Cowboy Quotes - 10 Old West Sayings Worth Remembering #12
CowboySpirit.TV – An Old West cowboy would work with a number of horses, which he would call his string. Usually at least part of the string was provided by the ranch a cowboy worked for, since cowboys often could not afford the strong, dependable horses that cattle herding required. Sometimes, particularly on long cattle drives, the string of horses were referred to as "the remuda", Spanish for "a change", in this case "a change of horses", which trailhands had to do frequently given the heavy workload the horses bore.
Every cowboy had a favorite horse, though, and even years after a cowboy had parted ways with a trusted mount it was common for memorable four-legged partners to come up in conversation. That’s probably why so many cowboy sayings have to do with the romantic and ever dependable horse.
1. A cowboy is a man with guts and a horse.
2. “Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway.” – John Wayne
3. If you haven’t fallen off a horse, you haven’t been riding long enough.
4. Only an old rider knows when his saddle is about to get loose.
5. Worry is like a rocking horse. It's something to do that doesn't get you anywhere.
6. Life is not about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well you bounce.
A great saying for ‘bouncing’ back from any of life’s difficulties – or getting back into the saddle, in other words!
7. "It's a lot like nuts and bolts. If the rider's nuts, the horse bolts!" – Nicholas Evans, author of The Horse Whisperer
8. “It is not enough for a man to learn how to ride; he must learn how to fall.” – Mexican Proverb
9. They never could set horses.
Cowboys might say this when referring to two people who can’t get along, though the origin of the phrase is unclear.
10. “The cowboy doesn't need an iron horse, but covers his country on one that eats grass and wears hair.” – Charles Marion Russell, ‘the cowboy artist’
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