by Julie Carter
We live in a time when rules and regulations are everywhere.
If the government hasn’t regulated it, we the people have.
We write rules and pass out manuals with job descriptions.
We have laws to abide by while on the job or as members of most organizations.
A cowboy’s job is not just a career. It is a heritage that
has evolved over more than a century of man working with cattle. With it comes
a code that isn’t written in any manual. The rules aren’t printed and handed
out at the bunkhouse or posted on the saddle room door.
They have been passed from generation to generation among
the cowboys themselves and between father and son. These are laws of respect and
cowboy etiquette that are just part of the job.
The concepts are age-old but hold true still today. But,
because more and more cowboys are “found” and not raised, fewer and fewer are
aware of the content of this unwritten manual.
Genuine legitimate indisputable cowboys have influenced my
life. Over the years, I have asked them to tell me what it was a cowboy should
know in order to live true to the code.
If the cowboy had an employee handbook, these men all agreed
that these simple laws, no matter which outfit it was on, would be included:
·
Never ride another cowboy’s horse unless it’s a
matter of life and death.
·
Never use another cowboy’s equipment without
permission.
·
Never ride between another cowboy and the herd.
Always ride behind him to get where you are going.
·
Don’t ride in front of the boss. He knows what
he wants to do. He will let you know what he wants you to know. If he’s
tracking cattle, stay back or you’ll mess up the tracks.
·
Never ride into the herd if you haven’t been
asked to do so. If you are holding herd, hold the herd -- period. Helping to
cut cattle from the herd is not a volunteer option.
·
Don’t ask the boss what you are going to do the
next day. Again, if he wants you to know, he’ll tell you.
·
Always take care of your horse before you take
care of yourself.
·
Always be on time. Nothing makes a cow boss
quite as mad as having to wait on someone.
·
Cowboy, take that hat off! If you are in the
presence of a lady or if you go into someone’s house, show your respect and
hold that hat in your hand. Watch your language in mixed company. If you are
sitting in a room and a lady enters, stand up.
·
Always help the cook with wood and water and
don’t ever get into his grub unless he asks. Always put your plate and
silverware in the roundup pan (dishpan) after you eat.
·
Don’t ever take a dog when you go to help
another outfit. They may not like dogs. Never yell at another man’s dog.
·
Always
roll your bedroll when you first get out of it. ALWAYS leave a clean camp.
The best advice my mentors could offer was to always be
respectful, dependable and do your best at whatever it was you were asked to do.
Manners count.
There is no one finer to be in the presence of than a
gentleman cowboy.
1 comment:
Very good rules...follow them & you might be asked to stay through the winter...
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