Quicker Than the Strike of a Snake

Posted in: Featured, Ranch Life

My summer herd cattle hadn’t started shipping out by the time school started that fall. I think I was a
senior that year. I got out of a last period study hall with a work release and got home about 3 p.m., and
every day, I saddled a horse headed out to check cattle on the summer range east of my folks place. I also did the riding on the home ranch. It made for some dark rides home.
For whatever reason, perhaps my regular string of horses were tired or I’d sent enough of the outside
horses home that I was short, but, on this day I was riding my bay mare Brandy. There wasn’t a better
broke horse in the country, absolutely oozing with cow sense, great rope horse, and a willing heart, but,
she was short strided and definitely wasn’t a circle horse. My usual lope a mile/walk a mile country covering way was not to be done on Brandy.
She had a pretty good walk though, plus a fast trot. I could sit her trot and just swing my legs in time to
her strides and we could sure cover some country. We had covered a big circle, and it was getting past
dusk by the time we turned for home.
I put Brandy into her fast trot and we were cruising across the pasture in the dark. The sky was clear so it was pretty easy to see the way. Besides, Brandy could see better than I could. The miles slipped past
as she trotted along, reins swinging.
Soon the moon came over the horizon behind us and it bathed the country in light. Dark shadows showed as contrast. It was pretty and though tired, I was enjoying the moonlit scenery and the sound of
the night hawks. Brandy was motoring along and life was good.
As we trotted toward the last gate before the home stretch of about three quarters of a mile, we were
following a trail road that crossed the pasture. The grass was big on the sides of the trail, plus there was a dried up clover that stuck out into the tracks. Down the trail we went, Brandy and I were each eagerly
anticipating the end of the day and something to eat and drink.
Suddenly, from the trail below her right side, came the buzz of a rattlesnake! Brandy jumped forward
and kicked with her right hind foot. Just then I looked back and silhouetted against the full moon was the body of big rattlesnake soaring through the air! Brandy kept going and we stopped at the gate. I got off and felt of her legs to see if I could feel a mark where she’d been bitten. I couldn’t feel anything, and her black legs sure didn’t show anything in spite of the moonlight. I was sure hoping she hadn’t been struck.
After going through the gate, I walked her on home. Under the lights of the barn I was able to see that there wasn’t a mark on her, thankfully.
Brandy’s reaction had been quick, even quicker than the strike of a snake. I’m guessing that snake had
a sore spot for a few days after her shod hoof made contact with whatever part she kicked!

Posted in: Featured, Ranch Life


About Jan Swan Wood

Jan was raised on a ranch in far western South Dakota. She grew up horseback working all descriptions of cattle, plus sheep and horses. After leaving home she pursued a post-graduate study of cowboying and dayworking in Nebraska, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota....

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