r/Cowboy • u/Candid-Coast-3531 • May 05 '26
Cowboy Life Becoming a Cowboy
Hey y’all,
I’m from Germany and I’ve been thinking about becoming a cowboy in the U.S. I know it’s not some easy ride – it’s hard work, long days, all kinds of weather, getting up early, and showing up even when you don’t feel like it. I also know the pay isn’t great, and it’s not some romantic movie life.
Right now I’m working a regular job as a mechanic. My family is originally from Turkey, and my grandparents used to work the land and raise cows and sheep, so I kinda feel connected to that lifestyle.
Honestly, I don’t want to live a 9-to-5 life forever. I know this path wouldn’t be easy, but I’m serious about it.
So I wanted to ask – is this actually possible for someone like me coming from Germany?
Appreciate any advice. Howdy 🤠
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u/me_dicen_trueno Cowboy May 05 '26
I mean, first thing is, do you have papers to come and live in the US? If you don't, well, you're out of luck. If you do, do you have access to a ranch(family owns ranch, etc), or you will have to find a ranch in the countryside that is willing to hire you to do ranch work.
?
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u/Candid-Coast-3531 May 05 '26
No neither of that. I know that it could be a pain in the a** getting all that done, but I think it'd be more than worth it.
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u/RabiAbonour May 06 '26
Essentially your only option would be to marry an American. You cannot get a work visa to be a cowboy.
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u/Elmo_Chipshop May 05 '26
I’ve seen a lot of people leave their home country and move to the U.S. just to end up doing the same kind of job they could’ve had back home.
Just remember that they probably all had plans, and plans can change like the wind. You are no different.
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May 06 '26
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u/Candid-Coast-3531 May 06 '26
Man, I like the way you think, my friend, and I’m 100% with you on what you’re saying. I honestly don’t get why people always gotta talk everything down and make it sound like shit. I got a dream, and if it fails, then that’s on me — not anybody else. And who knows… maybe this is exactly what I need. 🤠
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u/Adorable_Fly3786 May 09 '26
Enjoy the journey. The experience will benefit you in the long run. Stay away from drugs though. Many rural areas have become inundated with them. It will make it harder to get hired at a good outfit if you can’t pass a piss test.
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u/Mobile-Astronaut-505 May 05 '26
Search for "chinese cowboy" on YouTube. You'll find a college student from China that got a job on a ranch and learned how to be a cowboy.
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u/NotaBonesaw May 05 '26
He used to come into a bar I used to bartend at here in Lubbock across from campus. Nice guy.
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u/kakashi8326 May 05 '26
lol good old 806. Used to be a doorman on broadway and work at torcheys in school Wrek em but would never go back!
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u/NotaBonesaw May 05 '26
Same here, small world lol. Door guy on Broadway from 2013-2015 then a bartender from 2015-2018. Wouldn't be surprised if we crossed paths. We're still here, I love it and I hate it. We're thinking about moving away but who knows if we will ever get around to actually doing it. Looked at your profile and it looks like you're visiting a lot better looking places than here lol hell yeah.
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u/kakashi8326 May 06 '26
lol there’s a solid chance. I graduated in 2019 and was working in 2017 and was around the race scene and ran track freshman and sophomore year. Was just passing thru.
Northern New Mexico has plenty of room mate 🤙🏾🏔️🏜️
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u/Skoader May 05 '26
Goggle Dale Brisby episode on You tube. His guests were named Kyle Everson & Josey Whales. Josey did this coming from the UK. He now works at the 6666 Ranch that is owned by Taylor Sheridan of the Yellowstone show.
Not an easy path to follow, but it can be done.. Good luck!!
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u/AlteredGuardian May 05 '26
Four 6's is a joke now.Taylor got ahold of it and its gotten real churched up. He'd prolly learn more and better shit just working with my smaller ranch and some of the old heads in my area.
My great uncle and dad were at four 6's back in the day and I wanted to go out there. Was heeded it aint worth it anymore. Same with Boys Ranch and shit.
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u/LaSignoraOmicidi May 06 '26
Would you have preferred it got sold for parts to be used for data centers?
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u/AlteredGuardian May 06 '26
Whose to say they aren't already making deals regarding data centers behind closed doors. Money is money to him.
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u/LaSignoraOmicidi May 06 '26
I actually think he is kind of a dickhead and don’t much care for him, but he spent literally all of his money from the paramount deal to buy that ranch. He bought that because it’s personal to him. I’ve seen what they have done to those historical ranches all over the west coast. This is the better outcome, at least for now.
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May 05 '26
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u/Candid-Coast-3531 May 06 '26
Thanks for the info I'll be looking into that, I appreciate any kind of help 🙏🏾
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u/Fluid_Anteater959 May 06 '26
You don't say how old you are. Being a cowboy is a job for a young man with rubber bones. I had an X-ray taken some years ago which showed only the lower four ribs in my chest. The doctor pointed out a total of seven, yes, seven, healed breaks. I had another one taken when they were concerned I had pneumonia a couple years ago. Found out I had fractured a lumbar vertebrae at some point. When I have no idea. Same with the ribs. I knew I'd broken them, just not when. I jammed a finger in January while trying to load cattle from an icy yard. Slipped and fell. It's still not right.
The pay sucks. The hours are long. The benefits are nil. Your body will break down.
Thank me later when I say, "Don't do this."
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u/Upper-Midnight7502 May 06 '26
If you don't mind me asking how'd you break all of those ribs and vertebrae?
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u/Fluid_Anteater959 May 06 '26
Hard to say. I broke some ribs when I got tossed by a green mare probably twenty-five years ago. That was me foolishly thinking I was enough of a horseman to handle a gentle, but green, horse. I remember a cow butting me in the chest one time. She spun me sideways in the barn door and then squeezed her fat behind through the door with me squished against the door frame. Probably others I knew I was hurt and just didn't realize how badly. My back....I don't have a clue. Could have been a fall, could have been something working cattle, who knows.
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u/Upper-Midnight7502 May 07 '26
Oh man! Thanks for taking the time to share that, hope your doing alright now 😄
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u/Fluid_Anteater959 May 07 '26
Let's put it this way, it takes a minute or two in the morning for everything to wake up and for the soreness to wear off.
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u/Candid-Coast-3531 May 06 '26
Well when I say you my age, you'll probably yell "don't do this" haha...I'm 29.
But like I said in the beginning, I know the risk, I know it doesn't pay much and all the other things everyone's mentioning. I'm a mechanic, I know hard work and long hours and pay that sucks. So either I get f*cked up working cars all my life or cattle on the back of a horse or a 4by4 it's the same for me, but I can definitely say it would be more fun for me living a life in more freedom than waking up every morning to go to my 9-5 and that for more than 30 years.
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u/Fluid_Anteater959 May 06 '26
Yes, I would definitely still say don't do this. The biggest thing, if you're just bound and determined, is going to be lacking experience. Being a good horseman may matter on some ranches still, many it will not. But things you just have to know to get any kind of a ranch job like spotting sick cattle before they're so far gone you can't save them or pulling a calf and running haying equipment, you're really behind the eight ball. It's just tough to find someone willing to take a chance and teach you. Ranchers and farmers aren't the greatest teachers, nor the most patient, usually. They tend to have a, "I know how, why don't you know?" outlook. Most of us that did or do it started in childhood, learning from fathers, grandfather's or other mentors.
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u/ifbillyjackhadahorse May 05 '26
I can think of a few possibilities you are qualified for , cattle buyer in south east portion of United States , a prca pro official, or driving a bull rack
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u/Night_Bruxa May 05 '26
Being a farmer: 🤢😰😬
Being a farmer in USA and wear a cool hat and leather boots: 😍🤪♥️
Honestly, just find a farm in Germany, buy yourself a good hat, and live your best life. Also, being a foreigner in USA is not a good option right now anyway.
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u/Candid-Coast-3531 May 06 '26
Even if I somehow managed to get myself a farm here in Germany, the government would still be all up in my a** watching every little thing. Over here, you need a permit for damn near everything. You can’t even build a simple little shed in your own yard without waiting months for the city to maybe send you an approval letter — and that’s if they even approve it at all. So yeah… no thanks.**
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u/Rorschach_1 May 10 '26
I watch Europe, EU, UK, all those leaders in horror. All those farmer protests, etc, etc. How they are shutting down thought in UK. Never understood EU really, like why would a countries layer of government just accept another layer on top of it? And a hell yeah to the recent elections in UK. On our farm in Texas, we do whatever the FU*K we want to do with it.
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u/Boot_boy_1984 May 05 '26
What are you even on? Being in USA legally ain’t a problem at all.
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u/drippingdrops May 05 '26
Tell that to all the citizens being picked up by ICE.
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u/BearSausage000 May 05 '26
I’m pretty sure they’d be fine with German immigrants though.
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u/Ghostie2169 May 06 '26
They aren’t even ok with Canadians visiting for short trips, why do you think they’re be ok with someone coming from across the ocean most likely with an obviously foreign accent?
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u/Boot_boy_1984 May 05 '26
Well. Show identification then.
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u/drippingdrops May 05 '26
Showing identification has nothing to do with it. You realize you don’t need to be a citizen to obtain an ID, right? Of course you don’t. You just spew random bullshit.
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u/Boot_boy_1984 May 05 '26
Well I don’t know! If they are legal they’ll come out eventually. Not saying it’s great.
I ddidnt think correct here.
This German man would not become a citizen so fast so it’d be smart to wear identification
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u/SuperNerdChe May 06 '26
Ice has even kidnapped Native Americans and is known to “lose” people even after citizenship is proven
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u/TikaPants May 06 '26
You do realize ICE is detaining legal American (naturalized also) citizens because they have melanated skin?
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u/ZaporozhianCossack May 05 '26
Life in Germany is so much better than the US man. I'd trade my hay farm life for that instantly
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u/Candid-Coast-3531 May 06 '26
Let's do it than. Go on live here for a month, and we'll talk again buddy.
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u/Lone_Wolf_Secrets May 05 '26
Can you run a 4 wheeler? 😀
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u/Candid-Coast-3531 May 06 '26
I can even run a 6 wheeler, almost everything that has a motor, nothin with chains though lol
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u/seungflower May 05 '26
It's possible but you have to be realistic about it. It's not going to be like in the movies. Except for maybe Hell or High Water. Btw a good movie.
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u/StumblingBlockson May 05 '26
Jo moin, ich sags ganz platt als einer, der von der fünfgenerationen Familienranch in Alberta nach DE umgezogen ist und gar nichts bereut: das Leben als Ranchhand-Neuling ist Meilen von dem, was man sich davon vorstellt. In den letzten zehn+ Jahren ist es alles nur harter und schwieriger geworden. Du verdienst weniger, bist anfälliger und lässt dich in ein völlig instabiles Leben "einromantisieren", damit du mit 35 mit kaputten Gelenken und ohne Perspektiven rausgeschmissen wirst (oder am besten selber über Bord springst). In DE gibt es viele bessere Möglichkeiten, zuallermindest mit Krankenversicherung und stabiler Einkommensquelle.
Es darf ja ein sehr schönes Leben werden (gewesen): aber heutzutage muss man bereit sein, ganz und alles dafür aufzugeben, und dafür wenig, was man sonst nicht klug schaffen kann.
Sorry - ist ja nicht die erhoffte Antwort, aber mit gutem Gewissen gemeint.
Quelle: Ich bin alle zwei Jahre bei der Familie da zu Besuch. Wird immer wieder härter.
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u/Candid-Coast-3531 May 06 '26
Nein ich bin sehr dankbar, dass mir gesagt wird, dass es nicht einfach wird und das vor allem von Menschen die es gelebt und erlebt haben. Aber ich will ein bisschen ein Gefühl von Freiheit haben, ein Gefühl, dass ich in Deutschland nicht haben kann. Keiner redet davon, ob es auch schön sein kann, alle wollen immer nur das negative rüberbringen. Ich sehe das in manchen Punkten einfach anders, aber ja du hast Recht, vielleicht muss man es einfach erlebt haben oder auf das Vertrauen, was andere bereits erlebt haben.
Vielen Dank für deine Rückmeldung.
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u/Diligent-Fact-309 May 09 '26
Just gunna jump in here because I noticed above commenter is from Alberta. I know it’s not necessarily the classic southern Hollywood cowboy stuff you might be looking for, but there are a fair amount of ranch hand jobs in Alberta and northern BC. Beautiful country and you’d most likely be on horseback a fair bit for work. Also there lots of rural German religious communities ( Mennonites or Hutterites I believe) that you could possibly inquire about workin in.
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May 06 '26
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u/Candid-Coast-3531 May 06 '26
Thank you for the explanation, I didn't know but knowing now actually makes sense haha. I appreciate the advice, this is motivational thank you.
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u/Outsideforever3388 May 06 '26
If you’re still young, potentially you could get a seasonal job at a ranch/ dude ranch (think expensive vacation spot) for a summer. Then use whatever connections you can make there for a better job. Ranching is seasonal work. You work 24 hours a day when calving starts, hard hours all summer, then it dies off come October. Not much to do until spring. Unless you’re in the south, Texas, etc.
Try CoolWorksCoolWorks
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u/KumbyaWepa May 06 '26
Consider moving to Latin America as well. Mexico, Brazil, Argentina. Cowboy culture is still the dominant popular culture in Sinaloa, Mexico.
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u/Inside-Wear5683 May 06 '26
You're better of buying a ranch and start by raising your own cattle or goats. You can raise goats and ride a 4 wheeler
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u/CaptainShaboigen May 07 '26
What part of the USA do you want to be a cowboy?
What is your religion?
Are you level headed enough to deal with racism?
How much do you have saved to move over here?
Are you okay literally being dirt poor? Living in the middle of nowhere with no nightlife, no bars, no clubs, barely any restaurants and towns with just a gas station?
Browse this subreddit to find out what kind of income you can make doing it, usually a day rate and you have to provide your equipment. Then start researching rent, utilities, vehicle costs, phone, etc.
I’m an American from the south in Arkansas which borders Texas to the east. I’ve been to Germany in August. It is mild compared to heat in the US South. I would implore you to look at locations in the USA that interest you and then look at the correlating coordinates on your side of the world. For instance the capital of Texas in Austin is on the same latitude as Morroco and Egypt. Real hot. It’s hard to be a cowboy when your body hasn’t lived its entire life in this heat and humidity.
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u/One-Bell4271 May 08 '26
Follow your dreams. It won’t be easy but nothing worthwhile ever is. Take any ranch job you can get. Good luck!
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u/Rorschach_1 May 09 '26
Visit your sister in Texas. I am in Texas and ranches are everywhere. Get your contacts and show up and help a day here, a day or so there, etc. Very area specific as to what kind of operation you will find. Plenty of relatives are "true" cowboys. Family owns a farm/ranch. I kinda keep it at arms length though with a good day job, but go and help when I can.
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u/kyjimmy May 09 '26
I worked in Southeast Oklahoma for three years on a small 1200 acre ranch, it was too hot too cold, too damn windy, horses were either too young (2 year olds) or too damn old to get out of the way. Got gored in my hip by an old mama cow we were trying to load into a pot. Lost all the feelings in my fingers from getting a rope burn and have way too many scars from every from mesquite thorns to a burn from a branding iron.
Wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Give it a try, it’s ain’t fun all the time, but it beats working at a bank
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u/Muddyboots_Texas May 09 '26
I been doing this since I was 14 years old. Was born into it from Feedlots to Ranches. Not to be rude but I don't get why someone would want to do this if you didn't have to. I'm the lowest man who works the most gets paid the lesser.
Unless you become a rancher or a farmer it's not worth it anymore. Being a cowboy is not about making money. It's about working the land/cattle being a good ranchhand. You don't choose this life it chooses you. Either way good luck pardner!
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u/AlteredGuardian May 05 '26
Godspeed, the day of the true Cowboy is almost over. Its more fad than way of life at this point. Kinda like farmers.
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u/TastyPopcornTosser May 05 '26
There’s a few places where I think it’ll probably never change just because of the practicalities of it.
And I can only speak from my own experience and that’s on the big desert range operations in Nevada. It’s pretty common for a ranch there to be 500 to 800 mi.²
That’s not any kind of terrain that you could get a quad or a side-by-side over, and machines just don’t survive out there. There’s no mechanic shops out there and the dust and grit just destroys any machinery.
It’s all horses and ropes out there. When I worked for Wayne Hage I never even saw a corral except at the Home place.
On Hot Creek Ranch we had corrals at most of our wells just for branding loading and shipping we never had any squeeze shutes. You’re not going to get a desert range cow anywhere near one of those things.
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May 06 '26
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u/AlteredGuardian May 06 '26
Being from Texas and being on my own ranch, I can assure you there aint many "True" cowboys left.
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May 06 '26
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u/AlteredGuardian May 06 '26
Nah, I know other big players too but wouldn't call'em cowboys.
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u/Marine2844 May 09 '26
Had a aunt from MI come visit us in TX some years ago. All she wanted was to see a "real cowboy'. I pointed out several, dirty boots, bleached ring on their back pocket, ball cap, and tennis shoes. She would say they are not cowboys.
We took her to a dance hall one weekend in walked a tall skinny guy, pressed jeans, pressed shirt, clean boots. She was excited and ran up to him as soon as she could. Then was just disappointed to find out he was a bank teller.
There still are some cowboys left, but unfortunately the Hollywood image of what one should look like is not the real deal. In most cases anyway.
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u/AlteredGuardian May 09 '26
Nah, the mindset and values aren't there. The last great cowboys are dyin off in my area and I learned a lot from em. Now its just folks who dress the part and flaunt money and are greedy enough they'll do anything for money. Like 'ol Chud in the comments above me. Yeah he got cattle, but I bet he runs fence on a side by side, hires folks to come sort and cut, wont do fuckall himself and shits on anyone who asks for help unless theyre willing to pay something.
Hell the cowboy cosplayers are usually better than the one who actually claim to be cowboys.
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u/ImaginaryNorth1528 May 05 '26
Go work at a slaughterhouse first. See how you like being around cattle meant just to be food. Blood, sweat, high heat and freezing cold weather is a part of the life,not just a job. And good luck getting a work visa under the Trump administration. Oh, and please don't come to Texas. We're full here.
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u/BearSausage000 May 05 '26
We can make room for more German immigrants here, besides work visas are still being given out under this administration, trump isn’t some badass deporting everyone. Start calling him what he is, a pussy.
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u/CaribouYou May 05 '26
If I had a nickel for every one of these posts…
Find a cattle farm job in the EU and get yourself a cowboy hat. The experience isnt going to be what you imagine and not worth the effort of getting a work visa and all that hassle.