The other cowboys

I did this from an idea in my sketchbook. What if the Spaniards hadn't brought horses to America in the 16th century? What if it was another animal? What if te Native americans rode bareback on zebras? What if the cowboys won the west on backs of ostriches? How different would all those tough, manly paintinings of Remington be. Think of the John Wayne westerns. This idea really would only work if I could render in the same style and detail of Remington and the like. I'm not nearly good enough. I hadn't tried acrylics in a traditional way in years and this gave me a great excuse. This painting kicked my butt and I'm happy to move on and learn from all my mistakes. Thank you for taking the time to look at it.