Cowboy

A cowboy is a worker who handles cattle, especially on horseback. The occupation developed on ranches and cattle drives across the western United States.

Cattle drive: A journey in which herders move a large group of cattle between grazing lands, markets, or railheads. Cowboys drove herds across long distances to reach railheads and markets.
Vaquero: A Spanish- and Mexican-speaking horse-mounted cattle herder whose traditions shaped ranch work across the Americas. The vaquero tradition supplied techniques and vocabulary adopted by American cowboys.
Black cowboys: African American men and women who worked in the cattle and ranching industries of the American West. Black workers formed a substantial part of the post-Civil War cattle industry despite later underrepresentation.
American frontier: The shifting zone of settlement and political control at the western edge of the United States. Cowboys worked within the frontier's changing ranching economy, but were not synonymous with it.
Ranch: A large property used for raising livestock, especially cattle or horses. Ranch work is the enduring setting for cowboy cattle handling.
Spanish colonization of the Americas: The expansion of Spanish rule across much of the Americas from the late fifteenth century onward. Spanish colonization brought cattle, horses, and ranching practices to the Americas.
Mexican vaqueros: Mexican cattle herders whose ranching knowledge and practices influenced cowboy work in the American West. Their expertise shaped American cattle handling, riding, and ranch vocabulary.
Shepherd: A person who tends and manages a flock of sheep. Shepherds herd a different livestock species and use distinct handling practices.
Rodeo: A public competition featuring skills drawn from cattle and horse work, such as roping and bronc riding. Rodeos turn several working skills associated with cowboys into contests.
Texas cattle drives: The nineteenth-century movement of Texas longhorn herds to markets and rail connections beyond Texas. These drives made cowboy labor central to the post-Civil War cattle trade.

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