Sorry to hear ya got scuffed up BMR. Cows will put a dent or two in a fella from time to time.

Missouri to Montana, I wish ya well in your endeavor. Most of us have grown up on ranches. We got to learn on the job training as kids who probably didn't draw any wages. And most of us here were dumb enough to love the lifestyle and the livestock. I was vaccinated against being a cowboy but it didn't take. Without experience, riding horse for a living will be a tough pull. There are so many things that make a great hand. And like Jody said, a lot of them require good old sweat from a shovel and stacking hay. A good hand on a horse knows where to be and when. They can think like a bovine and have had the opportunity to learn from older folks who spent their life in ranching. I am not saying you will never be successful. Having enough try and being willing to work goes a long ways these days. But there is no substitute for experience. I learn stuff every time I help a neighbor or day work, and not all of it is good.  I suggest you take every chance ya can to learn, regardless of the task given. Use your ears more than ya do your mouth. Ya may find work at a salebarn, a feedlot, or day work at branding time and roundup in the fall. Read and do research on ranching. Don't expect to get rich. Expect to put in long days, freeze a little and bake a little depending on weather, have everything from afterbirth to scours from head to toe and know you will have to pay your dues with the hands who have been doing it longer and better. Now that I think about it, I maybe shoulda tried law school like my momma wanted.  But you can also expect to watch calves bucking and kicking, feel the pleasure of a fine horse seeing new country, watch supreme sunrises and spectacular sunsets, be tired but satisfied at days end and know that you are doing something that very few folks can ever do. Law school be damned  :wink:

Good Luck!