Free Cowboy Dictionary - Letter B - useful words of the cowboy lifestyle - definitions, terminology, slang, jargon, word origins

Cowboy Bob's Dictionary

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Balance rider - Cowboy who rides a bucking bronc solely by balancing himself in the saddle.

Balk - 1. To refuse to do something or to be stubborn. 2. The ridge formed between furrows when plowing.

Ball of Mud - Planet Earth. (A bronc rider describing a ride gone wrong: "I went up so high that the blue birds had time to build in my pocket before I had time to hit this ball of mud....")

Bamboozle - To cheat or confuse.

Bangtail - A mustang or racehorse, named for having its tail cut short -- like bangs in a haircut. Also called a Bobtail.

Barbed Wire - Strong wire with barbs at regular intervals, used for livestock fencing.

Barbiquejo - (Pronounced "bar-bee-KAY-hoe") A cord for holding a hat on one's head. Also called a Stampede String.

Bareback rigging - A stripped-down saddle consisting mainly of a hand-hold and the cinch to hold it in place.

Barefoot - An unshod horse.

Barn Sour - A horse with an obsessive desire for the security of a barn or stable.

Barrel Racing - A competition in which a mounted rider runs a cloverleaf pattern around barrels.

Bars - 1. The parts of the saddle tree that rest along the sides of the horse's spine. 2. The long gap between the incisor teeth and the molars; the upper part of the gums where no teeth are located and where the bit is placed.

Basto - A Latin American name for a saddle pad. [Pronounced "BAH-stow."] See also "Sudadero"

Bat - A wide, flat leather horse swatter used primarily in gaming classes. Originally a Saxon word meaning to hit or strike. Although intended to encourage the horse to run faster, it usually has the opposite effect, due to changing the horse's focus toward the rear rather than ahead. An English riding crop is also sometimes referred to as a bat.

Bat wings - Chaps with wide side flaps.

Batch - (Abbreviated form of "Bachelor.") To live a bachelor's existence, as in a line shack, doing one's own cooking, sewing, laundry, etc.

Bay - A brown or reddish horse with black mane and tail.

Bayo Blanco - A light dun horse.

Bayo Coyote - A buckskin dun with a brown or black dorsal stripe.

Bedbug - A bug that infests especially beds and feeds on human blood.

Bear Sign - Doughnuts.

Bedding Down - 1. Getting a herd settled down for the night. 2. Successfully hog-tying an calf.

Beefalo - A cross between a cow and a buffalo. See also"Cattalo."

Beeves - Plural of beef; cattle.

Bell Cow - A cow -- usually equipped with a large bell on a collar, which the herd willingly follows. See also "Madrina"

Bell Mare - In horses, a lead mare, which the herd willingly follows. See also "Madrina"

Belly-cheater - A cook.

Bicycling - Spurring a bronc's sides first with one foot and then with the other.

Biddy Bridle - A bridle with "blinders."

Big Auger - See Top-screw.

Big Fifty - A .50 caliber Sharps rifle used by professionals for buffalo hunting. It was 16 pounds unloaded, with three-quarter inch, 120-grain black powder cartridges loaded for differing ranges.

Billet - 1. A heavy leather strap that secures the girth on the off side of the saddle. 2. Sleeping quarters, such as a bunkhouse, barracks, or dormitory.

Bison - A large, shaggy-haired brown "bovine" of the North American plains characterized by a hump, large head, and short horns. Also called "buffalo."

Bit - 1. A mouthpiece by which a rider conveys instructions to the horse. Held in place by the bridle, it is usually made of metal but may be made of rubber or other man-made material. 2. One-eighth of a dollar; a quarter equals two bits. (Derived from the Spanish "pieces of eight" -- silver coins worth eight reales and that were designed to be broken into eight pieces or "bits.")

Bite the Bullet - To endure a painful situation by extreme personal endurance. In the days before anaesthetics an individual undergoing an operation was sometimes given a bullet to bite on.

Bite the Dust - To hit the ground; especially after being thrown from a horse.

Blab-board - A weaning device which attaches to a calf's nose and prevents it from nursing but allows it to graze. Also called a Butterboard Weaner.

Black Blizzard - A dust storm.

Blackjack - 1. A variety of scrub oak. 2. A card game also known as "21."

Blaze - 1. A broad, white marking covering most of the front of a horse's head. 2. To indicate a trail by marking trees or leaving other signs for others to follow.

Blinder - A leather attachment on the side of the halter that prevents a horse from seeing things on either side. Also called a Blinker.

Blinker - 1. A leather attachment on the side of the halter that prevents a horse from seeing things on either side. Also called a Blinder. 2. Put blinders on (a horse)

BLM - Acronym for the United States Bureau of Land Management.

Blocker Loop - A lasso toss that catches a cow around the shoulders.

Blowfly - See"Screwworm"

Blowing a stirrup - To lose a stirrup.

Blue Norther - See "Norther."

Blue Roan - A horse having a black base coat intermingled with white hairs and a black mane, tail, head, and legs. So named because the black hair often appears to have a blueish cast, especially in sunlight.

Bob - 1. A distinctive notch cut in a cow's ear for identification. 2. To move up and down repeatedly. 3. An incredibly wise and knowledgable Minnesota cowboy with the last name of "Lemen." ;o)

Bob-wire - A common Western mispronunciation of "Barbed Wire."

Bobtail - (See Bangtail).

Bobtail Watch - The first herd watch of the night during a trail drive.

Bodacious - Unrestrained, incorrigible, brazen, bold, aggressive. Derived from Boudica, a British tribal queen and woman warrior who led her people in a bold rebellion against the Romans. A tall, husky-voiced redhead, she came close to driving the Romans out of Britain, but was defeated about AD 60-61 and poisoned herself to avoid being taken prisoner. The name "Boudica" originally meant "victory."

Bog Rider - A cowhand who patrols marshland in order to pull out cattle that have gotten bogged down in the swamp.

Boot Hill - A cemetery, especially one reserved for those who died with their boots on.

Bootjack - A device with a V-shaped notch to aid in pulling off boots. The bootjack is especially useful at times when the wearer has difficulty bending over, such as when wearing stiff or heavy clothing.

Bootstrap - 1. A strap that is looped and sewn to the top of a boot for greater ease in pulling it on. 2. To help oneself by extreme individual effort, often through improvised means; as in the seemingly impossible scenario of a person "pulling himself up by his bootstraps."

Border Ruffians - Kansas pro-slavery thugs.

Bosal - A sidepull noseband hackamore, usually made of braided rawhide.

Bosal Brand - A brand burned on the nose. From the Spanish word "bozal," meaning the muzzle or nose.

Boston Dollar - A penny.

Boston Men - Merchants from the American East coast. Beginning in the early 1790s, trading vessels from the port of Boston traveled up and down the North American West coast. In time, these voyages became so common that nearly all Pacific coast Anglo traders were dubbed "Boston Men" by the natives.

Bottom - In an equine context, "bottom" refers to a horse's innate stamina, natural strength, or staying power; as in "a horse with speed and bottom."

Bovine - (Noun) a member of the cow family; (adjective) relating to cattle; (adverb) behaving in a similar manner to cattle.

Bows - See Saddle Bows.

Brace - Two items of the same or similar type considered as a unit, such as a brace of dueling pistols.

Brand - Distinctive design burned into an animal's hide to show ownership.

Brand-blotcher, Brand-burner - A rustler.

Branded for the eternal range - Dead.

Branding iron - A long handled tool used for burning a distinctive owner's mark on livestock.

Breakaway Roping - A calf roping competition in which the rope is tied to the saddle horn by a string and breaks away, instead of stopping the calf.

Breast Strap - Tack used to prevent a saddle sliding back.

Breeching - 1. A strap arrangement fitting over an animal's hind quarters to keep a saddle from slipping forward. (Also called "Britchin.") 2. A permanent identification mark made horizontally across both sides of a cow's rump (in the same place as the leather strap on the horse in the photo).

Bridle - Tack for a horse's head, including the headstall, bit and reins.

Brindle - Having a gray or brown streak or pattern or a patchy coloring.

Broomtail - A range or scrub horse of doubtful value. See also Bangtail.

Bronco - A horse that is not broken to ride and bucks whenever anyone attempts to ride him.

Brown gargle - Coffee.

Brush popper - A cowhand who rides into thick brush to find cattle.

Buck - 1. A quick vertical jump of a horse, bull, or other riding stock, usually with the back arched and coming down with the front legs stiff. 2. A male deer -- by extension, a male of any species.

Buck Off - To fall off a violently pitching animal. In rodeo competition, when a bronc rider loses his balance during a ride and falls to the ground before the eight-second whistle blows he is said to have been "bucked off."

Buckaroo - Anglicized version of "vaquero;" a cowboy, especially one from California.

Buckboard - A horse-drawn four wheel carriage with a springy, flat-bottomed frame that rests directly on the axletrees rather on a spring suspension. Because of the lack of wagon springs, the benches are usually mounted on springs attached to the carriage frame. Also called a Jolt Buggy or a Jolt Wagon.

Buckle, Blevins - An extremely dangerous and frequently difficult to adjust stirrup buckle, often mistakenly touted as a "quick-release" buckle. Comprised of two interlocking metal slides, if the parts of a Blevins Buckle are loose enough to adjust easily, the buckle tends to fall apart when in use, leaving the rider without a stirrup. If, on the other hand, the buckle parts bind enough to stay together, the buckle often becomes difficult or impossible to adjust, many times leaving the rider with no choice but to ride with improperly adjusted stirrups.

Buckle, Double Tongue Roller - A time-honored method of adjusting the length of a stirrup. As the name implies, the Double Tongue Roller Buckle has an extra tongue for extra security as well as reducing strain on the stirrup holes, and a roller to reduce wear and to allow freer movement of the buckle against the leather.

Buckle, Trophy - A type of decorative buckle given for top placement in a rodeo or other equine competition.

Buckskin - 1. Horse of a light yellowish dun color with dark mane and tail. 2. A soft yellowish suede leather, originally from deerskin.

Buffalo - 1. noun: A North American Bison. (See Bison.) 2. verb: to intimidate or overly impress someone, just as a buffalo intimidates by its size and brute strength.

Buffalo chips - Dried buffalo or livestock manure used for fuel.

Buffalo Soldiers - Black soldiers of the U.S. army who served on the frontier in the years following the Civil War. The term was derived from the men's curly hair, which the Indians thought resembled the fur of the buffalo.

Buffalo Wallow - A depression where buffalo rolled in the dust. (See Wallow.)

Build a loop - To shake out a coiled lasso in preparation for roping.

Bull - A male "bovine."

Bull Moose - See Top-screw.

Bull Nurse - A cowboy, especially one tough enough to tend to the medical needs of a bull.

Bull Rope - A bull rider's cinch, usually equipped with a couple of large bells to encourage the bull to buck more. Also called a "Cinch Rope."

Bulldogging - (Also called Steer Wrestling.) A rodeo event in which the contestant attempts to throw a steer by seizing the horns and twisting the neck. Called bulldogging because in the early days of rodeo the cowboy would stop the steer by biting the animal's lip in the same way that a bulldog would stop a bull.

Bull Fighter - A rodeo clown whose job is to draw the bull's attention and line of travel away from a fallen or dismounted rider. It is arguably one of the world's most dangerous professions.

Bull Riding - A rodeo contest in which the competitor attempts to ride a bucking bull for a certain length of time, usually eight seconds.

Bullwhip - A whip usually consisting of a long tapered flexible length of braided leather attached to a stiff handle; used for driving livestock. When given a sharp snapping action, the tip of the whip can exceed 760 mph, producing a small sonic boom. Whips were thus the first man-made implements to break the sound barrier. Also called a stock whip.

Bunchgrass - The general name for various hardy forage grasses which grow in tufts.

Bunkhouse - A dormitory for housing a ranch's hired hands.

Burro - A donkey used as a pack animal.

Buscadero - A style of gun belt, developed in the early 1900s, consisting of a curved belt with one or two slotted side panels, with a holster suspended from the slot. (From a Spanish word meaning "seeker" or "searcher" -- usually applied to lawmen.)

Bushwhack - A cowardly attack, usually from ambush or behind the victim's back.

Butte - Flat topped hill with steep sides. See also: Mesa.

Butterboard Weaner - See Blab-board.

Buzzard Bait - An emaciated horse.