So, last week while on vacation I found myself on some rural backroads in Texas enjoying the countryside and the scenery when I noticed some cowboy boots turned upside down on a fence line.

I have always this is nothing strange if you live in Texas, at some point you are bound to see some old weather and tattered boots along someone's property. After I got back to the hotel I looked this up and found that this is a long-standing tradition among cowboys and ranch hands that goes back to the pioneer days.

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The reason is a simple one when their boots eventually wear out they have a hard time parting ways with them so they put them to good use by turning them upside down on a fence to help protect the fence post from bad weather such as rain that can weaken the wood and rot the fence post.

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There were also other reasons too for putting cowboy boots on a fence post it was to honor a loved one, a ranch hand, a cowboy, or even a horse. Back in the frontier days, it was a way of letting people know that the ranch hand was home and not in the field working. This cowboy tradition has been a long-standing one and still exists today as a cowboy way of life.

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And just for the record, Texas is not the only state where you can see this. So, the next time you spot cowboy boots on a fence post now you will know and tip your hat to a cowboy tradition in America.

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As a matter of fact, in Hunt, Texas you can place a boot on a fence post so long as you sign it. People from all across the country have driven for miles just to do this.

Welcome to Texas y'all!

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