High Desert Grit: Life of a Buckaroo

[Pull quote forward]

[INTRO MUSIC]

Howdy y’all, Chip Schweiger, here. Welcome to another edition of Way Out West.

The podcast that takes you on a journey through the stories of the American West, brings you the very best cowboy wisdom, and celebrates the cowboys and cowgirls who are feeding a nation. 

Out in the Great Basin…
The land stretches so far, it swallows up sound.
You ride a full day and never cross a fence.
Just you, your horse, and that dry wind through the sagebrush.

This is the world of the high desert cowboy.
Tough, quiet, and proud.
The kind of folks who don’t say much—
But when they do, you’d better listen.

So today on the show, we’re takin’ a ride through one of the most rugged ranching cultures in the American West.
The buckaroos of the Great Basin.

After the episode, check out the show notes at WayOutWestPod.com/buckaroo

[MUSIC]

Howdy and welcome back. 

This week, I’m excited. I have long been a fan of the iconic group of cowboys of the great basin. Call them buckaroos, or flat brims, they are iconic members of the cowboy class. So today we’ll take about the history of the great basin, how they became such incredible horseman, and a few things that you may not know. So, let’s get started. 

Chapter 1: Welcome to the Sagebrush Sea

Let’s start with the land.

The Great Basin covers parts of Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Utah—
Even edges of California.
It’s high, dry, and tough.
Water don’t run to the sea out here—it sinks into the dirt.
That’s why they call it a “basin.”

Out here, everything is big.
Big country. Big skies.
And big distances between people.

Chapter 2. Buckaroos: Cowboys of the High Desert

Now, the cowboys who work this land?
They’re called buckaroos.
That name comes from the old vaquero tradition.
Spanish and Mexican horsemen who were masters of cattle and reins.

Over time, “vaquero” turned into “buckaroo.”
But the traditions stuck around.

You’ll spot a buckaroo by the gear:
Flat-brimmed hats with a low crown.
Wild rags tied high at the neck.
Chinks with fringe that blows in the wind.
Tapaderos on the stirrups to keep brush and snakes away.

And if you’re interested in learning more about wild rags, I wrote a blog article about ‘em, and I’ll put a link to that in the show notes and you can check it out after we get done here.

Ok, let’s talk about horse gear.
Spade bits. Romal reins. Rawhide reatas.
All made for finesse, not brute force.
This isn’t rodeo-style bronc riding.
It’s about feel, timing, and patience.

Ranching in this country is no small job.

You’ve got cattle scattered across thousands of acres.
Some ranches run cattle on public land—grazing leases with the BLM.
Others ride out from cow camps,
Living in wall tents for weeks at a time,
With a string of horses and just the basics.

No cell service.
No truck nearby.
Just you, the horses, and maybe a couple other hands.

The work is quiet.
And that silence? It changes you.

You learn to read signs—
Tracks in the dirt.
A flick of an ear from your horse.
Storm clouds on the edge of the mountains.

You might ride 50 miles in a day—
Just to find a stray cow.
And when you rope her,
It’s not a show—it’s a necessity.

Buckaroo horsemanship is a tradition all its own.

They start their colts in a hackamore,
Move ‘em up to a two-rein setup,
And eventually into a spade bit.

That final bridle horse—
It’s like dancing with a partner who knows your every move.
It takes years to get there.
Years of quiet rides, soft hands, and a whole lot of patience.

These horses aren’t just tools.
They’re partners.
And every cowboy out here’s got a “string”—
Five or six horses, sometimes more—
Each one suited for a different kind of day.

Chapter 3: Texas Cowboys vs. Buckaroos

You know, I’ve spent a lot of time around Texas cowboys, around cowpunchers.
And I’ve got a world of respect for the way they work—
Quick with a rope, fast on their feet, always ready to get the job done.

But buckaroos… they’ve got their own kind of grace.

They come out of the vaquero tradition,
And everything about how they work cattle reflects that.
From the gear they use—
to the horses they ride—
to the pace they keep.

Texas cowboys tend to ride with a dally—hard and fast
Buckaroos use a slick horn, where you can run the rope and manage pressure.
It takes a whole different kind of feel.

Where the Texas style is built for brush and short grass,
The buckaroo way is made for wide-open country—
Long days, big circles, and cattle scattered across hundreds of square miles.

Their horsemanship runs deep.

Which is why I’ve got nothing but admiration for the patience and finesse it takes to be a true buckaroo.
They may not talk much,
But when they do…
It’s worth listenin’.

Let’s take a quite break and when we come back I’ll talk more about the buckaroos of the great basin. Be right back

[MUSIC]

Hey, if you’re enjoying this episode, I’ve got something you’re going to love. "This Week in the West" is a weekly podcast created by my friends at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma.

On the next episode of the "This Week in the West", learn the story of acclaimed Western artist J.K. Ralston, who grew up on a ranch in Montana. 

Ralston worked as a real cowboy until one day he hopped on to a cattle car bound for Chicago. Once it stopped, he got out and enrolled at the city's Art Institute. The rest is history.

New episodes drop every Monday. 

You can find it at nationalcowboymuseum.org or on your favorite podcast app. You’ll be glad you did.

[MUSIC]

Welcome back. 

Chapter 4: Land That Fights Back

Now, the Great Basin might be wide open…
But it’s not easy.

Water is scarce.
Grass is thin.
And winters? Brutal.
Snow deep enough to bury a fence line.

And then there’s fire.
Lightning strikes, and before you know it—
You’re gathering cattle in a sea of smoke.

Predators, too—
Coyotes, lions, and more recently… wolves.

This isn’t hobby ranching.
It’s life or death—for the stock, and sometimes for the cowboys too.

Chapter 5 Cowboy Poetry: The Soul of the Desert

And you know…
For all the silence and solitude out here,
The Great Basin has given rise to one of the most expressive cowboy traditions out there—Cowboy poetry.

It’s not just rhymes about ropin’ and ridin’.
It’s storytelling.
It’s memory.
It’s the voice of folks who’ve worked the land,
Felt the sting of a cold morning in the saddle,
And watched the sun drop behind a rimrock ridge with nothing but their horse for company.

Places like Elko, Nevada—
Home to the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering—
Keep that tradition alive.
Every year, working cowboys, ranch women, and storytellers gather
To share poems about dust, loss, laughter, and the kind of beauty
You can only find where the road ends and the range begins.

In a way, it’s the soul of the buckaroo—Put into words. 

Just wrote a blog article about it too, so check out the show notes for a link on that.

Chapter 6: Crossroads of Cultures: Basque Sheepherders

Now here’s something a lot of folks don’t know—
The Great Basin isn’t just home to cowboys.
It’s also home to a whole other kind of range-rider: the Basque sheepherder.

Starting in the late 1800s,
Basque immigrants—mostly from the mountains of Spain and France—
Came to Nevada, Idaho, and Oregon to herd sheep.
They lived out on the range too,
In sheepwagons or little rock huts,
With their dogs, horses, and thousands of wooly head to watch over.

And while there was plenty of rivalry between cowboys and sheepherders—
Especially over grazing rights—
There was also a kind of mutual respect.

Both groups learned to survive in this tough country.
Both knew how to read weather, terrain, and animals.
And now and then, you’ll meet a cowboy who picked up a few Basque words,
Or a Basque sheepherder who learned to throw a loop.

It’s part of what makes the Great Basin so unique—
A crossroads of cultures and traditions,
All shaped by the same unforgiving land.

Chapter 7: Final Thoughts from the Trail

But still…
They ride.

Because it’s not just about cattle or sheep
It’s about a way of life.
A culture that runs deep.
Handed down from vaqueros to buckaroos,
From one generation to the next.

Outfits like the TS, the ZX, and the Spanish Ranch—
They’ve been here over a hundred years.
And the folks riding for those brands?
They carry the weight of that history.

Even in the modern day—
With side-by-sides and GPS tags—
There’s still a place for a slick-fork saddle
And a rawhide bosal.

Young cowboys are keepin’ the tradition alive.
Some even seek it out—
Trading city lights for sagebrush and spurs.

Because out here,
Your word matters.
Your work speaks louder than talk.
And a man—or woman—earns their place in the crew.

Out here in the high desert,
The land doesn’t care who you are.
It’ll teach you real fast
What it means to be capable…
And what it means to be quiet.

[Soft music returns – thoughtful, open chords]

If you ever find yourself in Northern Nevada or Eastern Oregon,
Keep your eyes open.
You might see a lone rider out on the horizon—
Dust rising behind a calm, collected horse.
Moving cattle slow and steady,
Like it’s been done for generations.

That’s the buckaroo.
And he’s still out there.

[Music swells slightly]

Chapter 8: Buster the Bull and Cowboy Glossary Term of the Week

Ok, we’re almost done for this week, but before we go, we’ve got one more thing

[BULL SOUND]

Yep, that distinctive call from Buster the Bull means it’s time for the cowboy glossary term of the week. 

And this week’s term is "Bosal"

A bosal is a type of noseband used on the classic hackamore of the vaquero tradition. It is usually made of braided rawhide and is fitted to the horse in a manner that allows it to rest quietly until the rider uses the reins to give a signal. 

Though seen a lot in Texas where I live, it’s most closely associated with the "California" style of western riding. 

Bosals come in varying diameters and weights, allowing a more skilled horse to "graduate" into ever lighter equipment. Once a young horse is solidly trained with a bosal, a bit is added and the horse is gradually shifted from the hackamore to a bit.

Small bosals are called bosalito, although you may also hear it referred to as pencil bosal.

[OUTRO MUSIC]

That does it for this week’s episode. Thanks for riding along with me on this episode Way Out West.

If you enjoyed the journey,
Leave a review,
Tell a friend,
Or better yet—go find some big country of your own.

We’ll see ya down the road.