Have you ever seen an Amish cowboy? In my twenty-six years of living in the depths of the Amish culture, I never met a true “Amish cowboy.” Why not?
What comes to mind when you think of cowboys? Well-trained horses. Beautiful saddles. Leather chaps and vests. Fancy boots. And wild rides corralling cattle over the green prairies.
Don’t Amish have horses and lots of cattle on their farms?
Yes, they do. The Amish men love to round up the cattle while riding on horseback, or perhaps on a pony for the young riders. They are very good at training horses to do many different things.
Yet, they can not be a cowboy in the true sense of how we think of a cowboy.
But before I go into the reasons why, remember that not all communities have the same guidelines. In general, there are several reasons why an Amish man can not be a genuine cowboy.
He can not have a classy saddle. That could be a source of pride.
Cowboy boots are not allowed since they can wear only a certain color and style of shoes.
Any of the popular cowboy outfits are out of the question.Their clothes must be within the church guidelines.
Their hats have to be a certain style as well, which definitely excludes the cowboy hat.
However, the Amish teenage boys especially love the looks of a cowboy hat! Sometimes, they get brave enough to roll up their black hat rim just slightly. This often calls for a reprimand from the Amish leaders, followed with church discipline if the hat is not brought back within the church guidelines. When one of them decides to leave the Amish religion, it’s not surprising when they soon show up wearing that yearned for cowboy hat!
Little Amish boys will enjoy hours of playing “cowboys” with stick horses, but without the rolled up hat, of course!
Speaking of cowboys makes me think of our family’s go-to cake recipe when I was growing up. You guessed it! It was called none other than Cowboy Cake.
Enjoy this post?
Save this post on Pinterest or share it by clicking the icon below
Don't forget to pick up a copy of my autobiography, The Greater Inheritance!