After the end of the open range, land became closed range. When
land was open range, cows and sheep could wander anywhere. They
would go down the road and graze wherever they pleased. If you did
not want someone else's cows grazing in your pasture, it was your
job to fence it in. Generally, it meant your cows were free to
wander from a pasture down the road back in the road to your barn.
When open range ended, you had to provide a gate on one side of the
road and a gate on your side of the road. The cattle could cross
the road but they could not wander along the road. You had to
provide the path on your property for the cows.