The Cowboy’s Rope

Cowboys then and now considered roping as the feature that separated real cowhands from gunsels. Even today a cowboy won’t stay with an outfit long if it doesn’t provide him an opportunity to use their ropes. At one time or another each cow a loop tossed around their neck and their hind legs “heeled” and drug to a branding fire. A rope enabled a 150-lb man to throw a thousand-pound cow. The length of a rope varied. The Spanish and later Mexican vaqueros preferred to use a braided r