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<blockquote data-quote="Running Arrow Bill" data-source="post: 609523" data-attributes="member: 9"><p>Rustler9 made some good points. There's a lot more to Longhorns than just one or two traits, etc.</p><p></p><p>Breeding Longhorns to "look like" round commercial cattle while minimizing their historic traits is, to me, doing a disservice. There is a reason Longhorns are called "Longhorns"...lol. </p><p></p><p>There needs to be a balance: well-nourished bodies along with a nice rack of horns. </p><p></p><p>With all the "uses and applications" of Texas Longhorn Cattle, there is a significant market for lots of color, long horns, excellent temperaments, and moderate body condition. True, "Judges" tend to either go for either round fat bodies (or) traditional designs of Longhorns. To each his own. For a lot of breeders, and front pasture bred attractions, customers don't really want a "commercial cattle" body with a small set of horns. At Running Arrow Farm we breed for a balance of body and a very nice set of lengthy horns. We have several in the 70 to 80" range for total horn. We also strive to produce good toplines and underlines. Some of our cows are in the 1100 to 1400 lb range. We also have some cows in the 850 to 1000 lb range that are producing excellent calves with fuller bodies. It all boils down to selective breeding.</p><p></p><p>On a sidebar, we have converted to a "natural grass fed program". We have been able to maintain and improve body condition by feeding hay with 10 to 14% CP (plus supplementing with alfalfa) along with quality minerals. We no longer have to feed range cubes or sweetfeed (or other grains) to obtain condition (just look at some of our animals on our website). With our program, we have significantly reduced the cost of supplements as well as labor to dispense the supplements. Even with our hay costs increasing about 250% since 2002, our monthly average feeding costs per animal unit has only increased about 22%. Our management program, along with the natural ability of a Longhorn to convert forage/hay into their body, has been improving each year. We do not fatten our Longhorns for the Show Judge...we feed them to enhance their natural 500+ year heritage in the USA.</p><p></p><p> ;-)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Running Arrow Bill, post: 609523, member: 9"] Rustler9 made some good points. There's a lot more to Longhorns than just one or two traits, etc. Breeding Longhorns to "look like" round commercial cattle while minimizing their historic traits is, to me, doing a disservice. There is a reason Longhorns are called "Longhorns"...lol. There needs to be a balance: well-nourished bodies along with a nice rack of horns. With all the "uses and applications" of Texas Longhorn Cattle, there is a significant market for lots of color, long horns, excellent temperaments, and moderate body condition. True, "Judges" tend to either go for either round fat bodies (or) traditional designs of Longhorns. To each his own. For a lot of breeders, and front pasture bred attractions, customers don't really want a "commercial cattle" body with a small set of horns. At Running Arrow Farm we breed for a balance of body and a very nice set of lengthy horns. We have several in the 70 to 80" range for total horn. We also strive to produce good toplines and underlines. Some of our cows are in the 1100 to 1400 lb range. We also have some cows in the 850 to 1000 lb range that are producing excellent calves with fuller bodies. It all boils down to selective breeding. On a sidebar, we have converted to a "natural grass fed program". We have been able to maintain and improve body condition by feeding hay with 10 to 14% CP (plus supplementing with alfalfa) along with quality minerals. We no longer have to feed range cubes or sweetfeed (or other grains) to obtain condition (just look at some of our animals on our website). With our program, we have significantly reduced the cost of supplements as well as labor to dispense the supplements. Even with our hay costs increasing about 250% since 2002, our monthly average feeding costs per animal unit has only increased about 22%. Our management program, along with the natural ability of a Longhorn to convert forage/hay into their body, has been improving each year. We do not fatten our Longhorns for the Show Judge...we feed them to enhance their natural 500+ year heritage in the USA. ;-) [/QUOTE]
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