A Texas rancher recently captured hearts online when he shared an adorable video of his cow horses hilariously running from a single cow, which proves that even seasoned ranch animals have their moments. Cow horses — also known as cutting or ranch horses — are specifically trained to work with cattle, using their agility and intelligence to herd, separate, and manage livestock on ranches. But in this now-viral clip, the script gets flipped, showing the talented horses in a rare moment of comedic retreat that has social media users in stitches.
The video, which was shared to TikTok yesterday by @hotmessranch, has since accrued over 248k views and 35k likes. In it, we see around a dozen brown, black, and white ranch horses, which appear to be mysteriously running away from something. Accompanying the clip is the caption, “I Already Know!” with a couple of facepalm and eyeroll emojis. The rancher who is recording the footage can be heard, exclaiming, “Why are we all running? Except for this time I already know the answer. It’s ’cause big Rita jumped the cattle guard down front and she’s down there by the back of the pasture. And it’s been like six months since you guys have seen the cows.”
As the rancher speaks, a couple of friendly horses inch closer and closer to the man, and stare into the camera, humorously. Clearly, the rancher has a great rapport with the talented ponies, and they clearly feel safe in his presence. The rancher continues speaking to the horses, stating, “It’s a cow. You guys all running up here like somebody needs to save you. You guys realise most of you are cow bred, right? Like, you’re supposed to be working cow horses. You’re foundation cow bred. Your lines go back forever working cows.”
The video then switches to the whereabouts of what’s causing all the commotion amongst the cow horses, and you can hear the rancher express, “Here she comes. Back from her freaking the horses out. Hey, what are you doing over here?” As she strolls into focus, the identity of what’s been disturbing the horses becomes clear: it’s a large black cow named Rita. “You’re not supposed to be over here,” the man calmly explains to the cow. “Come on. Get back in here. You got the horses all freaked out, running around.” Suddenly, Rita lets out a booming moo — prompting an instant, witty comeback from the rancher. “Don’t you speak to me that way. Give me cowtude. Come on, Rita! Get yourself in here. I have to go get you. Hey, come on, big lady.” declares the farmer, as he safely shepherds Rita back into her pasture, ending the video.
Naturally, social media users wasted no time flooding the comments with their thoughts on the cute clip. Over on Reddit, one person wrote, “100% perfect horse behaviour. They are the funniest animals out there, probably my favourite animal.” while another replied to this, stating, “They are the cat of the barn yard. Cows are giant dogs.” Others, meanwhile, noted the quick-witted reply from the rancher when Rita moo-ed, penning, ““Don’t you speak to me that way! Give me cowtude” lol“. A fourth comment on TikTok found the horse’s behavior hilarious and added, “The one being closer in every shot is killing me 🤣”
