Cowboy Lingo

If you are serious about wanting to be a cowboy, and I know you are, it's time you learned some cowboy terms and definitions so that you can incorporate it into your daily conversations...after all, you want to sound like an authentic cowboy don't you?

I call this "Cowboy Lingo"

Lariat: A specially constructed rope with a running noose for catching livestock.
Lasso: A long rope with a sliding loop on one end, generally used in ranching to catch cattle and horses. Same as a lariat.
Latigo: A type of leather and the name of the strap used to tie the cinch tightly to the saddle.
Cinch: Means by which a Western saddle is secured to the horse, which attaches to the saddle on one side, running under the barrel just behind the legs to the other side.
Bit: A piece of metal placed in a horse's mouth and connected to reins to control the animal.
Reins: Straps, usually leather, that attach to either side of a bridle for control of a horse.
Sombrero: A tall, wide rimmed hat made from felt or straw. Commonly worn in Mexico and the South-western United States.
Saddle: A seat for a rider placed on the back of a horse. Usually made of leather and often personalized for the rider.
Peacemaker: An early type of American revolver, particularly the Colt 1873 Single Action Army model. Often worn by cowboys. Overtime many sidearms became known as 'peacemakers'
Winchester: a type of repeating rifle, first made in the 1860s. Winchesters model 1894 is and was a popular saddle rifle, carried in a scabbard tied to the saddle. They held several bullets, enabling repeated firing without reloading. Usually work by a lever action.
Stetson: The manufacturer of popular cowboy hats. Often used generically now to describe any cowboy style hat.
Spurs: Pointed metal that is attached to the heel of boots used by riders to urge a horse forward to buck or to hang on to a bull. They come in many shapes and styles, often regionally different.
Hacienda: the main house on a ranch.
Ranch: A large tract of land used for raising cattle, or other livestock. Mostly the animals graze the property for sustainance.
Roundup: gathering livestock together so that they can be counted or branded or sold
Pard: Shortened version of 'pardner' which is cowboy slang for 'partner' which is a buddy or person associated with another toward a common goal, like robbing a stage coach, branding some cows or mending fences.
Cattle Drive: moving a herd of cattle from one place to another, usually moved and herded by cowboys on horses. Often done to take cattle to the railhead for selling.
Rail Head: The end of a railway line where it meets with other transportation. Cattle would be driven to the railhead to be loaded and shipped to the slaughterhouse.
Chaps: Sturdy leather coverings for the legs consisting of leggings and a belt. They are buckled on over jeans. They have no seat and are not joined at the crotch. They protect the riders jeans and legs in brushy or rough conditions, such as when branding cattle.
Branding: The searing of an owner's mark on the body of a horse or cattle, to prove ownership. A branding iron is heated in a fire until it is red hot then used to burn the mark into the side of the animal...not particulary pleasant for the cow....
Bronc: a wild or untamed horse, also a bronco, or bucking bronco.

There ya go pardner! Cowboy Up!!