6666 Ranch Horse & Cattle

The 6666’s Ranch has historically been operated as a cow/calf cattle ranch, and in more recent years, a separate horse division has been established and is now a major component of the overall ranching operation.

The cattle division of the 6666’s Ranch is overseen and managed by Joe Leathers, General Ranch Manager. Joe and his family live in a portion of the main home. Joe also oversees the management of the 6666’s Dixon Creek Ranch and Frisco Creek Ranch.

The cattle division of the 6666’s Ranch typically consists of 4,000–4,300 cows, several hundred replacement heifers, around 200 bulls and all needed ranch horses for operation of the cattle division. Under the typical cattle operation, bulls are turned out with the cow herd on about April 1st for a 60-day period. The calves are weaned in October. The steer calves typically weigh 650–700 pounds, with the heifers weighing around 60 pounds less. The calves are shipped to the 6666 Frisco Creek Ranch where they are run for another 45 days or so. At this ranch, the cattle are placed on a combination of native pasture, irrigated pasture and a supplemental all-natural feed program (backgrounding) where the cattle are grown to a weight of approximately 800 pounds. The cattle are then shipped to Mc6 Feeders, north of Hereford, Texas where they are placed on an all-natural finished feed ration. The 6666’s partners with 44 Farms and Walmart under a program called Prime Pursuits. Cattle in this program are all natural and marketed through Walmart. This program markets cattle at a 10₵-12₵ per pound premium over the typical cash market.

Also, as part of the ranching operation, the cattle ranching division of the 6666’s Ranch typically operates around 133,000–135,000 acres of the ranch and the horse division typically operates around 8,000–10,000 acres of the property.

The Horse Division is managed and overseen by Glen Blodgett, DVM. This is a large horse operation, with a ranch horse division and a racing horse division. This operation includes stallions and mares owned by the 6666’s Ranch, including recipient mares, which are used as a surrogate, to take the fertilized egg from prize winning/expensive mares/stallions. Some of the stallions are owned solely by the ranch, while some are in partnership and some are owned by other parties. Likewise, the ranch also boards mares owned by other parties, kept at the ranch for breeding purposes, or kept year-round at the ranch.

As previously discussed, the Horse Division typically operates 8,000–10,000 acres of the total ranch, principally being that area of the ranch in close proximity to the Horse Division improvements. This includes the 700 acres+/- of bluestem pasture and the 1,000 acres+/- typically planted in wheat.

Each Fall the 6666’s Ranch hosts the Return to the Remuda Sale. This sale features horses from the 6666’s Ranch and some of Texas’ most historic ranches, including Beggs Cattle Company, Pitchfork Land and Cattle, Waggoner Ranch, Tongue River Ranch and guest consigners, such as the King Ranch, Wagonhound Land & Livestock, and Circle Bar Ranch. Thousands of people attend this annual sale and millions of dollars are paid for these outstanding horses.

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