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Ranch Culture
- Thread starter Coyote Shadow Tracker
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Hey Len,
I knew about the purple paint from living in Texas ("no trespassing") but hadn't heard the boot story.
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Excerpt from article:
Whether in the city or the countryside, customs vary between subcultures, and one culture that's still alive and well is cowboy culture on ranches.
If you're unfamiliar with ranch culture, you may encounter some practices that are new to you, like seeing a boot on a fence.
According to Texas-based radio station 100.9 "The Eagle", some common reasons a farmer, or a rancher, would put a boot on a fence post are:
I knew about the purple paint from living in Texas ("no trespassing") but hadn't heard the boot story.
--
Excerpt from article:
Whether in the city or the countryside, customs vary between subcultures, and one culture that's still alive and well is cowboy culture on ranches.
If you're unfamiliar with ranch culture, you may encounter some practices that are new to you, like seeing a boot on a fence.
According to Texas-based radio station 100.9 "The Eagle", some common reasons a farmer, or a rancher, would put a boot on a fence post are:
- A rancher is honoring their deceased horse. When a cowboy has a strong bond with his horse, it may become his daily workhorse. When a horse like this is sold or dies, a cowboy will hang a pair of his boots on the fence to symbolize respect for the animal.
- Another rancher has passed away. When a comrade passes away, a cowboy may hang a boot on a fence post as a memorial.
- The boots have worn out and represent hard work. Because a rancher grows attached to his boots and wears them daily, it's a tradition to hang them on a fence whenever they have worn out. This represents the hard work the boots made possible.
- The rancher is home. This older tradition was to hang boots up to let others know the rancher was home, before telephones and electricity made it easier to contact them.
- When someone paints a porch ceiling blue, it may be a southern tradition. Often referred to as "haint blue," this superstitious tradition is meant to keep away evil spirits. It's also thought to scare off mosquitos.
- If you see a painted purple fence, it means you're about to trespass. The purple paint serves as a "No Trespassing" sign with staying power. Because signs often get lost, damaged or stolen, purple paint is a more permanent warning to people about not entering private property.
- An iron horseshoe above a door is meant to bring luck. The lucky-horseshoe bit stems back to Irish folklore, according to Wide Open Country, but has since become synonymous with western cowboy culture. Yet again, its backstory involves warding off evil and, perhaps, the devil himself.
