They use them by turning them upside down over the top of an old fence post to help protect them from the weather elements of rain that can seep into the fence post and rot them out. Back in the early days a lot of wood fence posts weren't treated so this tradition was developed....
Other early cowboy stars such as Buck Jones, Hoot Gibson, Ken Maynard, William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy), and Harry Carey contributed to a romanticized concept of the hero of westerns. View a scene from “Under California Stars” starring Roy RogersA scene from Under California Stars (1948),...