The West’s original cowboys were Mexican horsemen

“Long before Columbus discovered the Americas, the people of Mexico used horses as instruments of war and in various political and social ceremonies.

In those days, horses played a key role in the early successes of the Spanish conquistadors’ conquering of Mexico. They made it a law during their 300-year reign that the Indians of Mexico could not own, ride or use horses in any way and if they broke this law they were put to death.

The criollos (cree-OH-yohs), Spanish men born in Mexico, adapted stylized attire traditionally used by the bullfighters who fought bulls on horseback, to create their own “uniform.”"

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