habituate : Many breed enthusiast keep Texas Longhorns as pets , curiosities , and links with the yesteryear ; a grow faction of admirers ride Longhorn tip in parade , shows , and on lead rides ; and Longhorns farm tender , tasty beef that is scurvy in juicy , cholesterin , and calories than the meat of most other stock .
History : When Christopher Columbus embark on his second voyage in 1493 , he carry in his hold the first cattle to set foot on American grime . Many postdate . These intrepid Spanish cattle , belike mix with Bos taurus moving west with American settlers from the East , were the ascendent of today ’s Texas Longhorns . Early Spanish oxen invariably run away and naturalized throughout the orbit comprising our American Southwest . Tough , ingenious , and fecund , they breed by the zillion . Enterprising cattlemen captured them , domesticated some , and drove countless number along cattle trail to slaughter . Their heyday , however , ended in the early twentieth one C when British breeds like the Hereford , Angus , and Shorthorn became the Bos taurus du jour . Texas Longhorns all but disappeared ; then in 1927 , the United States government placed remnant Longhorn herds on wildlife refuge in Oklahoma and Nebraska ; the country of Texas followed by install herd in Texas state parks . conservator and history buffs start breed Longhorn cattle and in 1962 , the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association was form .
form : No one ever name Longhorns ’ colors well than J. Frank Dobie , writing in The Longhorns ( Little , Brown & Company ; 1941 ): “ The colors were more varied than those of the rainbow . There were brindles ; blues – mulberry blue , closed chain - streaked blue sky , speckled downcast , grullas – so named because they had the hue of the sandhill crane , also call black eye - coloured or slate dun , washed - out and Jersey cream — all hue of ‘ scandalmongering ’ Robert Brown with true laurel point ; Black , solid and splotch with white , brown and crimson ; T. H. White both clearly vivid and dirty speckled ; many sabinas , flushed and bloodless peppered ; reds of all shades except the glowering richness characteristic of the Hereford , pale loss being very common ; paint of many combinations . The line along the back was vernacular , as in the mustang breed . common brown hairs around the ear were characteristic . The shading and combining of colors were so various that no two were alike . ” awful color , plus impressive horns ( on trophy tip , sometimes as longsighted as 120 inches from tip to tip ) and rangy good looks help Longhorns fend out in any bunch !
Special Considerations / Notes : Longhorns are incredibly dauntless animals ; these are cattle that know how to take maintenance of themselves . They ’re highly rich and long - hold out Bos taurus ; cows calve annually ( and easily ) well into their teenager . They adjust to all climates , they ’re parasite - resistive and they prosper on marginal forage , have them ideal for skunk - fed and modest - stimulant management situations .
