Many of the
terms used in reference to
cowboys, horses, their tack,
and the things they do are
regional, changing depending
on where you are from and many
words are derived from
Spanish. You may search
for a particular term or browse through the cowboy lore
and its origins. These pages are graphic-rich, so please be
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Cowboy Showcase
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Horse
Terms
A Cowboy's
Personal Gear
Saddles &
Tack Glossary
Cattle Terms, a
glossary
THE
PEOPLE & THE LAND
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 BUCKAROO:
Derived
from the Spanish "vaquero".
(In Spanish, the letters b and v are both pronounced "b." )
A
cowboy from the Great Basin
country of northern Nevada,
southern Idaho, northeast California and southeastern Oregon. Often wear flat hats, chinks,
and ride A-fork saddles with post horns and bucking rolls.
Traditionally their gear displays lots of silver and is fancier than
some other areas of the country.
Buckaroo gear and style of handling horses is becoming quite popular
in other parts of the country and the world.
CHARRO:
Gentleman rider of
Mexico. Charros often exhibit a very flashy style of riding
and use ornate dress and gear. Jalisco and Guerrero are the main states in Mexico where
the charro tradition originated.
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 CHARREADA: A gathering of
charros combining skilled riding, roping, and bull tailing, somewhat
similar to a rodeo in the United States.
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CIRCLE or
BIG CIRCLE RIDERS:
Cowboys
start at a point designated by the cowboss, ride widely-separated,
gather the cattle, and
push them to the holding or rodear
grounds where the cattle will be worked.
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COCINERO:
Spanish term for
male
cook or chuck wagon
cook.
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 CHUCK WAGON COOK:
also
sometimes called "coosie", or
"cookie."
On the old time cattle drives, the cook was sometimes
an aging cowboy hired for his ability to drive a wagon more than his
cooking skills. He was in charge of the wagon and everything
related to it. The cook was paid more than the other hands because the success of the camp and the drive depended greatly on him.
A cowhand earned about a dollar a day and the cook made twice that.
Ranch cooks today still command a great deal of respect and many
expect a certain strict etiquette in their vicinity.
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HOODLUM OR LITTLE MARY: Cooks helper-chops wood, peels
potatoes, does dishes, and other chores around the
chuckwagon.
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CHUCK: Food, in
Spanish: Comida
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COW
BOSS: In charge of
the cattle operation on a
ranch. They choose
where the cowboys will ride
and hire and fire
cowboys. Answer to the
general manager.
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 COWGIRL:
We prefer the term
female cowboy and the term
cowboy, as used in this site,
refers to both genders.
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COWMAN: A ranch owner that
makes a living raising
cattle.
 COW-PUNCHER:
Also called
Buckaroo, Cow Poke, Waddie,
Cowboy, and in Spanish a
"Vaquero". Terms for cowboy vary with the region.
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DROVER: Term commonly used in the 1870s
and 80s for a working cowboy engaged in trailing longhorns to market
or a new range.
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 ESCARAMUZA:
Women participating
in a charraeada as a drill team, riding sidesaddle.
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GUNSEL: A person with limited knowledge of
livestock and cowboy ways. Usually used as a derogatory term.
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 GYP:
A female dog - term used especially in the south.
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JIGGER or JIGGER BOSS: Second in
command to the cow
boss. Often ropes the
cowboys' horses for the day.
LEAD RIDERS:
Two cowboys
that ride on each side of
the 'lead steers' in a trail
herd. They push the
cattle
in the general direction
they want the herd to move.
DRAG RIDER:
Cowboy following the
herd pushing the stragglers.
NIGHT HAWK or
NIGHT HERDER: Cowboy that
constantly rides around the cattle herd at night.
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NIGHT WRANGLER:
A cowboy
that herds and cares for the
saddle horses during the
night.
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PEELER: A horse breaker
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P OINT RIDER:
Cowboy who rides in
front of a herd and provides something for the animals to follow.
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FLANK RIDER:
Cowboys riding along
the sides of the herd keeping it bunched.
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FORKED:
(pronounced fork-ed - like the name Ed)
Adjective applied to a
Cowboy that can really ride a bronc well.
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 POGONIP:
(PAH-guh-nip)
Paiute word for cloud, referring to a dense
winter fog containing frozen particles, formed in valleys in Western
United States. Also called white cloud, white death
or death fog. Formed when humidity is 100% and
temperature falls below freezing(32° F.) The ice crystals will then
settle onto surfaces, forming beautiful ice crystal sculptures.
Beautiful but dangerous.
(English adaptation
of the Paiute/Shoshone word meaning "cloud" (payinappih). )
RANGE BOSS: Manager of a cow
outfit out on the range.
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RANAHAN: Top cowhand, sometimes
shortened to "ranny."
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REP: A representative. In
the old days, neighboring ranches would pasture in ranges without
fences as we know them today. During roundup time,
representatives from neighboring ranches would attend the roundup.
A rep with his own string of horses would trail to the range and
ride and work with the roundup crew. When the cattle were
gathered, those with his ranch's brand would be cut out and the rep
would trail them home along with his saddle and pack horses.
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ROSIN
JAW: Hired man that does the mechanical, irrigating, and
feeding chores on a ranch--all the non-horseback work. One of
the "ranch crew." May be a regional term common to
the Great Basin.
RUSTLER:
A horse or cattle
thief.
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"SEARCHING FOR THE ELEPHANT"
going
over the next hill, looking for something that is never there.
Sums up the philosophy of many cowboys who travel from ranch to
ranch always looking for new horses to ride and new country to
explore. Like a friend said, "Cowboys are always going
somewhere."
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 SHADED-UP:
Can be applied to
cowboys, cattle, or horses--Pulled into a shady spot to rest.
SHADOW RIDING: A cowboy that
rides along, admiring
his own gear and his own shadow.
SWING RIDERS:
Are the
cowboys that keep the main
body of the trail herd
together and keep them
moving.
TAIL RIDERS: also "DRAG RIDERS" Cowboys that
follow the trail herd and
keep the cows and young
calves moving.
TALLY-MAN:
A cowboy that
stands beside the
branding-fire at a round-up
and makes a tally mark for
each animal branded, ear-marked,
and vaccinated, showing to whom
it belongs. A tally-man can also count animals out
a gate and keep track of them.
TIE-MAN:
A cowboy roper that
ties the end of his rope to
his saddle horn while roping
horses or cattle. Regional roping technique used mainly
in Texas, some in New Mexico & Arizona.
TWISTER:
Horse breaker
VAQUERO:
Spanish term for a man
who takes care of cattle. Mexican cowboy. From the
Spanish word "vacca" --meaning cow.
WADDIE:
Another term for cowboy, a hired man, in the western United States,
who tends cattle and performs many of his duties on horseback.
The term “waddy” is an old term that
no one seems to be able to actually put their finger on the exact
origin. It is more common in the Midwest and Southwest.
Saddlemaker Mike Brennan
did research with these results.
"It originally was a very derogatory term and meant a thief or
rustler, then evolved gradually into a lower class “hired man on
horseback”, and finally came to mean a top hand. My grandfather
carried the nickname “Waddy” from the time he was a little sprout
until the day he died, in fact most people didn’t even know his real
name. Apparently both spellings of the term “waddie” as in Waddie
Mitchell, were and are correct with some sources listing waddy as
preferred, and some listing waddie as preferred. "
WAGON:
 A
chuck and a bedroll wagon
goes out with the cowboys
when they work cattle on the
range for several months at
a time, especially in the spring and
fall.
Candy wagon: a
vehicle that hauls the grub and supplies to line camps.
WRANGLER: A
livestock herder, especially of saddle horses.
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