6666 Ranch

At age 19 Samuel “Burk” Burnett (with a little help from his father) purchased a herd of 100 cattle wearing the 6666 brand. He negotiated rights to the brand as part of the deal and there is a persistent story that the brand name came from a poker game, but the family says the origin is unknown.

Cattle wear the 6666 brand. Their horses have the letter “L” on their left shoulder plus brands on their left buttock designating the year foaled and on the right buttock the sire of the horse. Four Sixes horses wear the L brand in honor of Burk Burnett’s father-in-law, Captain M.B. Loyd, who was a banker who helped finance many of the 6666 projects.

Burnett (1849-1922) was an astute businessman and steadily acquired more cows and land becoming one of the richest men in Texas. Eventually over 300,000 acres of land came under his control and a second ranch was opened near Dixon Creek, Texas. It also didn’t hurt that oil was discovered on his land in 1920 and the Burnett Oil Company was formed. Both the ranch and oil businesses are still family owned and controlled. Mike Gibson is the ranch manager.

Today the ranch is considered a top horse and cow business with approximately 7,000 mother Angus cows and many exceptional horses. The Four Sixes’ Quarter Horses include sires like Joe Hancock, Hollywood Gold and Grey Badger II. The ranch is just as well known for its horses bred for speed. Top sires in the race-bred lineup include Dash For Cash, Special Effort and Streakin Six.

In addition to the cattle business, they have breeding services for their horses, an annual Remuda horse sale in the fall and the 6666 Supply House offers 6666 Ranch and other Old West collector items. They also sponsor a premier cutting horse event at the Houston Livestock Show.