Horse Tack Influenced by the Vaquero Horsemanship

Vaquero’s, which in Spanish means, “Cowboys”, were Spanish horseman. Their style of horsemanship, gear and training has had an influence on the “Traditional American Cowboy”. Their unique style spread from Europe all the way to the United States.

The Vaquero learned many of their horse skills from Medieval and Renaissance Europe. The European Knights and their war horses used many skills on the battlefield that can be seen today in both the reined working cow horse and dressage.

When the Spanish began to colonize the “America’s”, they used the skills found on the European Battlefields to train their horses.

The Vaquero’s Spanish style of training horses spread throughout California. Once in California the “California” Vaquero began to refine their methods of training horses and working cattle.

Because of the unique climate and culture in California the growing Vaquero tradition of training could take as long as needed. The mild climate allowed for the Vaquero’s training of a horse to take all the time that was needed. So, the California bridle horse evolved to a point where a top hand could ride his horse with just a light string attaching his rein chains to a bit.

The influence of the Vaquero spread from California to Texas. The Texas Cowboy, or what we think of today as the “Classic American Cowboy”, had a different style of training horses and working cattle. The different styles of both the Texas Cowboy and the Vaquero can still be seen today.

One example, is the that the Texas Cowboy prefers to tie their rope directly to the saddle horn by a loop on the tail end, while the Vaquero prefers to wrap his rope around the saddle horn.

The Texas Cowboy uses his horse to work cattle, while the Vaquero uses cattle to work his horses. These two unique styles have grown into two very different competitions.

The cutting horse has grown out of the Texas style which prefers the use of a horse that is bred to work a cow on its own once that horse has been trained.

The reined working cow horse has grown out of the Vaquero style, which came from the Vaquero tradition of training a horse that is also bred to work a cow but works entirely from the commands of the rider.

Even the buckaroo gear and vaquero gear is different. The Vaquero likes the silver spade bit with silver conchos on the bridle and a fancy set of braided rawhide rommel reins.

The Texas style is a grazer bit and simpler, but functional bridle with a plain set of leather split reins.

As with the ornate design of the Spanish style spurs and straps, 
the Spanish influence, through the California Vaquero, can be seen in not only the finesse of the reined working cow horse but in the ornate design of their bits, bridles and romel reins.

Buckaroo Leather Company has continued the Vaquero tradition with many unique styles of leather horse tack and vaquero gear.

AAA Bosalitos Vaquero style

These are Braided in the old Vaquero tradition with a forelock tie, some of the finest braiding we have ever seen. These are one of a kind, Designed to be used for a "get down rig" or for a 2 rein rig. The one on left has extra fine 16 plait cheeks with 32 plait nose and button. In browns and tans feels like Kangaroo. 

A Vaquero Snaffle Mecate Bridle set

Our Complete Vaquero Cowboy Mecate Snaffle Bridle Set includes our 3/4" Hermann Oak oiled Golden bridle Browband single buckle on the Poll Headstall with hand engraved silver conchas, a 5" iron ring snaffle bit and matching Slobber Strap with silver engraved conchas and a 23' yacht braid mecate with rawhide button and tassel

A Vaquero Single Buckle Headstall

 

 

This Hermann Oak Heavy Bridle Quality Leather Headstall is made in the old California Vaquero traditional styling. This is a Scallop cheek browband style Headstall made from Mid weight Oiled PREMIUM single-ply stitched Bridle leather. Accented with beautiful hand engraved conchas!

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand Visit Our Unique Store Today Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

Stories of the Old West and the Pionners.....Snakes!

The old west and American prairie are full of stories, legends, and lore. Some about cowboys and their courage, about cowgirls and prairie women strength, and of course Indians.

But have you heard about Snakes and Snake Lore.......

I came across some great stories of snakes and superstitions......

Indians believed that by killing a snake they would make the "other" snake tribes mad-so Indians did not kill snakes.......

So when the Pioneers and early settlers came to the old west there were a lot of snakes!!!

Pioneer women found the snakes to be a very large "inconvenience"- they were always showing up in their frontier home while cleaning the kitchen or under a bed. Here is a true story of one Pioneer woman's experience with her first rattlesnake....

"Returning from the woods one day with an armful of sticks, I saw a large snake lying across the path in front of my three year old daughter who was with me. I caught and pushed her behind me, then throwing down my sticks, picking out the largest as I did, I went for the snake. The stick was rotten and broke with my first stroke. It enraged the rattler. He coiled himself up on one side of the path, and, rearing his head two or three feet from the ground, ran out a red forked tongue and made such a noise with his rattles that my other daughter in our cabin nearby ran to the door to see what it was. 
 
Without taking my eyes off the snake I called to her to get the hoe. She ran around and came up behind us with it. Then, without moving from my tracks I took the hoe and made short work with his snakeship. We dragged him up to the house and cut off the rattles, sixteen in number, and measured him. He was over five feet in length and as large around as a man's arm."

(from the book "True Tales of the Old-Time Plains" by David Dary) 

 
There is another story told, about a boy who found a hole with a few snakes.....later he came back with his friend to the same hole and they found and killed 46 snakes. The boys told the other frontier men and they came back to investigate. The men dug a hole around the original hole and found more snakes.....1700 to be exact. They killed them all.....

The men kept on digging, hoping to find an end to the snakes, but it never came....at first the snakes were cowardly and timid, but as time went on the snakes started to fight back and become vicious. The men kept on. When the number of snakes dead reached 4,000 the men decided to pour blasting powder down the hole.....

Needless to say the remaining snakes were disposed of. The pioneer men reasoned that the hole they found led to a larger cavern in the depths of the earth. The believed that many thousands of snakes, from all over, gathered in this cavern for winter.

The old west stories and tales of the pioneer men and women are fascinating!! And I guess they can teach us a few lessons-

If you see a snake hole-let it be, who knows how many more snakes are down there!!!!!!!!

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving
the Western Horseman the safest most durable
Quality American made leather horse tack.......Buckaroo John Brand
Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

The History of the Mecate Reins and Hackamores

The Mecate Reins are the Rage of the Sage because they are so versatile.

The Mecate is the rein portion of the horse tack, called the Hackamore. The Hackamore is a type of headgear for horse training. The unique part of the Hackamore is that it does not have a bit. It uses a braided noseband called a Bosal. The Bosal is a special type of noseband that works on pressure points on the horse's face, nose, and chin. The Mecate is a rope made from horse hair or soft feeling rope that serves as reins and lead rope.

The history of the Hackamore and Mecate goes all the way back to 4,000 BC. The first Hackamore was probably a piece of rope placed around the nose or head of a horse not long after domestication. These early devices for controlling horses may have been adapted from equipment used to control Camels. Over time, this means of controlling a horse became more sophisticated.

The Persians in 500 BC were one of the first to use a thick plaited noseband to help the horse look and move in the same direction. This was called a Hakma. On this Hakma was a third rein added at the nose, which allowed the rider to achieve more power from the horse. Later this third rein moved from the top of the noseband to under the chin, where it is still part of the modern Bosal style Hackamore with Mecate reins.

The Hackamore used in the United States came from the Spanish Vaqueros in California. From this, the American Cowboy adopted two different uses, the "Buckaroo" tradition closely resembling that of the original Vaqueros and the "Texas" tradition which blended some Spanish techniques with methods from the eastern states.

These types of Hackamores include the Bosal and side pull. The Bosal Hackamore uses the Vaqueros tradition of the braided noseband and the Mecate rope.

The Mecate is tied to the Bosal in a specialized manner that adjusts the fit of the Bosal around the muzzle of the horse and creates both a looped rein and a long free end that can be used for a number of purposes.

For the mounted rider, the free end is coiled and attached to the saddle or tucked under your belt. When the rider dismounts, the lead rein is not used to tie the horse to a solid object but used as a lead rope and a form of lunge line when needed.

The traditional Mecate used by the California Vaqueros was made from the long hair of a horse's tail and was hand braided. Modern Mecates are made with horse hair and synthetic rope with a horse hair tassel at one end and a leather popper at the other end.

A properly tied Mecate knot allows wraps of rope to be added to the knot in front of the rein loop in order to tighten the Bosal noseband on a horse or the rope can be unwrapped to loosen the Bosal.

This Vaquero style of Hackamore is used in Western Riding and is an indispensable part of the Vaquero way of making a California reined horse. It is also used with horses that have dental issues, where a bit would be painful. Some riders also like to use this style of Hackamore in the winter instead of a frozen metal bit.

Buckaroo Leather Products uses the influence of the Vaquero when creating the many styles of Hackamores and Mecates we have available. Buckaroo also offers many traditional "Old mexico" hand braided Rawhide Bosals.

100% Alpaca Mecate

Hand Woven 100% Alpaca Mecate Rein with the colors Summer Rose with Black and tan. The Alpaca fibers used in these Mecates are grown on a family ranch in South East Colorado. 

A Black Beauty Concha Hackamore

Complete Hackamore Set includes an all natural color beautifully hand braided 12 plait 5/8" Vaquero style, All rawhide core (no cable core) natural rawhide bosal.

AAA Bosalitos Vaquero style

 These are Braided in the old Vaquero tradition with a forelock tie, some of the finest braiding we have ever seen.

Mane Hair Mecate

Mane Hair Mecate 5/8" - 22' long, 6 Strand Braid.
Beautiful Quality hand braided feel and communication.

Mecate Rein with Leather Popper

This rein has a Nylon Mecate with Leather poppers. Available in 5/8" width and 23' length. This mecate is Perfect for the beginning stages of Horse training or everyday mecate use.

Buckaroo Leather Products has all your Hackamore, Mecate, and slobber strap needs. We have many styles to choose from and all are fashioned from the highest grade American Made leather, from Hermann Oak Leather. The quality of our horse tack can not be beat!! Proud to be American made!!






Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the 
Western Horseman the safest most durable 
Quality American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand 
Visit Our Unique Store Today 
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

The Chuck Wagon - Traveling Dinner Table of the Old West

The Chuck Wagon of the old west was a home, the dinner table, "the water cooler" and a traveling store. 
The Chuck Wagon on a cattle drive or roundup served all these requirements.

On the cattle drives the cook or "cookie" as he was called was second in rank to the trail boss. The cookie and the chuck wagon had to outpace the drovers and have the cowboys meals ready on time.


The chuck wagon was usually a converted army wagon with iron axles tough enough to withstand miles of rough western trails. There was a canvas cover that stretched over bentwood bows to keep out the rain and the midday sun.

There was also a tail gate. It served as a table and had drawers and shelves that carried food like corn meal, flour, potatoes etc. Under the tail gate was the "boot" where cooking pots and utensils were stored.



(this picture is from the book "Cowboys" by Martin Chandler)

Stuffed into corners of the tail gate were assorted items such as plugs of tobacco, bandages, needles and thread, a razor and strop and a bottle of whiskey used for medicinal purposes.

The chuck wagon also had a barrel on one side that contained 2 day supply of water and on the other side of the wagon, to counter balance, was a toolbox. It held branding irons, horseshoes and nails. And of course you could find the cooks staple- a dutch oven

 

The wagon bed itself carried bedrolls, war bags, corral ropes, guns, ammunition, lanterns, kerosene, and slickers. If a cowboy or lame calf was injured they would ride in the back of the wagon.

 The Studebaker Company was one of the major companies manufacturing the chuck wagons. They sold for $75-$200. A chuck wagon weighed 1600 lb empty. It could haul 3 tons. The chuck wagon was a virtual store on wheels-it carried everything from eggs to long guns and ammunition.
 
Here is a list of some of the items you could find in the chuck wagon-
bedding
salt pork
beef
bread
500lbs of dried beans
200lbs of green coffee beans
20 sacks of flour
10 sack of sugar (considered a luxury on the trails)
potatoes
onions
500lbs of bacon
2 sacks of corn meal
500 apples
6 boxes of dried prunes
15 boxes of canned corn
10 boxes of tomatoes
30lbs of raisins
100lbs of rice






 

(the picture is from the book "Cowboys" by Martin Chandler)



there was also spices such as cinnamon, salt, all spice, pepper, ginger, and of course syrup.

an extra wheel (to prevent iron rims from coming off the wooden wheels in hot and dry climates, it was best to find a shallow stream and soak the wheels until they swelled)

The Chuck Wagon of the old west could have been considered the "water cooler" of its day. Cowboys met there after a roundup or other event. They laid down by the chuck wagon at night to sleep and sat around it for every meal.

 At the center of this chuck wagon was the "cookie". He cooked the food, helped the injured and would always have a story of joke to tell.

The cook prepared the food over brush or buffalo chips. A typical meal plan of the cowboy while on a cattle drive was-

A breakfast consisted of eggs and salt pork. The cowboys preferred sourdough biscuits to those made with buttermilk or baking powder. This is where the dutch oven was so useful-to make the biscuits.

A cowboy's lunch consisted of some dried beef, dried fruit, some sourdough biscuits and perhaps a cup of coffee, if he had a saddle bag.



While on the trail canned tomatoes helped to quench a cowboys thirst. The acid in the tomato juice also helped to counter act the alkali dust inhaled by the cowboys on the trail.

 Dinner was the same as lunch with more meat and of course plenty of coffee!!!

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving 
the Western Horseman the safest most durable 
Quality American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand 
Visit Our Unique Store Today  
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

The Cowboy Code of the West...Words to Live By

"Few cowboys ever owned much. The primary reward of being a cowboy was the pleasure of living a cowboy's life."

 
The life of a cowboy was hard working with simple pleasures. The cowboys of the old west worked the land with their own hands. They had simple rules...

Cowboy Code of the West

-If it's not yours, don't take it.

-If it's not true, don't say it.

-If it's not right, don't do it.

-Cowboy's word is his sacred bond

-Bargains sealed with handshake are more binding than legal documents

-be loyal

-Demand square dealings

-Be proud of your occupation

-Lay down your life, if necessary, for the privilege of defending your outfit

-Grant quick assistance to friends and strangers in need

-Never tolerate cowards

-Be cheerful

-Endure hardships without complaining

-Don't make excuses

-Try to be better than the other fella

-Never quit

-Share anything you own with a fellow worker

-Be generous with your life and money

-Treat women like ladies

-Never shoot an un-armed or un-warned man

-Stealing and rustling are evil wrong doing


The cowboy code of the west meant that in the Old West a contract was sealed by a handshake. A cowboys word meant something. Good character was a valued commodity. A cowboy's reputation followed him from town to town.

The code of the west helped the cowboys to know that when a wrong was done to someone there were consequences. That people who did not follow the code were probably not of good character.

Hence why there were not that many laws in the old west...... (like today!!). 

Cowboys and ranchers knew from the code what right and wrong were. It was wrong to steal a horse. Breaking into a man’s cabin and assaulting his daughter was wrong period, no excuses!



Today, our world is missing these basic of common sense "laws". I know today's world is much different from the world of the old west- but the values and common sense of the code of the west need to be apart of all our lives today.

There are many cowboy and cowgirl's who live by this code today........

Myself and my company, Buckaroo Leather, started over 35 years ago stand by and live the Code of the West. I strive to keep the spirit of the old west and the code alive today, evident in our Buckaroo Leather Creed....

The greatest asset a business can have is its reputation in fair dealing. This achievement can come only by exact adherence to definite principles of business conduct, which assure future relationships with its customers. Since the inception of Buckaroo Leather in 1979 we have remained steadfast in our belief.

Buckaroo Leather Creed

-    That a business succeeds only as it continues its endeavors to render better service.

-    That our business is to furnish merchandise to meet and exceed the requirements of our customers at a fair value.

-    That no transaction is complete until our customers are satisfied with the quality and the price of the goods and service rendered. 

-    That retaining the business of an old customer is of as much importance as obtaining the business of a new customer.

-    That strict adherence to these principles will assure the continued growth of our business through the maintenance of mutual confidence with our many customers.

I encourage all you cowboys and cowgirls to do the same..........Ride American!!!!!!



All the pictures featured in this blog are the Buckaroo John family.

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the 
Western Horseman the safest most durable 
Quality American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand 
Visit Our Unique Store Today  
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

Why Buckaroo Leather Products???

Buckaroo Leather booth at Western States Horse Expo

 

Why Buckaroo Leather Products??

"A Cowboy is loyal to his "brand," to his friends, 

and those he rides with”….Old West Cowboy Code 

There are many leather horse tack companies to choose from, so why choose Buckaroo Leather Products?

First and most importantly Buckaroo Leather Products is proud to say that we are a family owned business that has been manufacturing quality leather horse tack for over 30 years right here in the good old USA!!......

......and Buckaroo Leather Products is proud to shout it from the rooftops!!

"A man's got to have a code, a creed to live by, 

no matter his job." -- John Wayne

From Buckaroo Leather Creed….

“The materials which go into the making of Buckaroo Leather Tack and the craftsmanship employed in it’s making 
are elements of the highest importance. 

You could have no higher guarantee of quality 
and workmanship than the name 

Buckaroo Leather upon your Tack.” 

 

 Happy customers outfitting their mules in custom tack

Along with fine American craftsmanship, Buckaroo Leather only uses quality leather tanned and cured right here in the USA by Hermann Oak Leather. We start with the best leather to create a finished piece of horse tack that is not only beautiful but also unmatched in its quality and durability.

Heart on Ride Breast Collar and Headstall set

Buckaroo Leather has two generations of experience and knowledge in the making of leather riding equipment. We use the most exacting standards to meet your needs for the perfect custom horse tack with your exact fit, style and design. 

Loping Soft Nose Hackamore

Buckaroo Leather prides itself on our customer service. We are here to help you get exactly what leather horse tack you need for your special four-legged friend. The greatest asset a business can have is its reputation in fair dealing. 

“Honesty is absolute - your word is your bond, a handshake is more binding than a contract.”.... Cowboy Code of the West

Tooled Browband with silver and cowboy dots

From Buckaroo Leather Creed…..

• That our business is to furnish merchandise to meet and exceed the requirements of our customers at a fair value.
• That no transaction is complete until our customers are satisfied with the quality and the price of the goods and service rendered.
• That retaining the business of an old customer is of as much importance as obtaining the business of a new customer. 
 

 

The Cowboys of the old west communicated around the chuck wagon campfire or at the saloon. Today with the vast ever changing world of technology, Buckaroo Leather has many forms of communication with you our customer. From our Buckaroo Leather facebook page, monthly newsletter, twitter, our How-to-Video’s and this Buckaroo Leather blog we have many ways to connect…but never losing our core spirit of the old west Cowboys and their code.

Californio Vaqueros

 
Buckaroo Leather loves to create horse tack styles influenced by the traditional western cowboy tack and the Vaquero and Californio styles of the old west. Many of our quality horse tack have this influence in the style and function. Yet, we also create horse tack with a modern “sheekaroo” style with quality functionality. 

"We love supporting future cowboys and cowgirls"...John Brand owner Buckaroo Leather

Picture above is John Brand with the Youth award winner and his prize a Buckaroo Leather breast collar at the Bishop Mule Days. 

Buckaroo Leather Products was honored to donate custom leather breast collars (pic. below) for Bishop Mule Days.

Buckaroo Leather can hand craft any style of quality leather award for your next event

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand 
Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand 
Visit Our Unique Store Today
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

Rawhide...The Mexican Iron Used by the Vaquero's

Clint Eastwood In Rawhide

  You may have heard the term rawhide ( and I am not talking of the 1960's series starring Clint Eastwood) when speaking about different types of leather horse tack. Rawhide is the hide of an animal that has been kept in its natural state and has not been treated. This is different from the leather process. Leather is the hide of an animal that has been altered by a special "pickling" process called "tanning". After this process is completed the hide is termed "tanned". These different processes make the look and feel of leather quit different than the look and feel of rawhide. Leather's strength and utility properties are also different than those of rawhide.

Rawhide Romal Reins

Most rawhide originated from the skin of buffalo, deer, elk or cattle. It was prepared by removing all the fur, meat and fat. The hide was then usually stretched over a frame before being dried. The resulting material was hard and translucent. It could be then shaped by rewetting and forming before being allowed to thoroughly re-dry. The rawhide was then rendered more pliable by bending repeatedly in multiple directions. This happened by rubbing it over a post and even sometimes using a traditional method of chewing. The rawhide was also oiled or greased for a degree of waterproofing.

"California Vaqueros," painted by James Walker, 1875.

Rawhide was one of the most useful products of the pioneer cattleman. From it he made ropes, hobbles, clotheslines, bedsprings, seats for chairs, overcoats, trousers, and shirts. The rawhide was used to patch saddles and shoes. Strips of rawhide was used to bound loose wagon tires or used to lash together pieces of broken wagon tongue. It was also used as a substitution for nails. Indians used the rawhide to make drum heads and shield covers. Rawhide was so tough and durable it was known as the "Mexican iron". That is why the Vaqueros used this "Mexican Iron" for their beautiful horse tack.

Bosalitos Vaquero style

The Vaqueros used many types of fancy braided rawhide horse equipment during their daily activities in the old west. It was common to see the vaqueros using these beautifully crafted braided rawhide headstalls, bridle reins with romals, riatas, hobbles, quirts, hackamores, and bosals. The vaqueros took special pride in having good quality braided rawhide equipment and a well-trained horse.

Rawhide Quirt

Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand Visit Our Unique Store Today Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

Old West Singing Cowboys...Roy rogers, Gene Autry, Sons of the Pioneers

My Favorite Old West Singing Cowboys

 They Don't Make Them Like they Use Too!!!

I was searching through youtube and came across some old videos of some singing cowboys. Pioneers like Gene Autry, Sons of the Pioneers, Roy Rogers, Porter Wagoner, Johnny Cash and I got to thinking that they really don't make them like they use too!!! 

While I think there are some great country singers out there today, these singing cowboys of old are still the best.

So I decided to put together a post to share a few of my favorites. Enjoy the trip down memory lane!


Sons of the Pioneers

The Sons of the Pioneers is a classic group of signing cowboys that were icons of the American West and western music. The group was founded in 1934 by Roy Rogers. The Original group consisted of Tim Spencer, Bob Nolan, and Roy Rogers. The Sons of the Pioneers has lasted the test of time. They still perform today in Branson, Missouri.

To learn more about the Sons of the Pioneers here is a great website to visit......http://www.sonsofthepioneers.org

 The Sons of the Pioneers Singing a classic...

"Ghost Riders in the Sky"

 
in the photo from left to right Tim Spencer, Bob Nolan, Hugh Farr, Roy Rogers (Gus Mack, announcer).


Story Behind the Song Ghost Riders in the Sky

 

The inspiration for this song comes from an Indian legend. Ghost Riders in the Sky was written by Stan Jones. When he was a young boy, 12 years old he needed to finish up his chores. So he saddles up his horse and goes out side to finish them. While riding up a hill he comes across an old cowpuncher gazing into the sky. The cowpuncher tells young Stan to look in the sky and see the red eyed cow of the devils herd. Stan looks up and sees a strange cloud formation and the red eyes.

When Stan was older he was working for the forest service and happen to look up to the sky and saw that same strange cloud formation. It brought him back to that day on the hill with the old cowpuncher. So he went inside and wrote this classic song, Ghost Riders in the Sky.


Gene Autry
 

 Gene Autry, the Singing Cowboy in 1960 performing "Back in the Saddle Again"


 Roy Rogers

 An American Cowboy Icon

Who did not love to watch Roy Rogers and Dale Evans sing their way through a western.
 

This is a great video of Roy Rogers singing about the Vaqueros' of the Old West in the 1939 movie, "In Old Caliente".



Roy Rogers and Dale Evans

 Roy Rogers, Dale Evans and Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage


Our family has been dedicated for 30 years in serving the Western Horseman the safest most durable Quality American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand 
Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand 
Visit Our Unique Store Today  
Buckaroo Leather Shopping Site

National Day of the Cowboy...Cowboy Code

This Saturday, July 28th is National Day of the Cowboy and Cowgirls.  In the spirit of this National Day, I thought it would be appropriate to post the cowboy's "golden rule".  The Cowboy Code of the West was an unwritten code that all cowboys followed and knew. 

They lived their lives by this code and expected all other cowboys to do the same or deal with the consequences. 

Below is the expanded version of the Cowboy Code of the West. I have also included a few interesting writings from the 1800's depicting these exact qualities of the Cowboy.

To the Cowboys of today and yesterday thank you for keeping the spirit of the code alive by living it everyday.

Cowboy Code of the West

(expanded addition)

First chronicled by the famous western writer, Zane Grey, in his 1934 novel The Code of the West, no "written" code ever actually existed. However, the hardy pioneers who lived in the west were bound by these unwritten rules that centered on hospitality, fair play, loyalty, and respect for the land.

If it's not yours, don't take it.

If it's not true, don't say it.

If it's not right, don't do it.

Cowboy's word is his sacred bond

Bargains sealed with handshake are more binding than legal documents

be loyal

Demand square dealings

Be proud of your occupation

Lay down your life, if necessary, for the privilege of defending your outfit

Grant quick assistance to friends and strangers in need

Never tolerate cowards

Be cheerful

Endure hardships without complaining

Don't make excuses

Try to be better than the other fella

Never quit

Share anything you own with a fellow worker

Be generous with your life and money

Treat women like ladies

Never shoot an un-armed or un-armed man

Stealing and rustling are evil wrong doing

William G "Billy" Johnson, who worked the range during the 1880's, recalled that "cowpunchers (cowboys) were square shooters upright, and honest men. I never heard of a cowboy insulting a woman. If they were not up to par they were soon run out of the country."


From the Texas Livestock Journal 10/21/1882- wrote of the cowboy's courage, chivalry and loyalty.

"We deem it hardly necessary to say in the next place that the cowboy is a fearless animal. A man waiting in courage would be as much out of place in a cow camp as a fish would be on dry land. Indeed the life he is daily compelled to lead calls for the existence of the highest degree of cool calculating courage. As a natural consequence of this courage, he is not quarrelsome or a bully. Another and most notable of his characteristics is his entire devotion to the interests of his employer. We are certain no more faithful employee ever breathed than he, and when we assert that he is par excellence, a model in this respect, we know that we will be sustained by every man who has had experience in this matter."

(both excerpts from the book "Cowboys of the America's" by Richard W Slarta)

A great example of the Cowboy Code......Two cowpunchers out looking for work rode up to a Texas ranch in time for dinner, expecting the customary offer of a free meal. The boss fed them, but afterward demanded 50 cents in payment. Outraged at this violation of Western hospitality, the men roped a three-year-old steer belonging to their host and used a saddle ring to brand on its flanks the message: "Meals—50 cts." The steer was left to roam the range and proclaim the owner's ignominy.

As another necessary consequence to possessing true manly courage, the cowboy is as chivalrous as the famed knights of old. Rough he may be, and it may be that he is not a master in ball room etiquette, but no set of men have loftier reverence for women and no set of men would risk more in the defense of their person or their honor.

At Buckaroo Leather American Made is not just a sales slogan, standing tall behind our Buckaroo logo is honesty, hard work, dedication, sacrifice and integrity. In our journey of the last 30 years we have met many amazing artists, business horseman and women, craftsmen and customers who still live as we do by the American Cowboy Code of the West.










Our family has been dedicated for 30 years
 in serving the Western Horseman the safest most durable
Quality American made leather horse tack....... Buckaroo John Brand Buckaroo Leather, The Brand to Demand 
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