What a cowboy dad really wants.
Barbequing supplies and gift cards to Home Depot often top gift guides for the average American dad, but these items don’t usually work for cowboys. Most cowboy dads would not only need a map to get around inside Home Depot but driving directions to get to the store as well. Unless it’s located on the way to a farrier supply store or a saddle shop. They can find those shops within three minutes of arriving in a town they’ve never been to before.
So, what does a cowboy dad really want besides a little bit of time and a lot of understanding? Here are a few gift ideas when shopping for that special cowboy dad in your life
A New Headstall
Cowboys always need or want a new headstall. This is mainly because they continually acquire new bits that thus need headstalls. Reins will be added, and the newly formed bridle will be used and moved to the tack room. It will then be assigned a permanent spot in the lineup of snaffles, correction bits and spades. Anyone who moves it from this place shall be promptly punished, primarily with dirty looks and scoffs of indignation from the cowboy.
His Other Spur
Gloves, boots, spurs and other items that come in pairs used to be easy to keep track of, but then the kids were born. It seems my husband is always interrogating the rest of the family with, “Where’s my spur? Has anyone seen my can of chew? Did someone take that pack of gloves I left sitting on the table? If you were my last shred of sanity, where would you be?”
Hint: It’s not under his recliner. I already checked. However, I did find his other spur, so I was then accused of placing it there in the first place. I should have just grabbed the first spur, wrapped both of them up, and put them in a gift bag.
Grain Buckets
These handy plastic pails are often quietly swiped from the feed room and repurposed as Viking helmets, plastic Army men forts, and lizard habitats. Some dads choose to burn their brand into the buckets and threaten their children’s lives if they take any more. “That’s why I had more than one!” is a favorite way to end that lecture. We’re not sure if he means he can spare a bucket or a child, but I know how I’m placing my bet, and it’s not on a bucket.
A Chance to Rope With His Kids
For years, cowboy dads have looked forward to the day they could finally rope with their son or daughter. They bounce babies on their knees as soon as they can hold their heads up and swing that tiny right arm in a big, calloused hand, throwing an imaginary loop and jerking the slack tight.
Dear old Dad can’t wait to share his favorite pastime with his new favorite person. And then that day finally arrives, and soon after he’s wishing for.
Someone Else to Rope With His Kids
The pressure of catching for your own kid often causes cowboy dads to switch kids. The trade-off isn’t (usually) permanent, just for the duration of the branding or junior roping contest. I’ve seen dads miss a whole bunch for someone else’s kid, though, so maybe what Dad really needs is a roping dummy.
His Kids to Go Cowboyin’ With Him.
Take back the pearl snap shirt and “World’s Best Dad” mugs. This is all a cowboy dad really wants — to spend hours in God’s creation, riding a good horse and chasing cows with their offspring. His son trotting behind him, his daughter bumping the lead toward the gate, the smell of horse sweat, and the creak of saddle leather are gifts enough.
But it might not hurt to pick up the shirt and mug, too. We all know the man could use a town shirt, and he drinks coffee like next year’s cattle prices can be found in the grounds at the bottom of the pot. Dads like gifts, too, even if they hide it by asking, “How much did this cost me?”
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads, cowboy or otherwise. You do a lot for the whole family, and we appreciate it.
