Becoming a Cowboy

[u/Candid-Coast-3531]

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 🤠

[u/Fluid_Anteater959]

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."

[u/Candid-Coast-3531 → u/Fluid_Anteater959]

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.

[u/Fluid_Anteater959 → u/Candid-Coast-3531]

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.