Owners branded cattle that roamed freely, and then cowboys rounded them up.
Step-by-step explanation:
The system of open-ranching allowed the cattle to graze over large stretches of land and allowed to balance the availability of grass for all the cattle grazing.
The owner of the cattle did not have to do much to feed them as they wandered around large areas and took care of their own by eating ample grass.
Before the winters arrived, the cowboys used to identify their cattle from the identifying marks made on their bodies and bring them back to the ranch.