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Texas Longhorn

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For the athletics programs of The University of Texas at Austin, seeTexas Longhorns.

Texas Longhorn
A Texas Longhorn cow
Conservation status
Country of originUnited States
Traits
Coatred, white, black, brown
Horn statushorned, large thick horns
A steer

TheTexas Longhornis an Americanbreedofbeef cattle,characterized by its longhorns,which can span more than 8 ft (2.4 m) from tip to tip.[4]It derives from cattle brought from theIberian Peninsulato the Americas by Spanishconquistadoresfrom the time of theSecond VoyageofChristopher Columbusuntil about 1512.[5]For hundreds of years the cattle lived asemi-feralexistence on therangelands;they have a higher tolerance of heat and drought than most European breeds.[6]It can be of any color or mix of colors. In some 40% of the cattle it is some shade of red, often a light red; the only shade of red not seen is the deep color typical of theHereford.

In the 21st century it is considered part of thecultural heritageof Texas.[7]: 343 

History

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A Texas Longhorn inAlvin, Texas
A Texas Longhorn inFort Worth, Texas

The Texas Longhorn derives from cattle brought to the Americas by Spanishconquistadoresfrom the time of theSecond VoyageofChristopher Columbusuntil about 1512.[5]The first cattle were landed in 1493 on theCaribbeanisland of La Isla Española (now known asHispaniola) to provide food for the colonists.[8]: 279 [9]

Over the next two centuries, the Spaniards used the cattle inMexicoand gradually moved them north to accompany their expanding settlements. The Spaniards reached the area that became known as "Texas" near the end of the 17th century. Eventually, some cattle escaped or were turned loose on theopen range,where they remained mostlyferalfor the next two centuries. Over several generations, descendants of these cattle developed to have high feed- and drought-stress tolerances and other "hardy" characteristics that have given Longhorns their reputation aslivestock.[10][6]

Riding a Texas Longhorn onPadre Island, Texas

The Texas Longhorn stock slowly dwindled, but in 1927, the breed was saved from near extinction by enthusiasts from theUnited States Forest Service.They collected a small herd of stock to breed on theWichita Mountains Wildlife RefugeinLawton, Oklahoma.[11]The breed also received significant attention after a Texas Longhorn named "Bevo"was adopted as the mascot of TheUniversity of Texas at Austinin 1917. The animal's image became commonly associated with the school's sports teams, known as theTexas Longhorns.A few years later,J. Frank Dobieand others gathered small herds to keep in Texas state parks. OilmanSid W. Richardsonhelped finance the project.[12]The Longhorns were cared for largely as curiosities, but the stock's longevity, resistance to disease, and ability to thrive on marginal pastures resulted in a revival of the breed as beef stock and for their link to Texas history.

In 1957, Charles Schreiner III began creating a Longhorn herd on his ranch, theY O,inMountain Home, Texas,as a tribute to the ranching legacy of his grandfather, Captain Charles Armand Schreiner, and the Longhorns he ran on his ranches. Schreiner purchased five heifers and one bull calf for $75 each from theWichita Mountains Wildlife Refugenear Lawton. In 1964, Schreiner founded the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America. The YO herd were the first cattle registered with the association. To draw attention to the Longhorn and its new association, in 1966, Schreiner organized acattle driveof Longhorn steers fromSan Antonio,Texas toDodge City,Kansas.[13]The drive was promoted as a centennial commemoration of the earlierChisholm Traildrives. Schreiner arranged for local members of theQuanahsheriff's posseto stage a simulated “Indian attack” as the steers crossed theRed RiveratDoan's Crossing.The attack was so authentic that the steers stampeded with cowboys in close pursuit. Four hours were needed to reassemble the herd. In 1976,Texas Tech UniversityinLubbockpersuaded Schreiner to stage a cattle trail drive to celebrate its newNational Ranching Heritage Center.[14]

In 1995, theTexas Legislaturedesignated the Texas Longhorn as the state large mammal.[15]In the 21st century, Texas Longhorns from elite bloodlines can sell for $40,000 or more at auction. The record of $380,000 on March 18, 2017, was for a cow, 3S Danica, and heifer calf at side, during the Legacy XIII sale inFort Worth, Texas.[16]

Registriesfor the breed include: theTexas Longhorn Breeders Association of America,founded in 1964 by theKerr Countyrancher Charles Schreiner III; the International Texas Longhorn Association; and the Cattlemen's Texas Longhorn Registry.[17]The online National Texas Longhorn Museum displays the diversity of horns found in the breed, stories about notable individual cattle of the breed, and a gallery of furniture made from cattle horns.[18]

Characteristics

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The Longhorn is genetically close to Iberian cattle breeds such as theDe LidiaandRetintaof Spain and theAlentejanaandMertolengaof Portugal.[19]Like otherCriollo cattleof the Americas and many breeds of southern Europe, it is principally oftaurine(European) derivation, but has a small admixture ofindicinegenetic heritage; this may be a consequence of gene flow across theStrait of Gibraltarfrom cattle of African origin dating to before the time of the Spanish Conquest.[5]

The horns are in some cases very long. In general, the horns of bulls are of moderate length, while those ofsteersmay be much longer.[20]: 313 In 2022 theGuinness Book of Recordsreported the longest spread of cattle horns (on a living animal) to be: 323.7 cm (127.4 in) for a steer called Poncho Via; 265.1 cm (104.4 in) for a cow named 3S Danica; and 262.5 cm (103.3 in) for a bull named Cowboy Tuff Chex. All three were Texas Longhorns.[21]

Coat color is extremely variable. In some 40% of the cattle it is some shade of red, often a light red; the only shade of red not seen is the deep colour typical of theHereford.Thefinchingpattern is common; when the base color is black it is calledzorillo,from the Spanish word for 'skunk'.[20]: 313 Other colors include variations of black, blue, brown, cream, dun, grey, yellow or white, either with or withoutbrindling(calledgateada,from the Spanish word for 'cat'), speckling or spotting.[20]: 313 Speckled and solid-coloured animals are in roughly equal proportion.[2]

Use

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The Longhorn was traditionally reared forbeef.[22]In the 21st century it is considered part of thecultural heritageof Texas;[7]: 343 it is the official large mammal of the state.[15]

It may be kept forconservationreasons, or bred for greater horn length.[23]It is occasionally used forsteer riding.[24][25]

References

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  1. ^Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007).List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources,annex toThe State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.ISBN9789251057629.Archived 23 June 2020.
  2. ^abTexas Longhorn Cattle (CTLR).The Livestock Conservancy. Archived 19 October 2021.
  3. ^Breed data sheet: Texas Longhorn / United States of America (Cattle).Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed February 2022.
  4. ^Siebert, Charles (July 2011)."Food Ark".National Geographic.Archived fromthe originalon June 25, 2011.
  5. ^abcMcTavish, Emily Jane (March 25, 2013)."New World cattle show ancestry from multiple independent domestication events"(PDF).Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.110(15): E1398–E1406.Bibcode:2013PNAS..110E1398M.doi:10.1073/pnas.1303367110.PMC3625352.PMID23530234.
  6. ^abDaniel Oppenheimer (March 25, 2013).Decoding the genetic history of the Texas longhorn.ScienceDaily.University of Texas at Austin. Accessed February 2022.
  7. ^abJoshua Specht (2016).The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of the Texas Longhorn: An Evolutionary History.Environmental History.21(2):343–363.doi:10.1093/envhis/emv148.(subscription required)>
  8. ^Janet Vorwald Dohner (2001).The Encyclopedia of Historic and Endangered Livestock and Poultry Breeds.New Haven, Connecticut; London: Yale University Press.ISBN0300088809.
  9. ^Rouse, John E. (1977).The Criollo: Spanish Cattle in the Americas.Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press.
  10. ^Barragy, Terrence J. (2003).Gathering Texas Gold.Cayo del Grullo, TX: Cayo Del Grullo Press.ISBN9780961160487.
  11. ^Donald E. Worcester."Longhorn Cattle," Handbook of Texas Online.Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
  12. ^Kate Galbraith (October 12, 2012).Symbol of Texas Owes its Survival in Part to Oklahoma.The Texas Tribune.Accessed May 2023.
  13. ^"YO Ranch".Texas History Notebook.December 6, 2016.RetrievedSeptember 6,2020.
  14. ^Dr. Idris R. Taylor Jr., ed. (April 1976)."Trail drive to Mark opening of Center".The International Center for Arid and Semiarid Land Studies.ICASALS Newsletter.9(2). Texas Tech University: 5–6.RetrievedSeptember 6,2020.
  15. ^abTexas State Symbols.Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Accessed May 2023.
  16. ^"Texas Longhorn Cow Sells For $380,000.00".rightsidesd.com.March 19, 2017.
  17. ^"Cattlemen's Texas Longhorn Registry".Cattlemen's Texas Longhorn Registry. Archived fromthe originalon November 16, 2012.RetrievedDecember 13,2013.
  18. ^"The Alan Rogers Texas Longhorn Museum".longhornmuseum.com.
  19. ^Kidd, K. K.; et al. (1980)."Immunogenetic and Population Genetic Analyses of Iberian Cattle"(PDF).Animal Blood Groups and Biochemical Genetics.11(1): 21–38.doi:10.1111/j.1365-2052.1980.tb01489.x.PMID7396241.
  20. ^abcValerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016).Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding(sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI.ISBN9781780647944.
  21. ^Records: "cattle horns".Guinness Book of Records.Guinness World Records. Accessed February 2022.
  22. ^Quick Reference Guide to Heritage Cattle.The Livestock Conservancy. Archived 14 December 2021.
  23. ^"A $380,000 Longhorn? A Look At The Never-ending Race For The Biggest Horns In Texas".Texas Standard.RetrievedSeptember 13,2018.
  24. ^"A fresh mount: Bob McCormick breaks longhorn steer to ride for bicentennial parade".Tri-Stock Livestock News.September 26, 2017.RetrievedSeptember 5,2018.
  25. ^"Oklahoma couple breeds longhorns for riding".The Fence Post.July 15, 2017.RetrievedSeptember 5,2018.

Further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related toTexas Longhorn cattle.
  • Will C. Barnes, "Wichita Forest Will Be Lair of Longhorns",The Cattleman,April 1926.
  • Dan Kilgore, "Texas Cattle Origins",The Cattleman,January 1983.
  • James Westfall Thompson,History of Livestock Raising in the United States,1607–1860 (Washington: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1942).
  • James Frank Dobie,The Longhorns(Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1980) (ISBN029274627X).
  • Don Worcester,The Texas Longhorn: Relic of the Past, Asset for the Future(College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1987) (ISBN0890966257).
  • Neal Barrett, Jr.,Long Days and Short Nights, A Century of Texas Ranching on the Y O 1880-1980(Y O Press, Mountain Home, Texas, 1980)
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