This post may contain affiliate links. We earn from qualifying purchases. Learn More
From Buffalo Bill to Billy the Kid, cowboys have played an iconic role in American history. The thrill of the Wild West has become a beloved part of pop culture, leading to some iconic TV shows and movies.
“Yee-haw” and “howdy” are the standard cowboy greetings that everyone is familiar with. However, if want to expand your cowboy lingo, these cowboy quotes and sayings are a great place to start.
Here are the best cowboy quotes and sayings:
Cowboys need nothin’ more than a hat, horse, and the will to ride.
Unknown
Some cowboys have too much tumbleweed in their blood to settle down.
Ken Alstad
Let him ride a horse. He’s a cowboy ain’t he?
Nathanael West
A true cowboy knows love, pain, and shame but never cares about fame.
No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.
Winston Churchill
You know horses are smarter than people. You never heard of a horse going broke betting on people.
Will Rogers
It doesn’t matter if a Cowboy lives in the mountains or in the flats, as long as it’s warm and there is a place to lay his hat.
Unknown
Cowboys are gentlemen who treat women with respect and work hard. They use their manners more than any other man would and ride horse and bulls like there is no tomorrow.
Unknown
Cowboys and men are two totally different breeds.
Unknown
Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear or a fool from any direction.
Unknown
Ride E’m Cowboy, don’t let them throw ya down.. You can’t make no money if ya hit the ground, Ride E’m Cowboy, don’t let them throw ya down, You’re the toughest Cowboy in town.
Juice Newton
Also Read: 10 Famous Cowboys & Outlaws Who Ruled the Wild West
Training horses, heck riding horses, isn’t easy. Failing is part of the process. It’s how you brush yourself off and get back in the saddle that counts the most. There’s beauty in the breakdown. Everything is about balance.
Carly Kade
Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway!
John Wayne
True cowboys are the ones who aren’t afraid to get dirty.
Lane Frost
The horse is a mirror to your soul. And sometimes you might not like what you see in the mirror.
Buck Brannaman
The cowboy has been called America’s folk hero.
Charles W. Harris
Whoever said a horse was dumb, was dumb.
Will Rogers
Real cowboys never run, they just ride away.
Unknown
There is something about riding on a prancing horse that makes you feel like something, even when you aint worth a thing.
Will Rogers
The cowboy no doubt can be regarded as a proud rider, skilled, observant, alert, resourceful, unyielding, daring, punctilious in a code peculiar to his occupation, and faithful to his trust.
Charles W. Harris, Buck Rainey
The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it back into your pocket.
Will Rogers
And my heart is sinking like a setting sun, setting on the things I wish I’d done. Oh the last goodbye’s the hardest one to say, and this is where the cowboy rides away.
George Strait
The cowboy remains an excellent model of popular history – authoritative yet acccessible.
Philip Ashton Rollins
When you’re young and you fall off a horse, you may break something. When you’re my age, you splatter.
Roy Rogers
You’re gonna have to hold on tight, because this rodeo is just getting started.
Joya Ryan
The cowboy has been called America’s folk hero.
Charles W. Harris
Any cowboy can carry a tune. The trouble comes when he tries to unload it.
Unknown
Real cowboys don’t need to correct people. They just smile, nod their head,and say yep. Each to his own. That’s the cowboy way.
Unknown
A cowboy’s hands are as strong as steel as tough as leather put soft enough to touch a hummingbirds wing and the skin of a woman and not disturb the beauty of either.
Unknown
May your belly never grumble, may your heart never ache, may your horse never stumble, may your cinch never break.
Unknown
A real cowboy doesn’t have to say they are a cowboy you know, the smell, the expression and the heart tells itself.
Unknown
You may have a cowboy hat, spurs, chaps, and a horse but you’re not a cowboy till you can ride like one.
Unknown
Also Read: 10 Famous Female Cowgirls and Outlaws of the Wild West
If you climb in the saddle, be ready for the ride.
Unknown
When in doubt, let your horse do the thinkin’.
Unknown
You know horses are smarter than people. You never heard of a horse going broke betting on people.
Will Rogers
To sit on a ranch horse that’s been broken in, it’s like getting in a Porsche.
Sam Shepard
A horse doesn’t care how much you know until he knows how much you care. Put your hand on your horse and your heart in your hand.
Pat Parelli
Where the leather is scarred, there is a great story to tell.
Jimmy Tart
Whether you are a tried and true cowboy or simply just a lover of the wild west, these quotes and sayings are good to know. They come from real, authentic cowboys, to some of Hollywood’s most iconic cowboy actors. While some are words to live by, others are just for a good laugh.