Here’s a list of the Top 10 Rancher’s famous last words based on their lifestyle, culture, and the rugged, often risky nature of their work.
10 – Leave the gate open — the cows won’t bother you.
9 – That horse doesn’t have an ounce of buck left in him.
8 – Don’t weaken and that old cow will turn back.
7 – This market still has some life in it — believe I’ll hold off on selling for a few more days.
6 – Been driving through this wet spot for 20 years and haven’t been stuck once.
5 – There’s no way in creation that bull can go over that fence.
4 – No rain in the forecast so just leave the pickup out in the field.
3 – You can run a good 200 miles after the fuel gauge says empty.
2 – Just stand your ground and that dog won’t bite.
1 – Now watch — if you get right up close behind a calf you won’t get … ^#$%!
One of my favorites is — “Don’t worry — we’re just gonna watch.” (said at a cattle or equipment auction)
The auction version is a standing joke in livestock papers: dad takes the family “just to look,” comes home with a heifer, a tractor, and a new career.
Those really were his last carefree words.
How it all started
Ranching folklore didn’t start with Hollywood or John Wayne. It started as work talk among mounted cattle herders, then got stretched around campfires, written into dime novels, and finally sold as “the West.”
There’s quite a lot of truth wrapped up in the famous last words of a rancher.
