Ropin’ and Ridin’…and Drones and GPS—All a Part of the Modern Saddlebuster
Is there anything more iconic in the American mythos than the cowboy…the archetype of the rugged individualist, the strong and silent type that settled the west and made us a nation. It’s the thing of history, though, isn’t it? Does anybody still saddle a horse, wrangle cattle and spend days on a cattle drive? Well, sort of…
The Origin of the Cowboy
The first real cowboys emerged in the first half of the 19th century, when the railroads almost all led to Kansas. Cattle ranchers needed to get their animals to the railroads, often across hundreds of miles of open range. Cowboys moved the cattle where they needed to go, but also protected the herds from rustlers. A 19th century cowboy needed to be skilled with a horse and a lariat, but also with a gun. The job demanded a hardboiled and gritty individual who could survive in extremely harsh conditions.
Cowboys in the 21st Century
Though much has changed in the last 150-200 years, one thing hasn’t—the need to get large numbers of cattle to market at the same time. For that reason, though cattle drives are far less common than they were in the 1800s, they are still the most economical way to move large numbers of animals, whether from summer pasture to winter pasture, for branding or inoculation, or to market.
The modern cowboy still uses many of the tools of the Old West, and will still typically be easily identifiable by their boots and hats. Many still ride (and prefer) a horse, though pickup trucks have also become commonplace in cattle drives and on cattle ranches. A good cowboy will still covet a good saddle, carry a lariat and sport chaps and spurs, but most will also rely on modern technology, including:
- GPS devices, typically attached to the collar or ear of a cow, giving the cowboy real-time access to the location of entire herds or specific animals
- Geofencing, where ranchers can create a virtual, invisible boundary and be notified immediately if cattle roam outside the perimeter
- Cellphones and two-way radios to communicate over hundreds or thousands of acres of pasture
- Livestock management software that helps cowboys monitor herd health, grazing, breeding and pasture use
- Drones to track livestock, survey land, assess pasture conditions and go places horses and trucks may not be able to
- Automated procedures, including shearing machines and manure collection systems
