The chance to live the Western life is a dream for many Americans. Many of us grew up on Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and the Cartwrights on Bonanza. But the life of a movie or TV cowboy is very different from the real thing. Texas is synonymous with ranches and cowboys. Renting a Texas ranch is a good way to see what ranch life is really like. There are a few disadvantages though. For one the place isn’t yours and things break on a daily basis, important things. Water pumps stop and livestock has to drink . Hay can go bad, and they love to eat. Fences break down or curious thousand pound animals go through them and the wire has to be re-strung, now not later. Cosmetics are secondary to items that pump water, generate electricity, hold gates up and keep water tanks from freezing in winter. Animals depend on your work,time and money. .
If you ever watched TV cowboys, they always wore the clothes. This was for character development in the story. On a ranch you tend to wear the same stuff because it works. Worn out, ratty barn jackets and baseball caps are the uniform for rich ranchers and their poorer cousins. But here fashion is what works, keeps you warm and wears like the iron in those horse shoes the farrier just charged 100 for just when the cable bill arrived. Yes there are disadvantages to renting a Texas ranch, but they are secondary to the whole experience that few are allowed to share in the great American West.
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