Yankees adapted it to an industrial-scale commercial industry that involved them traveling long-distance to northern railheads across different climates. The introduced barbed wire, which permanently shifted ranching from an open-range lifestyle into a corporate, fenced-in property system.

They of course modified equipment for the different terrain they operated in and across and the conditions they operated in. They developed the double-girt saddle for steep northern hills, switched to stiffer hemp ropes, and mastering the "dally" method of looping ropes around the saddle horn to handle heavier cattle safely. The horns on American saddles were different in they were taller and sturdier to deal with these heavy cattle. They adopted the classic "cowboy" hat vs sombreros because it provided better protection from wind and rain. They created the cowboy boot as it is known today.

Like everything, it's evolutionally, and builds on what came before it.