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What Are Cowboy Superstitions?

By Reagan Johnson

Cowboys of the Old West were known for their grit, hard work, and unshakable code, but that doesn’t mean they ignored signs and superstitions. After all, life on the frontier was unpredictable, and a little extra luck never hurt.

From how they handled their hats to the symbols they avoided along the trail, most cowboys followed a set of unwritten rules to keep misfortune at bay. And if there’s one thing a cowboy doesn’t mess with even today, it’s bad luck.

The Cowboy Hat: A Symbol for Bad Luck

A cowboy’s hat isn’t just part of the outfit. More than a way to keep the sun out of the ol’ eyes, it’s also a badge of honor, a sign of respect—and, according to lore, something you just don’t fool around with unless you want trouble.

  • Never place your hat on a bed. This one’s a serious offense. Cowboys believed it invited lousy luck, poor health, or even an untimely death. Some say this belief started because undertakers used to place a hat on a coffin before burial. Others claim it’s just plain unsanitary: remember, back in the day, a hat picked up everything from sweat to trail dust and setting it on a bed meant bringing all that filth where you slept. Either way, no cowboy worth his spurs would take the risk.
  • Don’t set your hat upside down. A cowboy hat should always rest crown-side up when placed on a surface. Why? Because turning it upside down is said to let all your good luck spill out. Some cowboys take this one so seriously that they’ll purposely knock over a hat left brim-down just to keep misfortune at bay.

Bad Luck Symbols on the Trail

The West was unpredictable, and cowboys paid attention to all kinds of signs of bad luck … whether they made sense or not.

  • Peacock feathers bring misfortune. Cowboys wouldn’t be caught dead with one of these in their homes or as part of their trail gear. Some believed the distinctive eye-like markings on a peacock feather carried bad luck—an old-world superstition that had traveled across cultures and found its way into cowboy lore.
  • Hand-me-down boots, hand-me-down troubles. Giving away your old boots? Be careful, cowboys believed passing on a pair of used boots meant passing your bad luck along with ‘em. If a cowboy needed secondhand boots, he’d carefully cleanse ‘em first, just to be safe.
  • Whistling indoors calls for trouble. Whistling inside wasn’t just annoying—it was a sure way to invite financial ruin, or so the lore has it. Some cowboys even believed such an act could summon a dust storm or an unwanted visitor. Best to save those tunes for ‘round the campfire.

Superstitions for Good Fortune

Of course, cowboys weren’t just worried about bad luck symbols. They certainly had their ways of calling in good fortune, too.

  • A horseshoe over the doorway keeps trouble out. But don’t forget this rule of thumb: hang it open-end up to hold in the good luck like a vessel. Turn it downward, and you’re letting all the luck spill out—same as an upside-down hat.
  • Stepping in manure might mean good luck. OK, it’s not the most pleasant superstition, but if you accidentally stepped in a pile of the fresh stuff, some cowboys claimed it was a sign that fortune was coming your way. Whether cowboys truly saw it as good luck or just found a way to laugh off an unfortunate step, well … that’s anyone’s guess.

Ride Smart, Stay Lucky

Cowboys in the Wild West may have been tough as nails, but even they weren’t willing to tempt fate. Whether you believe in cowboy superstitions, it never hurts to respect the old ways—just in case. So next time you set your hat down, take a second look … you wouldn’t want all your luck running out.

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