Now that we have determined the definition of "cowboy" ...

Question

what would you consider the definition of a wrangler to be ?

(excluding the jeans lol!)

Answer 1

Where I live, near the Great Basin, a wrangler/cowboy is called a buckaroo, of the "vaquero tradition".  Some of the hardest working people on the planet, in the ugliest weather, -30+ and over 100+ in the summer.  The weather around here isn't for sissies.  These folks do grunt work for sure, riding fence, branding, moving pairs from winter to summer pasture, sorting, breaking out colts, (no the folks at the ZX Ranch and the JSpear don't treat their colts badly), irrigating, repairing flood gates,  haying, feeding cattle in the winter in the -30+ plus weather, helping to pull calves in the winter and getting those babies and mamas to warmer quarters so the little newborns don't freeze to the ground.....

One Webster definition of wrangler cross referenced it to cowboy.  

Another definition stated that a wrangler, "wrangled horses"...so, pick your definition.  I see it both ways.  Since the skilled cowboy could also "wrangle" horses and is highly skilled with a rope....the word "wrangler" was a corruption of the Spanish word caverango meaning a hostler. The day wrangler was a "jingler" and the "night hawk" was the night herder.

The wrangler's job was the most menial position in cow work.  He had to help the cook gather wood and "hook up" his teams of horses.  His most important job was to "loose herd" the remuda while searching for fresh grass.   Many of the top riders serve their apprenticeship as a wrangler.

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So much for the western history lesson....According to the ads "real cowboys" wear Wranglers.....And, Wrangler "you know whats" drive some folks nuts.

And for all cowboys, wranglers and buckaroos, it "ain't about the hat and boots"....And it's not "all hat and no cattle"......

Answer 2

Put very simply, I always kind of considered a cowboy to be one that works on a ranch that raises cattle.  And a wrangler to be one that works on a ranch with horses, kind of like BB said.

Answer 3

after reading the first line i was goin to say jeans lol

a wrangler i think as a rancher  

Answer 4

"you is what you is."

i think that cattle farmers, cowboys, and anyone who is in that way of life doesnt wake up in the morning and say: "I'm a cowboy baby" lol, i read the question and i still can decided what i think of as a cowboy other then they know what they're doing better then anyone else.

oh btw to answer this question: havent thought bout the differences of cowboys enough to give an educated guess on what the difference is between the two.

Answer 5

Well in all the ranches I have worked at(including mine) a wrangler is in charge of the ranches horses, anything from shoeing to vet stuff, to breaking horses.

Answer 6

ill wait to see everyone Else's answer before i put my answer in.good question!

in western terms there are degrees that are earned thru hard work,believe me they are not given lightly and there are no written tests for it,they are given thru your peers and are never asked for.there are no pieces of paper,no ribbons and nothing to prove that you are what you say you are except for references from previous ranchers employment.now that i have that out of the way, a wrangler is someone who "rides for the brand"or in other terms works for a specific ranch and holds a contract for working there.they mostly work with the horses and are considered just above a ranch hand.when you start on a ranch you start literally at the bottom.

the term "wrangler" actually was short for the term horse wrangler and is a misinterpritation of the spanish"caballerango" or "horse groom"

Answer 7

Hey - share that definition of "cowboy" - let's see if I agree.

To me, a cowboy is a man that's (obviously) involved in some general aspect of western culture that revolves around horses.  A real cowboy exemplifies eithcal traits such as honesty, trustworthiness, respectability, good moral standards a lower desire for self gratification than that desire to help others help themselves.

With that said, the wrangler to me is a person who may or may not be a cowboy, that is involved in the responsibility of maintaining animals for the contractual use of another business - a wrangler is a person who owns horses, keeps them and "rents' them out to a dude ranch or another organization for a use or purpose.  There are many wranglers out west who own lots of horses and take them to different dude ranches for people who visit the ranches to ride.  Additionally, in Hollywood, there are wranglers who keep and train horses for use in the movies.  A much different thing from a cowboy although a cowboy can be a wrangler, if a person is a wrangler it doesn't mean they are a cowboy.

How'z this compare to the other answers?

Answer 8

Shame on Bobbi you s*x maniac!  Well, I have to admit that the jeans are nice.......anyway, I love these questions because I think there's a lot of confusion about all of this and it's good to "talk" it all out.  Most of what I think comes from a lifetime of trying to figure it out myself.

My first movie star love was John Wayne.  When I was a kid, westerns dominated the television and movie industry....and it had a huge impact on us as kids.  We played cowboys and indians, had rubber-tipped arrows and bows, and cap guns for the buckaroos.  I don't know how old I was before I found out that the cowboys and indians weren't somewhere out west fighting for the territory any more.  And there were no more wagon trains heading out west. It's different now....my grandsons would barely know what a cowboy is if it depended on tv images.  A friend of ours from Texas who rodeo'ed for ten years is now an over-the-road trucker, so he visits whenever he is in the area.  My grandsons look at him as a hero....a "real" cowboy....accent and all!

They hang on his stories of bull riding and and when he's around, they dress cowboy....just like he does.

So, what is actually a real cowboy? Wrangler, to me, has to do with wrestling cattle to the ground and that sort of thing.  I guess if you do that in rodeos, you should get some credit for being a wrangler....even if not a full fledged cowboy???  Maybe there are lots of categories under the major heading of cowboy...rodeo wrangler, rodeo cowboy, versus real cowboy and real wrangler?? I don't know, but I do know that my grandsons will have a lot better idea of what all this means because we are "talking about it here...and that's what really matters to me.

So, is Buffy the one with the correct definition of a wrangler?

Or john r?  Bobbi?  Black Bunny?

Answer 9

My interpretation...

A livestock herder, but mainly of saddle horses.  The one responsible for the care and maintenance of the herd.  

Could be gathering and saddling, for 'dude' ranches.  

Or the one responsible for all the above when it comes to livestock when used in movies.

Answer 10

A specialized cowboy. Much like a cowboy who is a rodeo cowboy(with many sub categories). A wrangler is a cowboy who specializes in horses and is an artist with a rope.

Answer 11

The word itself comes from a German word meaning wrestler.  It could apply to just about anything from debating, to ring wrestling to horse/cattle wrestler.  Usually, a horse wrangler is a person who is paid to wrestle/wrangle horses, the ones that haven't been roped or haltered or ridden or used in any way.  I don't care what anyone says or thinks, I secretly think it comes from the horseman that wear those tight, good fitting wranglers .