The Legacy of The Longhorn… and Where They Fit Today

By: Tarah Moore

Texas Longhorns are iconically recognized as

an animal born from the heart of the Wild West. They

weren’t fine-tuned by the British Isles like prim

Aberdeen cattle. They weren’t reared by the hands-on

Welsh traders destined for Herefordshire.

Historical human intervention in the

Senior herd sire, Winchester
Photo from Tarah Moore with Triple T development of the longhorn breed can be summed up
Longhorns
in these few sentences: Columbus’ fleet transported

Moorish-Andalusian cattle into the Caribbean Islands only to set many of them free. Later

Spanish explorers drove Criollo cattle over the land, some of which escaped while others were

set loose as culls. Texan settlers raised horned European breeds that would inadvertently

crossbreed with the wild herds.

The culmination of these influences became a melting pot that produced a widespread

herd of a feral yet dignified animal entirely its own. And this was no Island of Misfit Toys. When

left to her own devices, Mother Nature can perfect the handiwork man all too often attempts to

override.

I’ve been in love with Texas Longhorns since a very young age. I’ve exhibited them at

shows since I was three years old in the pee-wee division, and had established a herd of my own

by the time I was in middle school. Yet, despite my passion and heavy involvement, I could

never lose sight of the fact that I was only a new stakeholder in a legacy established hundreds of

years before I was born.

 To state the obvious, these guys have long horns. “Whoa! Look out for those knockers!”

passersby say as I walk my steers down the aisle at fairs.

“He measures over 100 inches tip-to-tip,” I would brag to my friends, both longhorn-

raising and city folk alike, as if that was all the self-validation I needed in this world.

In the late teen centuries, evolution, too, seemed to think that horn length was a

cornerstone for pride. For natural selection to occur, a trait must contribute to the reproductive

success of that species. The callous lands of the 1800s were thick with predators such as wolves,

bears, and mountain lions. The cattle could rely on no one but themselves, making their horns the

key to self-preservation. Calves of cows with short horns were more likely to be taken prey,

making their bloodline unsustainable. But the dams with well-developed horns ensured their

offspring a long, productive future. Researchers have tracked a measurable increase in horn

length at every generation of these independent pioneers—each new birth putting the herd one

step ahead of any hunters that meant them harm.

But slinking carnivores were not the only thing out to get the early herds. Many diseases

were endemic to the southwestern hills, and Mother Nature’s innovations had to reach further

inward to ward off these foes. For reasons far more scientific than this writer can comprehend,

Texas Longhorns possess DNA elements not present in any of their previous lineage. This

disease-blocking genome was delivered not by ancestry, but by necessity.

This is rather amazing when we think of the sci-fi-like attitude most of the general

population uses to approach issues such as biotechnology or cloning (a phenomenon that man-

kind is coincidentally taking trial runs with in new-world cattle herds). Half a millennium earlier,

new genes appeared out of nowhere in the desolate Mexican lands to advance a species into a
new age of hereditary superiority. In other words, Mother Nature was bio-engineering before

genetics was cool.

In fact, humans didn’t know that these feral herds, then referred to as, “Texas Cattle,”

even had these abilities until plagues of tick fever abounded in more cultured breeds around the

nineteenth century. In the late 1860s, Midwestern farmers noted that, with the northward

migration of Texas Cattle, came an undocumented disease that was described in the livestock

publication, Veterinarian, as “fatal in every instance.” The ranchers’ animals, which of course

were products of their own genetic preferences, fell victim to the illness while the Texas Cattle

(the predecessors to our beloved longhorns) ambled about the prairies unaffected, even though

they were the confirmed carriers spreading the disease.

Still, the fact that Mother Nature created them

hasn’t stopped man from loving Texas Longhorns as

their own and, more recently, exerting our own will on

them through selective breeding. Natural selection had

to relinquish its hold of arguably it’s most beautiful

creation around the time of the cattle drives. This is the

part of the legacy that sticks most clearly in people’s

minds today. Hollywood has glorified the breed as a

rugged traveler, and the only option to drovers who

Younger prospect steers, TTT Biscuit
(left) and TTT Good Gravy (right) needed cattle that could survive the harsh trails.
Photo from Tarah Moore with Triple T
Longhorns

But a misconception this has led to is that longhorns are nothing more than a bag of

bones covered in a splashy hide. Even established cattlemen are often surprised to hear that they
are very much a beef breed. At fairs, we often have people approach us because they’re very

thrown off by our animals’ large frame and muscular physique. Unfortunately, even many long-

time longhorn breeders, themselves, make the mistake of believing that these animals are

foragers alone and are offended by the thought of fleshing them out for slaughter. Many people

seem to forget why we needed to drive cattle up north in the first place…

For beef!

Believe it or not, longhorns were selected for the cattle drives not just because they could

survive the journey, but because, thanks to mother nature’s additions of horns and hearty

immune systems, they could survive the journey so unbothered by predators and disease that

they still had meat on their bones to harvest.

No, longhorns are not going to rival market breeds in yield-per-pound any time soon, but

they are not the scrawny critters you see on the western channels. However, longhorn beef has a

leg-up in the market of increasingly-health conscious consumers: their meat is low fat and has a

flavor quite different from the pure-Angus filets you’ll find in a grocery store. In fact, many

niche restaurants have found great success in their decisions to serve only longhorn beef.

Another trait that makes this breed really attractive to the contemporary cattleman is low

birth weights. By crossing a longhorn bull on first-time heifers of a more mainstream breed, you

can protect the young females from too-large calves, yet still have a fast-growing offspring that

will be competitive at market. Longhorn mothers also have outstanding maternal instincts,

which, again, traces back to needing to protect their young with only their horns and wits in the

Mexican wilderness. Reliable milk production from petite and even udders, a hip structure that

rarely ever requires pulling calves, and innate protective behaviors are sure bets when utilizing

longhorn cows.
 Yet a completely different market, altogether,

has risen from weekend farmers and landowners

looking for a low-maintenance, tax exemption option.

This is something longhorn breeders have

affectionately termed, “pasture art.” A trophy steer is a

traffic stopper, compelling complete strangers to pull

Trophy Steer, TTT Talk About Me
Photo from Tarah Moore with Triple T up to your fence line for a few photos. My family has
Longhorns
sold many animals from conversations started in this

very scenario. What could be a better way to market a beautiful ornament like a herd of Texas

Longhorns than to station a few of the boldest we own, our older steers, in our front pasture as

round-the-clock salesmen?

Although Mother Nature’s recipe remains the core of the animal, Texas Longhorns have

become what man makes of them. Compared with the lanky and rag-tag ancestral herds, today’s

longhorn is bigger-bodied, meatier, and more refined. No longer confined to the deserts of south

Texas and Mexico, longhorns can be found all around the world, from the US and Canada, all the

way to Australia!

The Texas Longhorn’s ability to wear so many hats is its most viable characteristic.

Whether you’re a looking for new options for first-time heifers, want to break into a market of

lean beef, or just want to own a beautiful piece of Texas history, Texas Longhorns have a place

in your pasture.

Hopefully, however, we can all agree that preserving what makes this breed so unique is

just as important as catering them to the needs of a hungry and growing population, and we can

cater our breeding strategies to never stray too far from Mother Nature’s perfect beast.
 References

HAYGOOD, TAMARA MINER. “TEXAS FEVER.” HAYGOOD, TAMARA MINER, Texas

State Historical Association, 14 June 2010,

tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/awt01.

McTavish, Emily Jane, et al. “New World Cattle Show Ancestry from Multiple Independent

Domestication Events.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, National

Academy of Sciences, 9 Apr. 2013, www.pnas.org/content/110/15/E1398.

“Natural Selection.” Script, WH Freeman,

bcs.whfreeman.com/webpub/Ektron/pol1e/Animated%20Tutorials/at1501/pol_1501_scr.

html.

“Texas Longhorns: A Short History.” HistoryNet, HistoryNet, 8 Aug. 2016,

www.historynet.com/texas-longhorns-a-short-history.htm.