A realistic Western would show the rampant venerial disease, tuberculosis and rotted out teeth endemic to the times. It would also reflect the unbelievable stench of folks who ownly bathed once a month, if that. Let us not forget the ringworms, tape worms, hairy warts, and other common features of those folks.
So, if they made a realistic Western, we probably wouldn't want to watch it. And, fantasy aside, we surely wouldn't want to have lived there. (Each and every one of us would be "back on the bus" inside of 15 minutes!)
Cowboys were simply the ditch diggers of the day. Nothing special. And probably, nothing lower on the work or wage scale.
Mannyrock