Why doesn't a real cowboy ever put his hat on his bed? (5 photos)

If you have studied at least a little the history of the Wild West and the life of cowboys, you probably could have read about their famous omens and superstitions.





For example, a horseshoe nailed to the top of a doorway was considered a symbol of good luck for a cowboy. The horseshoe should have been hung with an arc downward so that it would bring good luck. If the horseshoe weakened, became beveled and began to hang, this meant that trouble would soon be imminent.



Cowboys also had various negative signs. For example, the ban on sleeping on bare ground was hammered into every cowboy from an early age. The thing is that many cowboys who loved to relax on the ground often encountered the bites of dangerous snakes, which ultimately resulted in a bad omen.

Giving someone a knife is very ominous; such an act will “break” the relationship between the giver and the recipient of the gift. It came to the Americans from the Indians. To negate the misfortune, the recipient must "pay" for the knife; a penny (cent) is enough.

But one of the greatest fears of a cowboy living on the deep prairies of the Wild West is putting his hat on the bed. We can say that this is one of the most terrible acts. And although such a superstition may seem quite strange to many, for cowboys it was a rule rooted in their culture.

But why did the hat, being such a symbolic item for a cowboy, not have the right to lie on the soft surface of the bed?





Cowboys of the Wild West strictly followed the rule: never put your hat on the bed.

And there are 2 main reasons for everything (superstitious and practical):

Superstitious reason

In the Wild West, a deceased cowboy's hat was always placed on his coffin lid. This tradition gave rise to the belief that if you put a hat on a bed, it will attract evil spirits to the owner of the hat and whoever sleeps in that bed. At best it is considered to foreshadow misfortune or quarrel; at worst, there is the possibility of serious injury or even death.

During the production of the television series "Yellowstone" about modern cowboys, the producers of the series said that they respected this tradition and you will not see even one cowboy decide to put his hat on his bed, with the exception of Casey Dutton, who does not believe in mysticism and omens.



Thus, old school cowboys still believe that a hat is best kept on a rack, on a horse or on boots. This not only ensures the safety of the headdress, but also preserves good luck. Remember, if the hat ends up on the floor or on the bed, luck may slip out of your hands.

But of course, in addition to mysticism, cowboys did not put their hats on their beds for practical reasons.

Practical reason



Cowboys have always been careful about where they hang their hats at the end of the day because of a very legitimate problem: lice. Previously, when bathing was a rare activity, lice in hair and hats were a very common ailment among a huge number of people.

And of course, it’s easy to spread lice if you put a hat on a bed, for example, at someone’s house. So it wasn't long before the "no cowboy hats on the bed" rule began to apply not only as a superstition, but as a rule of thumb to avoid the spread of lice.