Life on the ranch: How to earn your spurs as a cowboy

It takes more to pass as a convincing cowboy than a laconic manner and snap button shirt (though these help immeasurably). Cowboys aren't invoked from thin air by romanticising city-slickers — they're made. You must earn that belt buckle, practicing the swagger and tip of the hat until it comes so naturally that you are, in essence, capable of mustering in your sleep. A good gauge: if you walk into a saloon in a dustbowl town and people turn their head to wince at your getup and designer frames — well, you've still got a ways to go.

Though there are a number of unique opportunities in Australia to test out life on the range, cowboys Down Under are more properly known as stockmen or ringers. If you want the real deal in name and deed, head north to the American Rockies, where dozens of ranches throw open their doors so you can commune with the wild west in Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota and Montana. The latter is particularly accommodating in this regard — the favourite state sport is rodeo.

Before you pack your bags and head out into the country of the big sky, one question remains in choosing the right ranch for your induction: what sort of cowboy do you want to be? Here's our guide to preventing a country-style identity crisis.

Reduced-Fat Cowboy

The most popular place to dabble in the west is at an established dude ranch, a form of agritourism in which a ranch has been modified to focus exclusively on its guests.

The history of dude ranches extends back into the 19th century, when the transcontinental railroad publicized a romantic image of the frontier, encouraging monied patrons to buy a ticket on a sleeper and experience the cowboy lifestyle firsthand. Today this "cowboy lifestyle" generally revolves around horseback riding, hiking, fishing and eating traditional ranch fare. Depending on the ranch itself, this may come packaged in a weekly schedule, or it may be free-forms, encouraging visitors to take things at their own pace. Paradise Guest Ranch in Wyoming, for example, offers everything from wrangling classes to an amateur talent show. 320 Guest Ranch in Montana is a stone's throw from Yellowstone National Park, making it a convenient base. Accommodation at these ranches is rustic but comfortable; this is "cowboy lite," after all. Given the number of ranches available, a centralised agency like the Dude Ranchers' Association is a great place to start your research.

Fat-Free Cowboy

Take the dude ranch experience and add a tennis court. Resorts like Paws Up in Montana or Lost Creek Ranch & Spa near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, do guest ranches Hollywood style — that is, without the dirt. Be as active or sedentary as you like, expect gourmet food, spa treatments, and the word 'luxury' liberally applied to everything in sight. This is cowboy in name only, though who'd say no to a private camping butler?

Vegetarian Cowboy

The lack of actual livestock makes a fly fishing ranch experience more cowboy by spatial association than anything else, though the considerable skill necessary to acquire fish in this manner demands respect. You are, after all, catching your own food. While many dude and guest ranches offer opportunities to hit the streams in search of trout, these properties make it priority number one, with professional guides and even, in some cases, on-site fly shops. The seasons for fly fishing is from June to September; a non-resident fishing license is required in some states. Our favourites? The Spotted Bear Ranch in Montana, Henry's Fork Lodge in Idaho and the Three Rivers Ranch in Wyoming.

Cowboy Takeaway

If you suffer from itchy feet, the cure may be a wagon train. Hit the trail for a cross-country adventure the cowboy way. Travelling either on horseback or inside a modernised version of the old Conestoga wagon, participants on the Teton Wagon Train in Wyoming or the Lewis and Clark Wagon Train in North Dakota get a taste for the itinerant lifestyle as they move from camp to camp, tracing the route of famous American explorers. Wagon trains are for the whole family, and often include camp sing-alongs — bring earplugs.

Supersized Cowboy

If none of these experiences strike you as active enough — if you're actually looking to earn your spurs — you might be after a working ranch. Unlike dude ranches, where operations are tailored to suit tourists, a working ranch will require you to fit the bill as dictated by herds of moo. If horses need to be fed, cattle moved (or inseminated), goats milked or maintenance performed, expect to be down and dirty alongside the rancher and his family at places like the G Bar M Ranch. This is as close to being a cowboy as you can get short of buying your own ranch and learning through trial and error (not recommended). These ranches are more often than not also fiercely protective of their culture, and as a guest sharing their way of life be respectful.

If you don't like the idea of getting mud under your fingernails or potentially stepping in a messy situation, don't go the way of the working ranch. If, however, the prospect makes your heart beat faster, a good starting point is Montana Bunkhouses, a "matchmaking" service that pairs would-be cattle-hands with one of twenty ranches throughout the state based on the individual. Go this route and you won't be saddled with an unexpected situation (boom tish).

Yee haw!

Lance Richardson travelled courtesy of Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota Tourism.