Freaky Friday: Snakes on a Saddle…the True Story

By: Brittany Bevis

You’ve seen the photos, but do you know the story behind them? Probably not, if like most you’ve been relying on what you see on social media. To find out what really happened, we went straight to the source, Oklahoma horsewoman, Brooke Milholland Culwell, who was shocked to discover, not one, but two snakes snuggled up underneath the cantle of her saddle earlier this month.

“It’s just mind-boggling to me,” Brooke says. “I’ve never shared the photo anywhere other than my own wall, just like I would do with anything else. A few of my friends shared it, and all of a sudden it was everywhere. It’s amazing, because the first initial photos didn’t have any information posted with them, so probably 90% of the comments were saying it was Photoshopped.”

In case you don’t know Brooke personally, it’s of note to mention that she is the daughter of NRHA Hall of Fame reining trainer, NRHA Open Futurity Champion, NRHA Open Derby Champion, and multiple AQHA World Champion Doug Milholland. With more than 40 years of experience in the performance horse industry, this pair is well-versed in all things equestrian and quite familiar with the strange situations that can come about as a result of keeping horses on your property.

“My dad had just cleared out a big 20 acre pasture behind the barn,” Brooke says. “That was probably what flushed them out. It also happens to be snake mating season, so they were probably looking for a place and they happened to get in our tack room. My dad has a whole wall full of saddles, and my saddle was on the bottom of a three tier rack, so you couldn’t see it very well.”

“When I went to grab the horn, like usual, and the back of the cantle, I got a handful of snake instead. I shoved it back into place, did the heeby-jeeby dance, and yelled for my dad.”

Given his daughter’s surprised reaction, Doug came to investigate and was able to knock the snake off the saddle. At the time, they thought there was only one…

“We got the snake knocked off, but it kept trying to go deeper into the tack room. Dad grabbed ahold of the tail and tried to get it outside. Having dealt with snakes out in the country, he knew it wasn’t poisonous. Snakes do help with rodents, so he let it go into the woods.”

“Then, he went ahead and flung the saddle on my mare. He has saddled countless horses; it’s not his first rodeo. He just grabs the saddle by the pommel and sets it on the horse in one motion with the saddle pad, so he never touches the cantle.”

After thanking her father for his expert snake wrangling skills, Brooke went to cinch up her horse when she came face to face with a second snake curled up underneath the cantle of her saddle.

“Apparently, the second snake tried to go undetected,” she says. “It was really wedged in there, and it was the smaller of the two snakes. One snake was enough; we certainly weren’t expecting another!”

“The horse was clueless. She didn’t even know it was there. We just slid the saddle off, set it outside, and removed the snake. It was an amazing double whammy situation, but we dealt with it calmly and carefully.”

Even if you don’t go on trail rides, it’s a pretty good bet you and your horse will encounter a snake at some point. Over the years, we’ve heard our share of stories about snakes dropping down from the rafters of indoor arenas or snuggling up inside a lone cowboy boot that’s been left outside.

To help keep both you and your horses safe, here are a few tips.

-Keep areas surrounding the barn mowed down so snakes don’t have places to hide. Cutting walking paths through overgrown pastures is another good idea.

-Use a barn cat or other form of rodent control to cut down on your mice population. Mice and rats attract hungry snakes.

-If you have to store equipment outside, like stacks of trail poles, be sure to inspect carefully before reaching in blindly.

-Rotate your hay supply. Chances are, if you have hay stacked to the ceiling inside a barn, a snake might find this to be a nice hiding place.

-Don’t freak out. Not all snakes are poisonous and a full size horse has a very good chance of surviving a snake bite, due to their size. If you suspect that your horse has been bitten by a snake, follow these steps. First, call your vet. Then, try to identify where the horse has been bitten. See if you can identify the snake, carefully, and keep the animal calm until medical assistance arrives.

By the way, we agree with you Brooke, real cowgirls don’t have time to Photoshop…