Day Trash Co-op

Day working cowboys - - Day Trash Co-op

The history of the ranch cowboy dates back to the 16^th century.

Spanish settlers brought cattle to Texas in the 1700’s.

Bringing with them the need for someone to ride the range, check and doctor the cattle, feed the cattle, insure watering for the cattle, and control of the cattle.

That someone – the Cowboy.

The Mexican vaqueros, skilled in herding and managing cattle, played a crucial role in shaping the cowboy culture.

The “Golden Age of the Cowboy” occurred from the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s, during which time cattle drives were a significant part of Texas’ economy, and the feeding of a growing nation.

A day working cowboy, often referred to as “Day Trash”, are those modern cowboys who work on a day-to-day basis, taking on various tasks across different ranches.

They tend to the cattle – feed, water, doctor, sort, and haul.

They are there for the late nights and the early mornings, especially during calving season.

They shoe horses and change tractor tires.

They mend fences and cut hay.

They take their coffee strong & hot.

They like their beer iced down in a cooler covered with back road dust on the flatbed of a truck.

They complain that it is hotter than Hades, colder than a witch in Montana, wind that will blow your whiskers off, stuffier than what will let you breathe.

They bundle up against the cold winters and have been known to take a dunk in the local watering tank on a hot summer day.

They will sit around a campfire telling tall tales, out-telling one another, no matter the weather.

Children look up to them.

Women are guarded and protected by them.

Men are honored to be included in their gatherings.

They face challenges such as the changing of the markets, and the misconceptions about their work – all to stand firm and strong in the heritage of the American Cowboy.

They eat, breathe, sleep and live, to ranch, to be a Cowboy.

This is the life of a Cowboy Family.