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A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of special significance and legend. [ 3 ]
Vaquero is the Spanish word for cowherder or herder of cattle. [12] [13] It derives from the word vaca the Spanish word for "cow" and thus, the Medieval Latin: vaccārius meaning cowherd, [14] [15] [16] from vacca, meaning “cow”, [17] and the suffix -ārius used to form nouns denoting an agent of use, such as a dealer or artisan, from other ...
On average, a single herd of cattle on a drive numbered about 3,000 head. To herd the cattle, a crew of at least 10 cowboys was needed, with three horses per cowboy. Cowboys worked in shifts to watch the cattle 24 hours a day, herding them in the proper direction in the daytime and watching them at night to prevent stampedes and deter
Further, any herd of fully mature cattle in or near a pasture is statistically likely to consist mostly of cows, so the term is probably accurate even in the restrictive sense. Other than the few bulls needed for breeding, the vast majority of male cattle are castrated as calves and are used as oxen or slaughtered for meat before the age of ...
Cattle are not often kept solely for hides, and they are usually a by-product of beef production. Hides are used mainly for leather products such as shoes. In 2012, India was the world's largest producer of cattle hides. [114] Cattle hides account for around 65% of the world's leather production. [115] [116]
Its reference to a "person in charge of horses or cattle" or "herder" was first recorded in 1888. A wrangler is an individual involved in the process of taming, controlling and handling various animals, specifically horses. Traditionally this process involves herding cattle and bringing horses in from the paddock.
Smaller cattle drives continued at least into the 1940s, as ranchers, prior to the development of the modern cattle truck, still needed to herd cattle to local railheads for transport to stockyards and packing plants. Today, cattle drives are primarily used to round up cattle within the boundaries of a ranch and to move them from one pasture to ...
Drovers in Australia c. 1870 Drovers in New Zealand c. 1950 A modern small-scale cattle drive in New Mexico, USA. Droving is the practice of walking livestock over long distances. It is a type of herding, often associated with cattle, in which case it is a cattle drive (particularly in the US).