Frank J. Buchman

Cowboy • Horseman • Writer

Cowboy Horses And Bulls

“The Cowboy’s Kind” of horses and bulls.

When breeding, raising, and selling a couple dozen Quarter Horses annually, they were advertised as “The Cowboy’s Kind.”

That description became symbolic of the ranch offering increasing the appeal to certain buyers. There are different opinions of what “The Cowboy’s Kind” means.

Original intention was that the horses were the kind working cowboys would want to use in ranching operations.

This contrasts with horses that were strictly show horses looking pretty when in horseshows. Not that the horses weren’t nice looking, but they were specifically for working cowboys.

That doesn’t mean only cowboys could ride the horses because they had all-around ability. The horses worked well for racetrack, barrel racing, pleasure classes, trail riding, parades, and as family horses.

Still, there’s something about calling a horse “The Cowboy’s Kind” that made them appealing to diverse clientele. For some reason, many people seem to have an inner often denied desire to be a “cowboy.”

But there is a wide variation in people’s definition of who a cowboy really is. Dan Webster lists different meanings for cowboy. 1.“One who tends cattle on horseback.” 2. “One having recklessness, aggressiveness, independence.” 3. “A person operating in an uncontrolled, unregulated manner.” 

So, a lot of people actually have the desire to be somewhat reckless, aggressive, uncontrolled at certain times. They appeal to “The Cowboy’s Kind.”

However, working ranch cowboys sometimes take offense to a horse being described as “The Cowboy’s Kind.” For some of them to fit that description, a horse must have “cow sense, work cattle naturally without specific training.”

Yet other cowboys think a horse must be able to work a rope naturally when used for catching cattle.

While “The Cowboy’s Kind” was considered an original description promoting the ranch produced horses, others now use the same term.

It grabbed attention when a purebred bull sale catalog received in the mail promoted their offering “The Cowboy’s Kind,” too.

Those cattle breeders weren’t talking about horses but rather about bulls fitting needs of a working cowboy’s cowherd.

Evidently, the bulls are intentionally bred to fit well in a ranch operation without requiring additional work of the cowboy. Those bulls are “The Cowboy’s Kind.”

Reminded of Zechariah 6:3: “There are red horses, black horses, white horses, dapple horses. All the horses were powerful.”

+++ALLELUIA+++ 

XVII–12–3-19-2023

The Latest: