Sure lots of fun stuff on this thread. Goes to show that what constitutes "cowboy" has diffrent strokes for diffrent folks!

Sadly, there was quite a bit of the usual envy of those who own land and glorifying those who don't make enough to live on.

There is nothing inherently wrong in barely making it on ranching when one is so determined to do what he loves best.

By the same token, the people who make a decent living should not be denigrated or put down as smalltime did stating "ranchers own the land and cattle. Cowboys do the work." I know at least one who owns the land and cattle who would resent your words very much, suffering as he is from long days, short nights, and others on the ranch needing to be away for a few days!  Serious pain cannot stop the calves from being assisted into this world and getting their tags applied, and yearlings and cows getting fed, all achieved with the aid of good horses and old tractors, BTW.

One thing I believe very strongly is that being a "real" cowboy, or rancher for that matter, has very much to do with being a good person and very little to do with how much money, land, or cattle one has, or the gender of the person.

MRJ

There are good "cowboys" who don't have the skills to manage a ranch. There are good ranch managers who don't have the skills to be good "cowboys".  Fortunate are the people who can do both.