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Texas gate
DCHP-2 (Nov 2012)
n. — Ranching & Agriculture, especially Alberta & Quebec
pipes or slats set into a roadway or railway to prevent cattle or game from crossing; a cattle guard (see Images 1 & 2).
Type: 5. Frequency — Texas gate is used more frequently in Canada than in other countries (see Chart 1). Other terms for Texas gate are cattle grid, cattle guard, and cattle gate. Texas gate is most prevalent in Alberta (see Chart 2), known for its cattle ranching. The 1994 quotation (dateline: Calgary, AB) suggests Texas gate might be an Alberta regionalism, though the term is also used in Quebec, where dairy farming is important (see Chart 2).
See also COD-2, s.v. "Texas gate", which is marked "Cdn (West)", and Gage-1, s.v. "Texas gate", which is described as used "in the West".
See also COD-2, s.v. "Texas gate", which is marked "Cdn (West)", and Gage-1, s.v. "Texas gate", which is described as used "in the West".
Some Texas gates are electrified, such as the one shown in Image 2. Pedestrians are warned not to cross the gate without rubber boots, or to take a path around the gate (with files from Baillie Ford, SD 11 Aug. 2016).
Quotations
1982
A Texas gate is a row of pipes or rails set in the road to make a barrier that cars can drive over but cattle are reluctant to cross, and the reason for it was soon apparent.
1992
Stopping before the Texas gate at the entrance to the Bison Paddock we spotted a coyote searching for mice in the meadow.
1994
When I asked friends what they'd like Quebec to know about the West, they first talked about the splendid sunsets as we sat at their west-facing kitchen table and looked out at one.
We laughed about trying to order a Denver sandwich in Ontario and being reminded that it's a Western. And a cattle gate is a Texas gate in these parts, pardner.
1999
[...] and fund the fencing and construction of Texas gates for the Brule tunnel where more than 40 bighorn sheep and two mountain lions have been killed since 1987.
2000
It is worthwhile to tolerate broken fences or a crumpled Texas gate for $1,200 a year but not for $250.
2008
At 22 kilometres reach The Hump -- a pass where a roadside pullout affords trailhead parking, south of the Texas gate, beside the small pond, at 2,037 metres.
References
- COD-2
- Gage-1
Images
Image 1: A Texas gate over a railway. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Photo: D. Schwen
Image 2: Texas gate near Banff, AB. Photo: B. Ford
Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 12 Oct. 2012
