Most steers were moved by cowboys to a holding pen next to the nearest railroad. The railroad moved them to Chicago.

Steers?
No. You must be wrong.
They are mostly slaughtered when they are calves.
Why?
Because we like weal.

Here a steer is called an ox.
The only animal species that change gender when dying.
It's true.

Since it is your thread I'll answer even though it is OT
There are three genders here: Bull, Cow, Steer. Steers used to be bulls.

OT? Please don't use american acronyms.
As for my knowledge about cows.
Remember I am a cowboy:)
Actually I think steer is a synonym to "ox".
In Sweden steers and "oxes" are also called "stutar"

Janne, you may be a Swedish cowboy, but we are discussing an American TV show about American cowboys driving American cattle to American markets for slaughter and consumption by Americans, and you're trying to tell Americans we're wrong.

From dictionary.com:
steer: a male bovine that is castrated before sexual maturity, especially one raised for beef.
ox: the adult castrated male of the genus Bos, used chiefly as a draft animal.

The vast majority of beef in the US is steers. Veal is a subset of the market.* In the days of Rawhide, steers were driven by cowboys to the nearest railhead (to go any further would have just worked the fat off of them and made the meat tougher). The railroads carried them to Chicago (and other cities) for slaughter and processing, then carried the cut meat in refrigerator cars to other cities for sale to butchers, then the public. The same was done with hogs and (in much smaller numbers) sheep. Only the ranch owners ever came anywhere near Chicago.

To put distances in perspective, bing.com/maps says the shortest driving distance from Abisko (not quite as far north as you can go in Sweden, but close) to Trelleborg is 1212 miles. A good cattle grazing area like Laramie, Wyoming to Chicago is 1008 miles. Would you drive your oxen the entire length of Sweden? For another comparison, the CIA World Factbook says Sweden is slightly larger than California.

*
[edit]
Some statistics I found (emphasis is mine):

In 2013, American meat companies produced:
25.8 billion pounds of beef
23.2 billion pounds of pork
5.8 billion pounds of turkey
286 million pounds of veal, lamb and mutton
38.4 billion pounds of chicken

Notice that veal, lamb, and mutton together are the only number given in millions, not billions, of pounds.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzo0iHrivVQ
Purple dinosaur.

---

That's a lot of MOO! ;)

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzo0iHrivVQ
Purple dinosaur.

Oh please no.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzo0iHrivVQ
Purple dinosaur.

Oh please no.

It's Barney... Ugh.

---

The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzo0iHrivVQ
Purple dinosaur.

Oh please no.

It's Barney... Ugh.

I figured that out from the clue. Hence why I said "Oh please no."

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

I'm not trying to tell Americans we're wrong:)
I didn't know that Americans castrated male calves so the meat can be edible.
In Sweden we don't.
Pretty sure not in Italy either.
They become veal instead.

btw. I think there where some Swedish cowboys in America as well moving cattle.

I'm not trying to tell Americans we're wrong:)
I didn't know that Americans castrated male calves so the meat can be edible.
In Sweden we don't.
Pretty sure not in Italy either.
They become veal instead.

btw. I think there where some Swedish cowboys in America as well moving cattle.

Have you ever eaten what is commonly referred to as a "Mountain Oyster Sandwich"?

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I'm not trying to tell Americans we're wrong:)
I didn't know that Americans castrated male calves so the meat can be edible.
In Sweden we don't.
Pretty sure not in Italy either.
They become veal instead.
btw. I think there where some Swedish cowboys in America as well moving cattle.

Have you ever eaten what is commonly referred to as a "Mountain Oyster Sandwich"?

Hmmm...
Perhaps I have when eating Pölsa.
That's like Haggis.
However on the label nothing is said which part of the animal is used.
I guess for very good reasons:)

I'm not trying to tell Americans we're wrong:)
I didn't know that Americans castrated male calves so the meat can be edible.
In Sweden we don't.
Pretty sure not in Italy either.
They become veal instead.
btw. I think there where some Swedish cowboys in America as well moving cattle.

Have you ever eaten what is commonly referred to as a "Mountain Oyster Sandwich"?

Hmmm...
Perhaps I have when eating Pölsa.
That's like Haggis.
However on the label nothing is said which part of the animal is used.
I guess for very good reasons:)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountain_oysters

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Hehe:)
Just by reading it I think my voice pitch became higher.
Or perhaps the bull's voice that is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFD7KGBUtKI