Country legend Willie Nelson is known for a lot of things. He’s a renown entertainer, musician, singer, and songwriter. He’s a strong advocate for legalized weed. In fact, he makes and markets his own brand called “Willie’s Reserve.” He has been raising money for American farmers by performing in Farm Aid concerts for decades.
And he even got a little political last year and
performed in support of then-Texas senatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke, even though politics is something Nelson says he tries to stay out of. He
says his fans don’t come to see him for something they can get on all day on television. He made the exception with O’Rourke.
During an interview Nelson with KSAT it’s discovered that Nelson has added another good deed buckle onto his belt. He saves horses from a cruel death. He has 70 horses on his 700-acre ranch called “Luck,” located in Spicewood. Most of the horses are rescues. All of them are spared from going to the slaughterhouse.
So why does the country legend call his ranch Luck? KSAT reports that he smiled when explaining his reason, saying, "When you’re here, you're in Luck, and when you're not, you're out of Luck."
Those horses are lucky—and happy, Nelson says.
"My horses are probably the luckiest horses in the world," Nelson said to KSAT. "They get hand-fed twice a day, and they were just ready to go to slaughter is probably the last thing they remembered, so they’re happy horses."
Nelson still goes out on the road to perform and is currently on a 200-day tour. When the 87-year-old was asked about retirement he jokes, “I retire after every show. I say, 'That's it, I'm not goin' no more,' but then we hang out awhile and people (his band) feel like playing, and so we go play again."
Said to be in good health, Nelson leads a “relatively stress-free” life but remembers all too well when it wasn’t that way during his trouble with the IRS.
In reference to the IRS, Nelson said to KSAT, "I remember that I remember those guys. You're supposed to get a little smarter as we get older," Nelson continued. "Every now and then, I think I’m getting a little smarter, but I’m not sure."
Below is a public YouTube video courtesy of KSAT where you can hear a little more of the story.
It was a good day when this man was born. At a minimum, if his horses could speak, they would surely attest.