# Hay Western People!



## Avna (Jul 11, 2015)

You can do anything you feel like. But if you want to be authentic, you need a horse, and some cows.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

I never understood the "cowgirl" thing. I was born in Arizona, surrounded by all things western, but I did grow up in the city so maybe that's why I don't fit the mold. I like rock and alternative music, hate country, don't wear western clothes (unless you count jeans and a hat with a brim) and don't even own a pair of boots except for rubber muckers! 

It seems like most of my friends went through a western phase though as teens. I don't know if they outgrew it or not as I moved away and don't keep in contact. But it is very normal for everyone and their brother to dress western all around town and no one thinks anything of it. They even play country music at fast food places here (ugh!). People wear their boots and spurs to Walmart. I didn't see that very often in the city. 

The only thing western about me is my tack. And the places I ride. And sometimes the breeds of horses I have to choose from (although right now I have Missouri Fox Trotters). So yeah, you could fit right in rural Arizona! What state do you live in?

Oh, I see you are in PA. Do they dress western out there? If you can sort of fit in, then I say "go for it!" If not, then you might look kind of odd compared to everyone else. But I've never been to PA, so I don't know.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

I'm a city kid who came west 36 or 37 years ago. You can do it.

Your taste in music doesn't interfere with a love of country and animals. Many of the people I work with like Alternative, Classic Rock, Blues, we occasionally attend web casts of Operas from the NY Metropolitan theatre, in addition to liking country.

If you are still in school, do as well as you can. All learning is useful in ranching and farming. Also, keep yourself healthy.


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## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

I don't think you can be a cowgirl in PA. (@trailhorserider : She'd be less conspicuous as an Amish than as a cowgirl in full uniform.) It's easy to "dress up", but if you are not living with people who live the culture, it'll always be like going to a costume party. What you could try is to find a farm that offers a summer experience for people your age in a region where that culture is prevalent, something that involves work immersion rather than a Dude Range kind of arrangement, because you probably want to keep costs low. There is "just dressing up like a cowgirl", and there is "owning a pair of jeans with sweat stains from bareback riding all summer"...

Once you danced the two-step with your summer fling, consider yourself a cowgirl. Once you had your first barrel racing lesson, you're as good as the genuine article. The best thing: it won't matter what you wear. It's about the life experiences, not a selection of clothes and songs to listen to. It's about the soul, not projecting an image. It's the difference between "looking like", "acting like", and "being".


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

Life is not some reality game.
You can be what you want to be,but boots and hat or music aren't what it takes
Those are just props, and won't make things any more real, then pretending you are a princess by wearing a crown


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

I giggled when I read your post. You can be anything you want to be. I wouldn't listen to country music unless you like it though! The music doesn't define you. Neither do the clothes. If you like it, wear it!

As for the farm life, my suggestion is look around to see if you can find a 4-h club locally. I think that is the easiest and cheapest way to get yourself introduced to that sort of life, that way you can see if it's what you really want. But honestly, if you are dreaming it... You probably would be perfectly happy living it...


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## Reiningcatsanddogs (Oct 9, 2014)

As for listening to or even liking country music...you can only eat what is on the menu. When you live in the rural areas, there is a very short menu or at least there used to be.

Near the cities, you can choose your radio station; rap, classical, classic rock, top forty...when I was growing up, all we had was AM radio, that was all that came in (we didn't have cable television either). There were no I-pods or MP3 players. If you wanted "other" non-country music, you had to go to the store and buy a record or a cassette tape, not one song, the whole album and that got expensive. 

I now have very eclectic music tastes which includes a category that old time country music people don't like...modern country. Some of it sounds like a mix between rock and country. It is actually has become my favorite. It has an eclectic feel to it, with electric guitars but, a country feel; some artists more than others. (Sam Hunt is almost rap-like at times). Modern country might be a good way to transition your tastes. 

Long and short: Living in the country is a lifestyle dictated by necessity. 

I drive a truck because daily I need to haul everything from horses to hay to fence posts and an economy car just doesn't cut it. My truck has mud on it from crossing the creek to feed the horses and usually is full of horse tack, hay scraps and tools. One of the horses ripped up the driver's seat when I left the door open...going for the salt on the leather is my guess. The truck is a mess and hardly glamourous.

I wear boots because they are comfortable and provide protection from the misplaced hoof or venomous snakes (I have paddock/work boots, riding boots and "stepping out" boots). They aren't always a fashion statement. My everyday boots look like crap but, boy are they comfy! I wear boots almost all of the time because I am most comfortable in them. 

I own and wear cut off jean shorts because my jeans actually get holes in them (naturally, rather than buying them like that), and eventually cutting off the holes in the knees and making shorts out of my favorite pairs just makes financial sense. I wear a hat and sunscreen because I don't want to look like a raisin by the time I am fifty.

I am a country girl with three years of summers in a formal etiquette school (think... how to walk, how to eat, how to carry on a "proper" conversation in high brow company), a prep school and fancy college education; I can fit in at a Washington DC political soiree or a pasture party complete with kegs, bonfires, dirt under fingernails and calloused hands. The most valuable thing I gained in life was common sense.

IME the "country" people are more willing to forgive some of my idiosyncrasies like not having a southern accent than the "city" folk are willing to forgive my occasional use of the term "y'all". 

Life's experiences will dictate who and what you become and you always just need to do what works for you; no matter what be yourself and know your real self. 

You want to get into being country? That is where you start. Be who you are, not trying to squeeze into a pre-contrived box of clothing or music or anything else. Being "country" is a state of mind; a state of common sense wisdom and living/knowing your real self. Do that and it won't matter what you wear.


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## horseylover1_1 (Feb 13, 2008)

I think so!

I grew up in Southern Indiana just north of Louisville, KY. We have a mixed bag of city people and "country people." Ever since I was little I have loved the idea of cowgirl lifestyle, wished I lived in Wyoming, etc. I technically grew up in the suburbs though.

As an adult I have realized it wasn't a stage. I truly believe I am a cowgirl at heart. I don't feel at all strange in a cowgirl hat with boots and jeans. My entire house is decorated in country themed stuff like stars, barn doors, etc.

Everyone has something they love and relate to. Just like some people say they love New York, Paris, the beach, etc. A lot of times it deviates from where the person grew up. I have a family member that LOVES the beach, says it talks to her soul, and she grew up in the landlocked Midwest. Usually what limits someone is their financial circumstances. Most people cannot afford to pick up and move to where they ideally want to. Mine would be a 1000 acre ranch in Montana.


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## KLJcowgirl (Oct 13, 2015)

You don't need to change anything about you to live the "Western" lifestyle I think, but like mmshiro said, it's the *experiences*. I'm not going to add much to their post, as I think they nailed it. I also really like everything Reining wrote.

I will address the music though. There is no reason to change that either. If you want to move on to country music, that's perfectly fine, but you don't HAVE to. Generally people in the west or rural areas don't really get a choice, the radio stations think that's all you'd want to listen to, so it's the only thing on haha. I actually moved away from country music when I started High School (2008 ish) as I was kind of frustrated with the direction it was going. I now listen to a menagerie of just about every genre, my go to being Hard Rock/Metal or 90's/early 2000's country haha. I know a number of horse people/cowboys and cowgirls who don't listen to country music and it's ok. 

And it's ok to not look the part too, like stated above. I wear my big belt buckle and boots almost daily because I like them and I don't usually look too out of place (it's not the norm here, but not uncommon). But I also have side shaved hair and like to dress up in my high heels and skinny jeans. I don't usually wear a cowboy hat unless I'm showing, as I feel I look silly in them otherwise.

Side note, don't know how much this has to do with your post, but feel like it fits in somehow. It used to drive me CRAZY when people called me a Cowgirl. I showed horses, I didn't have cows or rodeo so it didn't make sense to me to be called that. I don't know what got me over it (probably because Farm-girl or Horse-girl didn't really have a great ring to them) but as you can see.... I'm fine with it now.

Another side note @Reiningcatsanddogs I'm pretty jealous your jeans wear out at the knee and you can cut them off for shorts. My rips usually happen in the butt/upper thigh region haha. No way I'm cutting them off there!

If you want to make all these changes though, Go for it!


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

...On the music subject....

I'm an Army Brat. From 7th-9th grade we were stationed in Germany. I was flipping through the stations one day trying to find... get this... Michael Jackson! And I ran across a country song... It was Alabama and they were singing "If you're going to play in Texas... You gotta have a fiddle in the band...." Well, I had spent 4 years in TX, I think that was by far one of my favorite places to live. I was homesick and I was in a foreign country and that song tugged at my heart strings. I left the radio on that station and fell in love with country music. I never changed the station after that. The music feels like home to me.


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## jgnmoose (May 27, 2015)

You can be whatever you want is the theme of this thread. 

You sound really young, have you considered getting a job on a dude ranch or something after high school? If you want the full experience I'd recommend that for at least a year. You'll have more chops than your average person in a hat and boots for sure. 

I should say that there is a difference between "horseman/woman" and "cowboy/girl". In the strictest meaning Cowboy is a job, thats all it means. A horseman is someone who is basically a student of the horse and riding. 

Hats and boots, starched jeans. Those things mean almost nothing here in Texas because in parts of the state that is how most people dress. Remember what I said earlier, these terms are a verb and not a noun. It is what you do, not what you call yourself. 

Music means nothing and modern country music is pretty horrible. Personally I listen to classic rock, Texas country also called Red Dirt Country and some blues.

Well, here is a radio station that will make it easier
http://www.959theranch.com/


If you are really interested I say go for it. Those good paying office jobs are terribly boring anyway. Good luck!


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

Smilie said:


> Life is not some reality game.
> You can be what you want to be,but boots and hat or music aren't what it takes
> Those are just props, and won't make things any more real, then pretending you are a princess by wearing a crown


That's why in Texas, we say someone is all hat and no cattle. LOL Means you're all for show, not a lot of substance there. 

DERAILMENT. (I apologize in advance)

I write as a hobby too (many different genres, both speculative and non-speculative - I have for 16 years), and I have a character from Baytown, Texas who's moved to western Maine. He was a 'cowboy' of sorts when he moved, but not into rodeo or any of that. He has a horse, he wears boots, jeans, a ball cap, sometimes a cowboy hat. He sticks out like a sore thumb, except for his Carhartt. He's also a firefighter (Bear with me, I promise, I'm going somewhere with this). 

Another writer poo pooed him as a weekend warrior, she writes a barrel racer (college years and now is a deputy) from Texas (We write an online series of creepy Haunted Texas stuff/Horror genre, along with a few other people). She herself (the writer) has zero contact with folks that work rodeos, run rodeos, compete in rodeos, or do any old school ranch work, own cattle and/or horses, etc. She's spent very limited time in Oklahoma and Texas, and is from Pennsylvania and now lives there. She seems to think being authentic is all about cheap, tacky, Chinese made saddles with pink and black zebra stripes and lots of bling on the tack and name brand cool wear clothing, flashy boots, bragging about her boobs, owning Ford King Ranch 3/4 ton truck and a brand new four horse slant with living quarters... and being too good to ride an awesome mule. (I've yet to figure out how a deputy in a small Texas county can afford all that, but whatever.)

My guy has a canvas top goose neck stock trailer that's seen better days, an older dodge truck with a forever warranty, worn out tack he spends his weekends cleaning and piddling around with, a used Ammerman roping saddle (NO idea where I got that concept... looks at my own saddle) and he loves John Wayne. His horse is older, about 18 now, but he prefers Cisco's company to most people these days. 

One of my long time writing partners from the UK was scratching her head: I don't see how he's a 'weekend warrior' vs. the other writer's rodeo queen being authentic. She said: To me, his overall personality, who he is, how he acts, how he thinks, what he does, is much more 'cowboy', far more 'real' than than the fictional barrel racer. Its not the 'stuff', its who he is at his core.

That's a lot said, but my point is: Its not about what you wear, how you dress, or what you listen to. Some of our best friends wear spurs every single day, everywhere, and they love AC/DC, Pitbull, you name it. They wear Nikes and shorts when they aren't in boots, and they eat as much salad and fruit as they do steaks. 

But they have calluses. They have a certain type of swagger and ballsy courage you can't define, but hearkens back to Charlton Heston and John Wayne, to the golden era of westerns. They're physically tough - the men AND the women, and won't hesitate to wade off into someone and not back down if the need is there. They tip their hats in respect, open the doors for other people, say yes sir, yes ma'me, but they won't shy away from calling you a dumb a-- if you deserve it.

Once you find the heart of a cowboy in you, the rest will follow. Doesn't matter where you live either. Try it in the reverse, donning the clothes, the hat, the tack, the music, and you'll be recognized immediately as a poseur.  

:cowboy:

On a much less serious note, OP, I love this post. LOL 

May you find your inner cowboy!


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## Smilie (Oct 4, 2010)

I think Marty Robbins has a good song along that line,cowboy 'in a Continental suit


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

Also: Music recommendation -

Guy Clark. 

https://www.youtube.com/embed/cHrBNv_ASjg


His name isn't well known but he is one of the great songwriters of the country genre. His song _The Guitar _gives me chills and its of the same 'family' of haunting ballads as _The Ride_ by Waylon Jennings, _Midnight in Montgomery_ by Alan Jackson, _The Highwayman_ (Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, and others), _Seven Spanish Angels_ (Willie, Waylon, Ray Charles, and others), or _Pancho and Lefty _(Willie). 

And now I shall listen to Charlie Pride's_ Is Anybody going to San Antone_... just because of all the music talk in this thread. :music019:


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## AtokaGhosthorse (Oct 17, 2016)

KLJcowgirl said:


> Side note, don't know how much this has to do with your post, but feel like it fits in somehow. It used to drive me CRAZY when people called me a Cowgirl. I showed horses, I didn't have cows or rodeo so it didn't make sense to me to be called that. I don't know what got me over it (probably because Farm-girl or Horse-girl didn't really have a great ring to them) but as you can see.... I'm fine with it now.


I think it's that indefinable 'something' that's been explained here, and the only word for it in the English language is: Cowboy/girl and all their equivalents. Cows ain't got nuthin' to do with it...


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

AtokaGhosthorse said:


> I think it's that indefinable 'something' that's been explained here, and the only word for it in the English language is: Cowboy/girl and all their equivalents. Cows ain't got nuthin' to do with it...


Cows have much to do with it in cattle country. I am amused by the "all hat and no cattle crowd."

More than a little irritated, too, when I do my taxes. Before dressing western became a fashion fad, those of us in ranching were able to write off some of the expense of our functional clothing and gear.


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