How to Take Part in a Cattle Drive

America has been exposed to a romantic image of cattle drives that rivals the myths of knights leaving Camelot on sacred missions of honor. In truth, working a cattle drive was a difficult, dangerous way to make a living. It's still possible to work as a cowboy punchin' them doggies. Here's how.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Learn how to ride a horse. Riding a horse, particularly while doing the tasks demanded on a cattle drive, is not an innate talent or a skill you learn from watching reruns of "Rawhide." Check a website that offers geographic listings of stables and farms where you can take riding lessons. Take them until you feel reasonably comfortable riding and working on horseback.

2. Check a source such as "Gordon's Guide" to cattle drives and working ranches. Review the basic information that describes various experiences on the drive and the drives' requirements.

3. Scroll down through the website and click some links to find a ranch in different areas of the country. Select a specific ranch in that area and study what joining its cattle drive entails.

4. Explore some of the more remote and unusual cattle drives. For example, check out a blog that relates a person's experiences on Snake Island and her time with the "Cattlemen of the Sea."

5. Contact someone who has actually experienced a cattle drive on any ranch that interests you. This may be easier if you simply choose to use a friend's experience as a referral.

Tips & Warnings

• If you're interested in using a cattle drive as a family vacation, there are many ranches to check out. For example, the Chico Basin Ranch offers this option. If you are single and interested in a social experience, there are ranches that cater to a more social environment.

Resources

• Stables by geographic region
• Gordon's Guide
• Chico Basin Ranch
• A different type of cattle drive