Texas Longhorn Cattle

DR. GERALD KLINGAMAN

FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS

I always considered myself a farm boy, but in truth, we always had cattle grazing the pastures. Calling oneself a rancher, even for those neighbors who had lots of cattle and never raised crops, seemed presumptuous. Ranchers ran giant spreads and chased storied cattle such as Texas longhorns across the range. Longhorn cattle were the first cattle introduced to the New World, arriving on Columbus’s second crossing over 500 years ago. The ancestors of Texas longhorns originated in southern Spain. They were introduced to Mexico with the conquistadors and spread throughout the continent as Spain expanded her reach. Spanish settlements, along with their cattle herds, arrived in modern-day Texas in the late 1600s. Cattle were allowed to run free on the open range, only being rounded up as needed to supply meat for the hacienda.

While Spain held official title to much of the territory we now think of the American Southwest, the land was thinly populated and poorly defended. In 1835 the battle at the Alamo was the highlight of the Texas Revolution which sought to shake off control of Texas from the Mexican government. A decade later in 1845 the United States annexed Texas, starting what became the Mexican-American War. American force prevailed with California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas becoming the spoils of war.

Receiving almost no attention during the rearing process for at least 150 years, natural selection began culling the feral herd. They were so wild, some early travelers thought them to be a native cow. Longhorns are a small- to medium-sized breed of cattle that drop relatively small calves. This trait is still touted as an advantage for modern day ranchers who like to get a good night’s sleep when the cold winds blow in January.

While not quite as good a browser as goats or deer, longhorns made do with what forage they could find. And they make do with more marginal water supplies than most European breeds. Finally, they developed a way to defeat the screw worm, a devastating fly that I remember being a constant threat to our small herd in the 1960s, when it was finally eradicated.

Then came the Civil War. Texans returning from battle found an abundance of longhorn cattle across much of the state. The cattle drives across Indian Territory to Kansas City, Dodge City and Abilene, Kansas, between 1867 and 1880 are the stuff of legend and cemented this breed into our consciousness, especially if you are from Texas. It is believed about 10 million animals were driven north to waiting cattle cars during this colorful period.

The government’s wholesale slaughter of the great American bison herd ended about 1880, leaving behind vast prairies filled with grass. Cattle drives after that period, immortalized in Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove, were to restock the ranges with cattle. The longhorn, though selected in the south land, did fine in colder climates as far north as Nebraska and Montana.

Then homesteaders began cutting up the land into quarter-section parcels, erecting barbed wire fences and needing better milk cows for their families. By 1900, the longhorn breed was being replaced by Guernseys, Herefords and Angus. By 1920 this heirloom breed had almost disappeared. A group of Texas ranchers began assembling a small herd of longhorns which still persists, as the Official State of Texas Longhorn Herd and can be seen at Fort Griffin State Historic Park. In 1927, the U.S. Forest Service assembled a small herd on the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge near Lawton, Oklahoma and helped keep the breed alive. This same refuge was responsible for keeping our native bison, commonly known as buffalo, from going extinct.

Longhorns don’t pack on weight as fast as modern breeds, so they have mostly been bypassed by modern-day ranchers. They are a variable lot with about half being solid colored, half spotted. The color range is from black to light red and all shades in between. Bulls have the shortest horns; cows often range up to six feet across. Steers have the longest horns, sometimes exceeding nine feet in length. It is estimated about 100,000 animals exist today with interest growing because of their ability to survive on marginal land and an increasing demand for leaner beef.

So, what is the evolutionary advantage of a massive rack? Beats me. Maybe the elk could answer this question. But in the Longhorn Breed Association, a massive rack gets noticed. A cow-calf combination went for more than $400,000 recently. So I suppose size does matter.

Gerald Klingaman is a retired Arkansas Extension Horticulturist and retired Operations Director for the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks. After more than two decades of penning the popular Plant of the Week column, he’s taking a new direction, offering views on nature as he pokes about the state and nation. Views and opinions reflect those of the author and are not those of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. If you have questions or comments for Dr. Klingaman about these articles contact him at musingsonnature@gmail.com.  ∆

DR. GERALD KLINGAMAN: University of Arkansas