Longhorn Question

[TheBullLady]

There seem to be a lot of Longhorn breeders here on the Boards, and I've been wondering.

How did you make the decision to become Longhorn breeders? What about the breed impressed you? What are you long term goals for your herd?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ryan]

How did you make the decision to become Longhorn breeders?

Family. My grandparents owned a ranch... my dad managed that til I was in high school. My dad started managing another ranch, I worked there in the summers and was hired on full time almost 2 years ago.

What about the breed impressed you?

Versatility, docility, color, disease resistance, history, the people in the association (for the most part), mothering ability, udder quality

What are you long term goals for your herd?

Make them as good as I can. Try to gain respectability from other beef breeders. Win as many shows as possible.

Ryan

 

[ETF]

It was a combination of factors for me (a "hobby" rancher with both the wife and I working full time town jobs to support our ranch habit):

1. First and foremost, they are extremely low maintenance. As a complete newbie to the cattle business, I need all of the help I can get from the animals. Many folks refer to them as "weekend cattle" because they require so little care. Having to do a 24-hour watch to help pull calves, with the potential to lose a percentage of calves and/or calves, wasn't something I was interested in. The breeder we bought ours from has raised longhorns for 24 years and has yet to pull the first calf.
2. They are efficient and effective foragers. We have 45 acres or so of pasture that was neglected for 10 years before we bought it. Longhorns will clear that out better than most anything but goats, plus I can run more per acre than most breeds if I want to scale up.
3. There is an increasing market for grass fed lean beef, at least in this area. Longhorns will get docked heavily at auction if you go that route, but that would be a last resort for me. I already have several people interested in buying freezer beef when it's available. Plus there is a lot of money to be made at the registered longhorn sales, if your cattle have enough horn. You can also sell or lease them as roper stock and you can sell the horns and hide in addition to the meat.
4. They are very docile, despite their reputation. After two days, mine would come when called and follow me around as directed. The reputable breeders cull heavily for disposition - the last thing you want is a bad attitude attached to a 6 foot set of horns.
5. They're gorgeous and have an infinite number of horn and hide color combinations. People just love to look at them.
6. I don't know if this holds true everywhere, but every single person associated with longhorns that I've talked to has been extremely nice and helpful. Everyone is someone that I would like to get to know better.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Bull Lady, Ryan, and ETF...y'all pretty much said it all!

At this point, I can't think of anything else to add... ;-)

 

[VanC]

I don't know if this holds true everywhere, but every single person associated with longhorns that I've talked to has been extremely nice and helpful. Everyone is someone that I would like to get to know better.

Well it's certainly true of the Longhorn breeders we have on this forum, IMO. Not only are they very knowledgable, they are quick to answer questions with patience and respect, often in the face of unfair and unwarrented ridicule. My hats off to them.

 

[Ryan]

I don't know if this holds true everywhere, but every single person associated with longhorns that I've talked to has been extremely nice and helpful. Everyone is someone that I would like to get to know better.

Well it's certainly true of the Longhorn breeders we have on this forum, IMO. Not only are they very knowledgable, they are quick to answer questions with patience and respect, often in the face of unfair and unwarrented ridicule. My hats off to them.

Thank you. I've always appreciated how friendly everyone is in the Texas Longhorn business. I've had several judges tell me how much they enjoy the longhorn shows, b/c of how friendly the exhibitors are. Everyone is willing to show anyone else's animals, even if that animal is competition, if they can. Always looking to lend a helping hand to the people they are fixing to go into the ring and compete with. I know my best friend and I are always ribbing each other about showing and competing with each other. But we always have a good time and congratulate each other when the other wins.

Ryan

 

[greg02]

I agree with all the comments. My wife and I picked the longhorn breed for their disease resistance, calving eases and adaptability. Although I’ve been around cows all my life, I’ve only been raising longhorns for the past 3 years. They are very low maintenance compared to the others I’ve been around. It is amazing to watch them graze. Mine are not that picky when it comes to food. I think they like to eat weeds and leaves more than the Bermuda grass. To me the best part of the whole thing is the calving season. The variations of color are amazing. For the most part, you never know what you are going to get until they hit the ground.

Greg

 

[Ryan]

I think they like to eat weeds and leaves more than the Bermuda grass.

Oh yes. I love watching them stand in the deep grass, and strech their necks out to reach some leaves and grab 'em with their tongues. they go through that much trouble to get some leaves, while standing in grass.

 

[CopeMan]

I have to say I am becoming more interested in them then I used to be.

 

[DrumRunner728]

The more time I spend around the Longhorns, the more I like them (and I liked them pretty well from the start). I love to just sit and watch them - they are such magnificent looking animals. I'm glad this is the path we chose!

 

[warpaint]

I guess the real reason, I started out with Longhorns is that they will eat practically anything and sustain their weight from forage that other cattle won't touch.
One of the hi-lights of going home after a couple weeks away, is to sit on the deck with my coffee and watch them in the pasture.

 

[Moocow11]

i have always wondered about longhorns but stayed away because of the horns and the faclties that you need to handel them

 

[Rustler9]

You really don't need any special type of facilities to handle them if they are fairly gentle and are used to being around people. I say that because we lease land all over two counties and are always moving our cattle around. We made a deal on another 110 acres last night so we'll be moving about 30+ head over there in the next few days. We are in such a drought here that I had to find some more pasture. We can take a bucket or bag of range cubes and give a holler and all of ours come runnnig. You basically need a few corral panels that you can haul around and you can get them up and do whatever you need to or at least that's the case with ours.

 

[DrumRunner728]

Agreed, Rustler. It didn't take our new cows more than two days to figure out what "COME UP!" meant. They know there's a bucket of range cubes waiting on the other end of that yell! The idea is that when you need to move them around they will follow that bucket.

As for the horns, any responsible breeder will dispose of an aggressive Longhorn ASAP. All of our girls are very curious, but none of them have shown any signs of being aggressive or ill tempered.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Ours know their own pasture name and will come when called. Also respond to hand signals and a fiberglas sorting stick as a temporary "fence" to direct them.

After 24 hours of bonding with dam, we can pick up calf and weigh it...rarely have to use any special precautions (e.g., herd either mama or calf into their shed and close shed gate).

One of our keys is having only gentle Longhorns, walk down alleyways daily to check stock tanks and fill them, walk in their pastures as needed. Use their name, let them sniff our hand, just act normal around them so they are used to people as well as their pasturemates.

They respect our space and we respect theirs. And, we don't get between them and their range cubes (when we do give them cubes)... They will also eat a handful of hay out of your hand. Their flight zone will range between "0" and 10 feet or so, depending on the animal. Most love to have their chin or shoulders scratched; some will even let you rub their back or hindquarters and ears. [However, we LIMIT our touching with our BULLS...don't want to make them "pets"]