Everyone has been influenced by a few special people in their life. For me, one of those people was Billy Bob Tennison who died in 2007. Born in 1929 Billy didn’t start out as a cowboy although he was raised in Texas. He served in the Navy, got a masters…
I have no idea where it originated but when you want a horse to stop we’ve all learned to say “whoa”. Except in dressage where no verbal commands are allowed. Unfortunately horses don’t grow up naturally knowing what whoa means. Beginners typically try to pull back hard on the reins…
Cast buckles are ones where metal is poured into a mold, allowed to cool and then the rough edges are buffed out. They are the most common form of buckles around with literally millions made every year. For cowboy type buckles they are usually made from either brass, bronze or…
One of my favorite places is a 4,600 acre ranch owned by the Hunewill Land and Cattle Company in Bridgeport, California. For over 136 years the Hunewill family has raised and sold cows and since the 1930s they have offered a very unique opportunity for visitors to get to see…
Roping is a central skill for cowboys. Although there are times when herding cows into pens and then into narrow alleys and then into squeeze chutes where they can be stopped and held for inspection, doctoring and branding is advantageous, the experience of most cowboys is that roping is still…
