The horse was the cowboy one and only companion. He needed it to complete all of his work. He would ride it for up to 15 hours a day; therefore, the saddle was extremely important. It had to be comfortable and fit properly. The horses were usually borrowed from a farmer; only the saddle belonged to the cowboy himself. They did not particularly care about the horse's health. They rode the animal until it couldn't go any further and collapsed. Then, they just got a new horse.