Knersie's post is an excellent example of the kind of answers which I think should be stressed on these threads. It explains why the bone size is important, and at the same time opens up the justification of THINKING about one's cattle business in a reasonable and sensible manner. People in the beef business can dabble in it as a hobby, they can use it as a supplementary income to another source of financial revenue, or they can engage in beef production as a full time business, either in a Terminal operation, a cow/calf enterprise, or as a Purebred protocol -BUT the critical lesson to be learned in this small facet of beef cattle management is that even the seemingly small details of analysis of an animal carries with it the important factors which may determine if a breeder will "make" it in the business, or "fail" to make a success of their efforts, even if they are just "playing" with pets.
Understanding how a beef animal is made and how it functions is important - even if one is playing with genetics. It isn't a game to be taken lightly. We are dealing with one of God's finest creatures! Thank you Knersie for a great answer to a sensible question!
DOC HARRIS