b'DID YOU KNOW, IN THE OLD WEST.By Lee Anderson, Old West Living Historian, Award Winning Author, and Old School HorsemanLee Anderson and his horse, Concho, are well known around the state doing presentations in schools,corporate events, and civic events. Learn more about them and his book on his website. historicaloldwest.orgN o vision of the Americanman 14 to 16 hours a day would simply be too hardcattle to graze on the open range near the Texas West is complete withouton those small horses. railheads. (This was the premise for the movie the Cowboy.Open Range.) But even this did not last due to the The image isT he American cowboy did notinvention ofbarbed wirebyJoseph Gliddenin 1874. uniquely American, but, thanks to theinvent open range cattle ranchingBarbed wire was an inexpensive way to keep cattle entertainment industry, many mythsin the 1800s. That had been going oncontained on the owners property and everyone cloud the truth about what Cowboy lifein Mexico and what was toelses cattle out. It was barbed wire was really like. become the Americanthat effectively ended the era of west for well over 200open range cattle ranching. S omewhere between 1/3 and 1/4years. The Americans of the Cowboys were Africanlearned it from the vaquero Americans. Many more were at least(Mexican cowboy). partially Mexican. Cowboys wereThevaquerostaught the usually 14 to 20 years of age andtricks of the trade to the smaller than average. A rancherTexans, who realized a wouldnt hire apotential for great profits large man. Theand from Texas it spread all wild range bredover the west.horses they used were usually noT he heyday of the long cattle drive more no moreand the Hollywood model for than 14-15 handsthe cowboy was short, not much more than 15 (4-5 ft.) tallto 20 years. By the early 1870s, rail lines had and 800 to 900reached Texas and the cattle could be shipped to pounds. Carryingthe slaughterhouses without first being driven a large or heavy800-1000 miles. Ranchers then began to allow 34 August 2019'