Rack - A single-footed, extremely rapid and smooth four-beat gait unique to the American Saddlebred and the National Show Horse.
Railhead - A terminal; the beginning or end of a railroad line, also a point on a railway line where goods are loaded or unloaded. The point on a railroad to which livestock are delivered for shipment to a market.
Rake - 1. An implement used for collecting hay, or other light material spread over a large surface, or for breaking and smoothing the earth. A toothed machine drawn by a horse and used for collecting hay or grain; a horserake. 2. A loose, disorderly, vicious man; a person addicted to lewd vices. 3. The spurring action of a rider of rough stock. Bareback and saddle bronc riders are not required to continue spurring throughout their rides; but they sometimes score higher when they do so. 4.The angle at which a saddle horn is attached to the pommel.
Ramble - Derived from the Latin root for "Perambulate", Ramble means to move, travel about, or stroll. "On Ramble" refers to roaming around with no particular destination or being footloose. In Australia a similar term to "On ramble" would be "On walkabout." Related terms are Rambler and Ramblin' Man.
Ramrod - 1. A rod used to ram the charge into a muzzle-loading or cap-and-ball firearm. 2. A ranch or trail foreman; the person in charge of making sure the work gets done.
Ranahan - A top ranch hand or a good all-around cowboy. The word's origin is unknown; it may have originated as: 1. A "fancified" version of "Ranny;" 2. A derivative of the Irish name Ranahan, meaning sharp or keen; 3. A tribute to Thomas J. Ranahan (1839 - 1926), a well-known Pony Express rider, stagecoach driver, and civilian scout for the army.
Ranch Egg - A fresh egg; the height of freshness. It refers to an egg just produced on the property where it would be eaten, as opposed to one produced elsewhere, purchased at a store in town, and consumed some time later.
Range - A large, open area, especially one where animals are allowed to roam and graze freely. A mountainous region designated as a group, for example: "Colorado's Front Range." As a verb: To wander freely within an area or region.
Ranger - A mounted lawman who maintained order on the frontier, often as a law enforcement officer for a state or territory such as a Texas Ranger.
Rank - An animal that is ill-tempered, dangerous, or hard to ride.
Ranny - A cowboy or top ranch hand. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, "Ranny" referred to the shrew-mouse. A small mouse with a long snout, the Ranny was noted for its very strong odor, or musk. Extremely pugnacious; when attacking an enemy the Ranny gripped with the teeth as firmly as a bulldog. All of these traits, of course, are much admired in a ranch hand, and those who work with horses and/or cattle also tend to be associated with a rather strong aroma. (See also "Hossy-stink" and "Ranahan.")
Rate - To "rate" a cow refers to staying at a correct distance and position from a cow to accomplish a task such as roping or steer wrestling.
Rawhide - A cow hide which has been dehaired and cured, but not tanned. It can be softened with water and shaped; it then stiffens and tends to shrink when it dries.
Re-ride - A second chance at a rodeo ride, granted in the case of an under-performing or uncooperative animal.
Rear - When a horse stands up on its hind legs with its forelegs off the ground. It may be a trained movement controlled by the rider's cues, or a dangerous, spontaneous rebellion.
Rear Jockey - See "Flank Skirt."
Recurrent Airway Obstruction - See "Heaves."
Reef Knot - Often mistakenly called a Square Knot, a true Reef Knot is made of two reversed half-knots with a slipped end. It is typically used to join the ends of a single cord or rope around an object such as a furled sail or bundle. (See illustration.)
Rein - A long strap running from the bit to the rider's hands.
Remittance man - An absentee ranch owner, often from an eastern state or England, who derived income from the remittances sent to him by those who worked his land.
Remount - A fresh mount, especially a horse to replace one lost or killed in combat.
Remuda - string of riding horses. (See Cavvy.)
Renegade - A vagabond; lawless, untamable; an outlaw. From Latin words re and nego, meaning "to deny."
Resting foot - See "Three Legged."
Return Gate - A gate near the rodeo arena bucking chutes used by livestock when leaving the arena. The Return gate leads to a chute called a "Stripping Chute" where bareback riggings, bronc saddles, bull ropes, calf ropes, etc. are removed.
Revenant - One who returns after an extended absence or journey, as though returning from the dead. Derived from the French word revenir ("to return"), it was little used until the release in 2016 of a motion picture of that name. The film was loosely based on the life of the famous mountainman, Hugh Glass. Another "Revenant" was western pioneer Nicholas "Cheyenne" Dawson. Dawson spent seven years exploring the western U.S. and Mexico with no contactwith his family and his relatives had given him up as lost. Eventually, however, Dawson returned to his Pennsylvania home. "My return," Dawson later wrote, "was as if one had risen from the dead."
Ricochet - (Pronounced "rick-o-shay") To bounce or rebound off a hard surface; a shot that skips off a hard surface.
Ride for the Brand - To be loyal to your employer.
Ride Shank's Mare - To walk on your own two legs, or shanks.
Ride the Grub Line - To travel from ranch to ranch looking for handouts or odd jobs.
Riding Shotgun - Sitting on the seat next to the driver of a vehicle. The phrase harkens back to the days when a stage line guard sitting on the driver's bench would carry a short shotgun in order to fend off robbers.
Rimfire - 1. A saddle cinch rigging in which the cinch ring is directly below the pommel. Also called Full Rigging. 2. A firearm cartridge with the primer located in the rim or lip of the casing rather than in the center.
Rimrock - A steep rock ledge forming the upper rim of a plateau or canyon. It often lays above softer stone which erodes away underneath. Native Americans in the West often used the caves found below rimrock to shelter their lodgings -- the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde, for example.
Roach killers - Cowboy boots with very pointed toes; so named because they could step on a cockroach even when it sought shelter in a corner.
Road Agent - A holdup man who stops a vehicle and steals from it.
Road Agent Spin - A false "surrender" of a pistol in which the weapon is supposedly handed over butt first, but with the trigger finger still in the trigger guard. The gun is then quickly spun around and fired at the would-be captor.
Road Stake - Cash deemed sufficient to provide for a drifter's needs until he reaches his next destination.
Roan - Having mixed colored and white hairs.
Rockwalled Garden - A graveyard.
Rocky Mountain Canary - A burro, probably named for its high-pitched braying. Also called an Arizona Nightingale
Rode hard and put up wet - Worn out and neglected. The reference is to a horse that has been worked to the point of exhaustion and stabled without a chance to be cooled down and have its sweat dried.
Roller Towel - A towel with the two ends sewn together, forming a loop, which is hung on a roller.
Romal - (Pronounced ro-MAHL) A type of long quirt -- usually made of leather or rawhide -- attached to the middle of a set of closed reins. About four to five feet long, the Romal is not designed for striking the horse, but rather to assist in moving cattle.
Rosette - On western saddles, a small leather disk with fluted edges and two slits for thongs or saddle strings to pass through, thus helping to secure a skirt to the saddletree.
Rough-Out Seat Saddle - See Suede Seat Saddle.
Roughstock - broncs used in saddle bronc or bareback events, and bulls used in bull riding events.
Round Browns - Buffalo or cow chips; also called Prairie Pancakes.
Round-up - a gathering of horses or cows.
Rowel - The star-shaped disk set at the end of a spur's shaft or post.
Ruckus - A fight, disturbance, or commotion. See also dust up or brouhaha.
Ruminant - A cud-chewing hoofed mammal such as a cow, sheep, goat, or deer, which has a stomach divided into three or four compartments.
Runaway Bucker - A bronc that runs wildly from the chute and then "breaks in two" someplace in the middle of the arena.
Running iron - A metal rod or cinch ring used for freehand making or changing an animal's brand. (See Stamping Iron.)
Rustle - 1. To steal livestock (especially cattle). 2. To move around in an effort to obtain something such as a job, food, fuel, etc. ("He went to the city to see if he could rustle up a job.")

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