Gun belts changed noticeably from the mid-20th century. The old cowboy used a holster that sat high and completely encircled the belt but those appearing in the films often had the holster suspended from a loop on the bottom of the belt. Tied-down holsters started appearing in 1930s movies and by the '50s and '60s were almost uniform with film gunfighters. But they are a modern innovation and I have yet to see a photo of an old cowboy or Texas Ranger wearing them. The main reason was that most guns  were too high on the hip; also, the tie-down thongs would be difficult with chaps. The holster was a convenient way to keep a gun handy, but quick draws were not high on a working cowboy's list of priorities.

Although popular for a time, it was hard to take the over-dressed film dudes of the 1930s and 1940s as authentic cowboys. Some were great entertainers, but Tom Mix, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers bore no resemblance to working cowboys. Even my old favourite, Hopalong Cassidy, looked more like a fashion plate for the western clothing industry, but at least he didn't sing.

Most working cowboys wore leather leg protectors called "chaps" or in some areas " leggings". They protected the legs and pants from brush and cactus and some bronc busters felt that they gave a better grip on the saddle. Chaps are still seen in movies but they are mostly the batwing type. These fasten around the legs with snaps and rings which make them easy to put on or remove when a rider is  wearing boots and spurs. The California style had five fastenings, the Texas style four fastenings, and the Cheyenne style three fastenings on each leg.  Modern rodeo riders use Cheyenne chaps as they flap about more and tend to exaggerate the spurring action that wins the rider points.

Cowboys were very fussy about their boots, preferring those with heels higher than would be suitable for serious walking. The Cuban heel favoured for cowboy boots was not, however, a cowboy invention. These heels were used by some European horsemen around the time the Spaniards brought horses to North America. During the Wild West era cavalrymen in various countries  and some mounted police also had Cuban heels on their boots.

Fanciful stories are told that cowboys needed to dig their heels in the dirt while roping horses on foot but the high heel is a safety measure for riders. Pleasure riders in controlled circumstances keep the tread of the stirrup under the ball of the foot, but working riders in dangerous situations push the foot into the stirrup up to the heel, knowing that it will not be trapped. The high heel holds the stirrup in place during times when the rider may be slightly off balance and the stirrup is floating loose on the boot, but the foot will slip out easily if the rider somehow comes to grief.

Some bronc busters used plain iron rings instead of the conventional ox-bow stirrups. These stuck to the foot better and were less likely to break it if the horse fell on the rider. I knew a few riders who had a slightly crooked foot after having it broken by the stirrup when a horse fell.

Texans were said to prefer longer boots than cowboys further north. Some say this was because snakes were more prevalent, others blame the height of the cactus. Photographic evidence indicates the story is right. The fancy stitching on the legs of some cowboy boots is not entirely decorative. It gives a bit more rigidity to the boot to prevent the leg being excessively wrinkled.

The old cowboy's spurs were a mark of his trade. They were large and noisy in comparison to military or English-style spurs. But it is not the size of the spur but rather the sharpness of the teeth of the rowels and the distance between those teeth that controls their severity. A good rider touches lightly with the spurs. Even the mildest spur will cause injury if used with too much vigour.

The jingling of the spurs also served a purpose. It reminded cunning horses that the rider had spurs and sometimes a mere shake of the foot had the same effect as actually applying the spur. The jingling spur of the cowboy on night watch told the cattle that a man was approaching and they were less likely to take fright and stampede. Not all horses needed spurs but cowboys changed mounts frequently and it was best to have the persuaders handy. Good riders used them only when necessary. They were worn low on the heels and many dragged on the ground when their owners walked. They were very noisy on board flooring.

The bandanna around the neck was not the sole domain of the cowboy and was worn by many 19th century outdoor workers and sailors. A large percentage of shirts in those days were collarless and the bandanna gave some protection from the sun, specially if the person had a narrow-brimmed hat or was wearing a cap. Cowboys also pulled their bandannas over noses and mouths when operating in heavy dust. This was a sensible precaution when working any length of time around large numbers of moving cattle. It does not take long for the dust almost to clog a rider's nostrils. When the work is done, it can take a considerable time to clear the nose of mud that has formed in there.

Cowboys frequently wore gloves, sometimes as a protection against the cold. In hot weather they prevented rope burns. A rope that has been dragged in the dirt a time or two can really take the skin off a bare hand when a cow or a horse is on the other end of it. But I doubt that the old movie cliché of the gunman putting on gloves before a gunfight actually happened. The gloves would only make fast gun-handling more difficult.

I wonder, too, about the black-clad gunfighter so often portrayed in movies. For a man on horseback, black is a most impractical colour as it shows every speck of dust and is also hot. Around towns men did wear black on formal occasions and many old town-based lawmen dressed conservatively and could never be mistaken for cowboys. A black boot shows the dirt more than a brown one will. Black clothing stands out because there is very little in nature that colour.  I recall reading of a dismounted cavalryman trying to conceal himself from Indians. His black boots attracted the attention of warriors a considerable distance away. He was forced to abandon them and creep away in his socks. The investigating Indians must have wondered how a pair of cavalry boots came to be lying abandoned in the bushes. Fortunately, they made no search for their owner.

Westerns made in the 1950s could be easily identified by the saddles on the horses. The old cowboy's saddle had a high, almost upright cantle but about 50 years ago saddles with extremely low cantles became popular. Suddenly our  heroes were on saddles that sloped back from the horn to an almost flat seat. Some claimed that these were made for professional calf-ropers because they were easier to dismount  from in timed competition, but one old cowboy had other ideas. He wrote that there were few working riders left and the low cantles were so that overweight weekend riders could get in and out of them more easily. Sense has prevailed again and saddle design is better now. You don't need to be a horseman to see the difference in the saddles. So when you see those low cantles in a horse opera, they are a good indication of the film's age.

It's heartening to see modern film makers paying more attention to detail. The few cowboys we see on the screen today have more realism about them than most of the stars of 50 or more years ago. I am optimistic enough to think that well-made western movies will endure as long as movies exist, but they will need to be quality productions. With any luck, the over-dressed singing cowboys are gone, and imagination, reality and good stories will combine to preserve the popularity of the western genre whether on film or in books.