Dung, hide and horn
Rawhide
Untanned cattle hide scraped and dried hard, cut into strips and braided into lariats, reins and whips.
Rawhide is cattle hide that has been cleaned of hair and flesh and dried without tanning. It is stiff and strong when dry and supple when wet. The vaqueros of Mexico and California and the gauchos of the Río de la Plata cut it into fine strips and braided it into reatas, reins, hobbles and whips, and used it to bind saddles and tools.
What goes in
- Cattle hide1077%, Untanned.
- Water215%, Softens the strips for braiding.
- Tallow or fat18%, Rubbed into finished work.
Rough parts by weight. The ring shows each input's share of the product.
Made step by step
Each drawing shows the operation for that step. Quantities and timings differ from house to house and herd to herd; this is one traditional way, in outline.
Step 1: Shape Soak the hide and scrape off the hair and flesh. Step 2: Dry Stretch it out and dry it hard in the shade. Step 3: Shape Cut it in a spiral into a long strip and split it into fine strings. Step 4: Shape Dampen the strings and braid them into a rope or rein. Step 5: Serve Rub with tallow and stretch before use. Finished Rawhide, by share.
Braiders
Braiding rawhide is a craft of the cattle frontier. A hide is cut in a spiral into one long strip, which is then split and bevelled into thin strings and braided while damp. A reata, the rawhide rope of the vaquero, could take weeks to make. In Argentina and Uruguay, the gaucho's tientos, thin rawhide strings, decorate bridles and knife sheaths.
Across the Americas
The Spanish brought cattle to the Americas and with them the use of hides for everything from rope to door hinges. On the open ranges, hides were sometimes worth more than meat. Rawhide was also used to lace furniture and drums. Today braiders sell their work at fairs such as the gaucho festival of San Antonio de Areco.
Where it is used
The breeds behind it
Also part of it, and being written: Criollo cattle (Descended from the first Spanish cattle in the Americas.), Argentine Criollo cattle (The cattle of the gauchos of the pampas.), Corriente (Small Mexican Criollo cattle used in rodeo.).
More on EveryCow
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Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryCow desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. The shares are a rough, illustrative ratio, not a recipe: every family and dairy makes it differently. If we have something wrong, tell us.