Final answer:
American cowboys adapted their practices and equipment from Mexican ranchers, incorporating items such as saddles, lassos, chaps, and lariats from the established traditions of the Mexican vaquero.
Step-by-step explanation:
Most practices and objects associated with American cowboys were modified from Mexican ranchers. This is underscored by the historical fact that during the period between 1865 and 1885, when up to forty thousand cowboys were active on the Great Plains, they adopted various elements of the Mexican vaquero culture. These cowboys, a diverse group including Hispanic and African American individuals, utilized saddles, lassos, chaps, and lariats that were a part of Mexican ranching tradition long before their own emergence.
Mexican ranchers had influenced the American cowboy by providing a proven set of tools and methods for cattle herding and ranching in the challenging terrain of the American Southwest. The figure of the Mexican vaquero was central to the development of the iconic cowboy culture, and the American cowboy's equipment and techniques were largely based on those that Mexican ranchers had been using effectively for years.