As the sun rises,the cowboy saddles hishorse, mounts up, andheads into the morningsun across wide pastures.Depending on the time ofyear, he can expect manythings during his day.

An average day includes herding sheep, goats, or cattle from onepasture to another, roping a calf from horseback to inspect it for earticks, and giving a sick cow an injection of medicine. Often the eow-boy will help a cow or sheep give birth, and sometimes he must res-cue orphan calves or lambs. When the cowboy finds these orphans, hebrings them home and becomes their "mama/' feeding them twice aday to keep them healthy and strong.

During the winter months, grass is covered with snow or just toohard for the animals to eat. Then the cowboy must feed the livestockhimself. Many years ago, he would have hitched up a feed wagon toa team of horses and loaded it with hay. Today, he takes his pickuptruck. The animals learn the sound of the engine and come running

A cowboy feeds an orphan calf.

when they hearit arrive in thepasture.

Someranches raiseother animalsas well, hkepigs. The cow-boy often takesthem food inthe afternoons.Even thoughthey can findenough grassin the pastureto keep themhealthy, the A cowboy uses a pickup truck to iced goats and sheep.

pigs enjoy table scraps as muchas any dog does and will gatheraround the cowboy when theyhear him coming.

An important part of a cow-boy's day is checking the live-stock's water supply. Water onmany ranches is pumped up totroughs by windmills. Sometimesthese windmills break down.When this happens, the troughs godry, and the animals would soondie if the cowboy didn't hurry toñx the windmill. This is an impor-tant part of being a cowboy. Everyone of them works hard at it, even A cowboy feeds the pigs.

though it isn't as much fun asriding horses or chasing runawaycalves.

As the day comes to a close,the cowboy rides toward homealong a fence line, checkingfor broken 'wires or bent posts.Mending broken fences is justas important as any job he has.Fences not only keep cows andsheep separated, they also keepthe animals off busy highwaysand out of neighbors' ranchlands.

Finally, at the end of a long,hard day, cowboys often gathertogether to sing songs - just asthe cowboys of old did aroundtheir campfires.

Not much has changed inthose ranches in the west. Thecowboys like it that way.I ^Cowboy Clothîi

Cowboy boots are made with agood heel to keep the cowboy's footin the stirrup in the right position.Spurs gently tell the horse whichdirection to turn. Chaps are leathercovering for the legs and protect thecowboy from sharp tree branches orthorns. The neckerchief keeps thecowboy warm in the winter, and inthe summer is wetted down for cool-ness. The hat shades his eyes, keepsthe sun off his head, and keeps rainoff during the rainy season.

A cowboy fixes a windmill.

The cowhoy's saddle is muchthe same as it was in history. Therope or lariat is used for catchingrunaway sheep, goats, or cattle. Oncethe animal is caught, the cowhoy tiesthe other end of the lariat to the sad-dle horn in front of him. The saddle-bags on the back of the saddle carryeverything from food to medicine toextra clothes. Tie strings, which areused for holding sick animals downwhile they're doctored, are also partof the cowboys essential equipment.

Copyright of Boys' Quest is the property of Bluffton News Publishing and its content may not be copied or

emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission.

However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.