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Night barely turns to day when Neil Heard loads his horses and cattle dogs in Sarco.
Sleep deprived, the 26-year-old cowboy rounds his herd – a task he could do in his sleep.
Heard learned to ride a horse before he could drive a car.
He studied farrier technology at Sul Ross State University in Alpine. He’s what some call a one-stop shop – a prepared hand who also knows how to haul, pen, sort and vaccinate.
But his passion, cowboying, no longer makes financial sense.
Rising fuel costs coupled with the expense of feed for his horses and cattle dogs forced Heard to take a second job in April.
“Everything is up,” Heard said. “This day and age you can’t hardly afford to do it. It’s not like the old days.”
The $175 day rate he earned barely covers his overhead: truck and trailer wear and tear, fuel and feed, he said.
Now, he works four 10-hour shifts performing maintenance for the South Texas Electric Co-op.
On his days off he still works from daybreak to dark as an independent cowboy.
“I wish I could do it every day,” he said.
But his family’s needs come first. His new job offers health insurance.
Leaving his passion behind also has its perks. Heard once saw little of his wife, Lauren, and young daughter, 3-year-old Makenzie. Now he’s home to tuck his daughter in for bed.
“The future of a day work cowboy is going to be real hard to make a decent living the way the economy is going,” he said.
Heard, like many U.S. families, is balancing two jobs and making ends meet.
“Hell, we’re in Texas,” he said. “The legacy of a cowboy is never going to die.”
Dogging – Letting your cow dogs bay the cows.
Baying – Dogs bark at cows to keep them in place.
Heading & Heeling – Roping particular part of cow.
Mugging/ bulldogging – Grab steer by horns or turn its head until the cow falls town.
Cull – Take anything out to sort by class and uniformity.
Maverick – Wild cattle that haven't been branded and never been gathered.
Cattleman – Calls the shots,, shapes his herd the way he wants it, the manager.
Cowboy –The man who can make it happen, the hand.
Gunsel – A person with limited knowledge of livestock and cowboy ways. Usually used as a derogatory term.
Cow-puncher – Also called buckaroo, cow poke, waddie, cowboy, and in Spanish a vaquero. Terms for cowboy vary with the region.
Compiled from www.cowboyshowcase.com and local sources.