Are you a city slicker who calls all cattle cows? Do you know the difference between a Beefalo and a buffalo? How come we say “Got Milk?” of some breeds and “It’s What’s for Dinner” about others? Post staff writer Leslie Lyon rustles up some tips to help you wrangle stock-show lingo like an old hand.
At the National Western, it’s all about the lifestyle built around ranching and raising livestock. Let’s presume all of us – even greenhorns – know what a cow, calf and bull are, but there are still some big questions that come up about the cowboy life.
What’s a steer? And what about a heifer, gelding or ox?
A steer is is a male calf that has been castrated, usually in the first few days after birth. A bull is, well, not. A heifer is a young cow – that means female – that hasn’t yet borne a calf. A gelding is an entirely different beast: a castrated horse. And the term “ox” can apply to any bovine – cattle, bison, even yaks – that have been castrated.
And by the way, what is a greenhorn?
The word’s original usage was to describe any young animal with immature, or “green,” horns. Today, you might hear it used to describe an inexperienced person, especially someone who is easily deceived.
Why do we say “Got milk?” of some breeds and “It’s what’s for dinner” about others?
Even greenhorns should know the first advertising slogan refers to dairy breeds, say, the black-and-white Holsteins, the second to beef breeds, say, the scrappy Texas Longhorns. But dairy cows aren’t shown at the stock show anymore, National Western spokeswoman Kati Anderson says. “In the past we’ve done milking demonstrations, but we don’t even do those now. The stock show’s main purpose is to create a Western beef market.”
What’s the difference between a Beefalo and buffalo?
“A Beefalo is a cross between beef cattle and bison,” Anderson says. And, for the record, no buffalo are involved. “The actual name is American bison. The term ‘buffalo’ is more like slang and actually comes from another animal, water buffalo, which bison is not.”
Why do cattle always face in the same direction?
Hey, these are no dumb animals. “They keep their backs to wind,” Anderson says. And yes, there is a lead or “alpha” cow that the others follow.
What about that song from the musical “Oklahoma!”: “The farmer and the cowman should be friends” – is there really a rivalry between the two?
“The relationship between farmers and ranchers is kind of a Catch-22,” Anderson says. “Farmers raise crops that cows eat. What they’re charging for their crops comes from ranchers’ pockets. A lot of cowmen have gone to raising their own crops for that reason.”
Yaks on the National Western roster? Yikes! The shaggy beasts hardly fit the image of the Wild West.
“The West changes every day,” Anderson observes. “As the number of people in the agricultural industry declines, we’re forced to diversify. From yaks you get fiber and meat, and they can be used as pack animals.”
Also gaining in popularity among Colorado ranchers are llamas, another fiber-producing pack animal, because it doesn’t take much space to raise them.
January seems like pretty much the worst month of the year to do almost anything except ski. Why do ranchers hold the stock show this month?
It may be a lousy time of the year for the rest of us, but according to Julie Moore, director of consumer affairs for the Colorado Beef Council, this is a pretty good month for cattle ranchers.
That’s why the stock show is a January mainstay: “Because it’s before calving and after the holidays, so it’s good timing for people to get away from the ranch.” Calving can take place anytime from January to April, depending on the breed and location, Moore says. In the Colorado mountains, most calves are born in March and April; on the Eastern Plains, it’s usually in February.
Why the heck does the posh Brown Palace Hotel display the grand champion steer in its lobby before the animal is sold at auction? This longstanding tradition drives some city slickers crazy.
It all got started back in 1945 when Colorado rancher and former Gov. Dan Thornton sold two prize Hereford bulls. Life magazine wanted to take a photo of him and the bulls, so he suggested the Brown Palace for the shoot. The rest is 60 years of history. This year, the Junior Livestock Show Grand Champion Steer will be displayed from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan 20, in the hotel atrium.
“It is sort of the bull in the china shop,” says Deborah Dix, the hotel’s spokeswoman. “It’s held during afternoon tea at the hotel, so patrons are in on the action.”
Unfortunate incidents are handled by an “official pooper scooper, somebody from our staff who’s on deck and ready to go when needed,” she says.
This is a pampered animal worth more than $100,000 – last year’s champ brought $110,000 at the sale – and it will not want for creature comforts. It will stand on carpet remnants from one of the guest rooms and if it so desires, it will sip water from one of the hotel’s fine silver punch bowls. The hotel flower shop always creates a garland to go around the beast’s neck, although “sometimes they’re persnickety and won’t wear it,” Dix says.
Reading all this gets a city slickers to wonderin’ just how many cattle are out there, anyway?
Check bovinebazaar.com to see the dozens of breeds out there, from the Angus to the Zebu, a good number of which will be shown at the National Western. As for the U.S. bovine population as a whole, beef.org estimates as of last January there were about 95.8 million, compared with about 296 million people. For practical purposes, that’s about a third of an animal for each of us.
You can call them dinner if you want, just don’t call them all cows.
Why do cowboy boot heels come in different shapes?
Different heels for different tasks. The slanted, high-heeled style is called a riding heel. “They’re taller, because you don’t want your foot to slip through the stirrup,” Anderson says. “But the roper, with a low flat, heel, is more comfortable to walk in.”
Neither is more Western, it just comes down to wearer preference.
“We don’t sell a whole lot of that flat, roper style,” says Yvette Painter, assistant manager of the Sheplers store in Greenwood Village. (No snickering! It used to be rural and home to the largest 4-H Club in Colorado). “Everything has a higher heel now, even for real cowboys. Everybody’s really into the pointy, vintage big heel that’s fancy, more classy.”
There are as many styles of boots as cars, and they all have their fans, says Steve Weil, a third-generation Western wear designer at Rockmount Western Wear. “Buckaroos in the Northwest wear a different style from those in Texas. My advice is to go with the classic: the semi-pointed toe with a standard-shaped heel, about 2 inches high.”
What is the ideal hat?
“Every (cowboy) has a different answer,” says Weil, whose now 104-year-old grandfather started Rockmount in 1946. “My favorite quote about hats is, ‘Never wear a hat that has more character than you have.’ ”
There are a few seasonal guidelines to follow – felt for winter, straw for summer or fashion. After that, the shape of your hat depends on the shape of your face. At Shepler’s, a fitter steams the brim to create a flattering shape. Personal preference determines whether the brim is up or down and how wide it is, and how the crown is shaped, Painter says.
Accessorizing doesn’t stop with the hat, and lately even the most rural cowboys and girls are dipping into the bling. “On the belts, ladies’ boots, jeans, there is lots of bling, like rhinestones,” Painter says. “Matching belts, shirts and boots have lots of bling.”
Rockmount, a longtime Denver clothier credited with creating Western shirts with snaps instead of buttons, today carries 100 styles, from the conservative to the wildly flamboyant.
What about that other classic cowboy accessory, the spur?
Weil has a favorite quote for that, too: “No self-respecting cowboy wears spurs off a horse. You’ll never see them wearing them around town. (Spurs) are a tool only used while riding or for hanging on the wall.”
They’re very collectible, he says, much like old cattle brands.
