Texas Longhorns
By: Tyler Prizler
History of the Texas Longhorn
The Texas Longhorn is a mixed breaded cow that was formed in nature. The Texas Longhorn breed is also the only breed that was made in North America without the assistance of man. It is claimed that if this breed of cow was attempted to be made by man it could have not existed. After the almost extinction of the buffalo a creature that could provide a similar meat was needed that is when the Longhorns started their grazing days in the Great Plains. From here the Longhorn breed grazed as far north as the dakotas and as far south as Texas. Later this great breeds population declined due to beef productions poor performance, but was later saved in 1927 by the U.S. Government.
Genetics
The Texas Longhorn has been proclaimed to be a genetic goldmine. Some of its most famous abilities are easy calving, long horns for defense, high fertility, disease resistance, parasite resistance, and the ability to live off of lower quality food. Scientists are working on giving these genetic abilities to other breeds of cattle in order to speed up and increase cattle populations in operations.
Longhorn Images
Where The Breed Stands Today
The Texas Longhorn breed is no longer the empire that it once was due to more land being farmed and fenced off. Their population is much smaller and many cattle that were imported long ago strive better than them. The demand for longhorns is also much smaller due to imported breeds being able to gain more weight with less feed. This is a past time that may not ever return to its former glory.