What is a ramrod on a cattle drive

A remuda is a herd of horses that ranch hands select their mounts from. The word is of Spanish derivation, for 'remount' i.e. "change of horses" and is commonly used in the American West.

The person in charge of the remuda is generally known as a wrangler. He provided spare horses during roundup, when cowboys changed mounts 3-4 times a day.[1]

West of the Mississippi River, ranches are larger in acreage than are the farms to the east. Historically, cattle grazed, mostly unattended, on the open range before being rounded up and driven to market.

In present times in early summer, cattle are released onto U.S. Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management lands, where the rancher pays the U.S. government for a lease, often of multiple sections of land. Most public land is still open range, unfenced or minimally fenced. Cattle are still rounded up and brought in off the range in the late summer and fall, with breeding stock sorted and moved to winter pasture, and animals for sale selected for shipping to feedlots.

In both historical and modern times, the necessity of rounding up cattle from the open range is a job primarily performed by a cowboy mounted on a horse. Historically, the long-distance cattle drives required cattle to first be gathered, then herded over long distances, often requiring several weeks of travel, covering up to 30 miles (48 km) in a day to bring herds of cattle several hundred miles to a railhead for sale and shipping. Today, though cattle are usually rounded up and herded only as far as a decent road where they can be loaded onto livestock trailers or semi-trailers. The terrain as well as unpredictable behavior of cattle render motorized vehicles virtually useless for rounding up and herding. Thus, in modern times, the use of horses remains essential.

During roundups and for moving cattle, several horses are required for each cowboy. During a roundup in modern times, a cowboy may need to switch horses two or three times each day to rest each horse for use on subsequent days and avoid injury to horse and rider that may result from a fall or misstep by a fatigued animal. During the historic cattle drive era, each cowboy required about six horses on a cattle drive, switching the animals daily or even twice daily. Thus, the spare horses must be kept close to the cattle herd and moved along with the cattle so as to be available to riders as needed. The horses graze whenever possible along the way and at night to obtain adequate forage. The herd of spare horses was given the name remuda. The remuda would be kept separately from the cattle herd for a number of reasons. It was more convenient to the riders not to have to sort horses out of a much larger herd of cattle. It was also safer for the animals; the cattle would not be unduly disturbed by the antics of quick-moving horses and riders moving through the herd, and the horses were at less risk of injury from conflicts with cattle, particularly breeds such as the Texas longhorn noted for their substantial horns.

In modern times, the remuda may be housed in corrals at the trailhead or gathering site, though historically, and in remote areas in modern times where there are few or no corrals, the herd would be kept loose on the range, under the charge of people called wranglers, whose exclusive job was to manage the horse herd.

Although many modern horses are now trained to accept being caught and haltered by a rider on foot without attempting to run away, the same was not true of the often partly trained, semi-feral horses used in the Old West, who could only be easily caught with a lasso. Obtaining these horses each morning required a special system. When corrals were available, the remuda would be run into an enclosed area where the horses could be caught. On the open range, a temporary corral could be created by pounding stakes into the ground in a large circle with a rope attached around the stakes to form a makeshift barrier. The horses had been trained sufficiently to accept even the minimal confinement of a rope corral and not test the fence. However, in some places, the wranglers simply kept the horses gathered in a tight group, often by providing fodder.

  1. ^ Haley, J. Evetts (1929). The XIT Ranch of Texas: And the Early Days of the Llano Estacado. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 153. ISBN 0806114282.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Remuda&oldid=1104187418"

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1. A harshly demanding overseer; a disciplinarian.

What is a ramrod in cowboy terms?

ramrodnoun. Ranch or trail foreman, usually the first or second person in charge. The person responsible for getting the work done.

Where does the term ramrod straight come from?

The prim and proper meaning actually came into use first, around the turn of the twentieth century. The use of ramrod straight to mean something physically rigid came into use in the 1930s. A ramrod is a long, straight metal bar that is shoved down the muzzle of a gun in order to pack in the charge.

What is a ramrod on a trail drive?

Ramrod - 1. A rod used to ram the charge into a muzzle-loading or cap-and-ball firearm. 2. A ranch or trail foreman; the person in charge of making sure the work gets done.

What is ramrod military?

A ramrod is a metal device used with early firearms to push the projectile up against the propellant (mainly gunpowder). ... It is also commonly referred to as a "scouring stick". The ramrod was used with muzzle-loading weapons such as muskets and cannons, and was usually held in a notch underneath the barrel.

36 related questions found

The ramrod was used with weapons such as muskets and cannons and was usually held in a notch underneath the barrel. ... The user pulled a lever underneath the barrel of the pistol, which pushed a rammer into the aligned chamber. Naval artillery began as muzzle-loading cannon and these too required ramming.

ascetic. (also ascetical), monastic, monkish.

The point man, also called the point rider or lead rider, is the cowboy who rides near the front of the herd—determining the direction, controlling the speed, and giving the cattle something to follow. Larger herds sometimes necessitate the use of two point men.

Every herd has a leader and a pecking order. Understanding the herd hierarchy is critical in cattle management. ... When the dominant cows are done eating they will move off so those lower in the pecking-order can eat.

A cattle drive is the process of moving a herd of cattle from one place to another, usually moved and herded by cowboys on horses.

: in a very straight and stiff way —used especially to describe the way someone stands or sits He sat in the saddle, ramrod straight.

to burn slowly with smoke but without flames: a smouldering fire. smouldering embers. The fire was started by a smouldering cigarette.

honest, direct, frank, candid, truthful, sincere, forthright, straightforward, plain-spoken, plain-speaking, plain, blunt, downright, outspoken, straight from the shoulder, no-nonsense, unequivocal, unambiguous, unqualified, unvarnished.

ranahan (n.)

A complimentary term for a top hand or experienced cowboy. Sometimes shortened to "ranny."

: one who drives cattle or sheep.

To help with these duties, the trail boss usually had a ramrod, or assistant. A good camp cook was also a necessity. The cook usually traveled ahead of the herd and had meals prepared when the outfit caught up. The cook was in charge of a chuckwagon loaded with food.

Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group (herd), maintaining the group, and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. ... Herding can be performed by people or trained animals such as herding dogs that control the movement of livestock under the direction of a person.

Cows have a Pecking order: Cows have a walking order that is slightly different to their milking order. After entering the milking yard cows need time to rearrange themselves before they enter the milking bails.

The word "head" is used by farmers when they count the number of cattle that they own. A farmer might say "My land runs 5,000 head of cattle" though the term "one head of cattle" is not usually used.

COWGIRL: We prefer the term female cowboy and the term cowboy, as used in this site, refers to both genders. ... COW-PUNCHER: Also called Buckaroo, Cow Poke, Waddie, Cowboy, and in Spanish a "Vaquero". Terms for cowboy vary with the region. The term cow puncher or "puncher" is more commonly used in the southwest.

Also known as buckaroos, cowpunchers, horse wranglers, and cowhands, the cowboy name is inspired by the old term “cowpoke”.

The classic image of a posse is from the Old West, of a group of armed cowboys on horses, in pursuit of an outlaw. Originally the term was posse comitatus, Latin meaning the force of the country.

The hole in the knob end of the starter is placed over the end of the ramrod when seating bullets. This feature offers protection to the hand and is particularly helpful when a number of shots are being fired or when a tight fitting ball or bullet is difficult to seat. No. 34007054 For use with .

A bullet starter is another important item. This is an instrument used to press the bullet into the muzzle. The “short starter” is used to force the bullet the first one fourth inch. Then, the “long starter” gets it further down the muzzle.

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