longhorns

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> Do not doubt that, Frankie. (Next
> commet is NOT directed at you,
> ok?). Guess what ruffles my
> feathers sometimes on this and
> other boards is the intensity,
> bristling, etc., of the breeders
> and raisers of the various
> "other" (non-longhorn)
> breeds. It's like "It's OK if
> the others rant and rave and
> promote and praise THEIR
> breed...however, if someone so
> stupid as to raise Longhorns even
> dares to defend their breed, then
> the wrath of God (from all
> directions) descends on the lowly
> Longhorn breeder. It would really
> be nice if 95% of the posters to
> all the boards were little more
> tolerant of other's opinions and
> programs and not try to get into a
> "one upmanship" game.
> There is a lot of good information
> out there from everyone,
> good/bad/indifferent advice, and
> all. It's not a secret by any
> stretch of the imagination that
> breeders/raisers of some breeds
> are a touch arrogant and with a
> little primadonna complex;
> however, the world would be a lot
> more pleasant if people would
> enter into a nice discussion about
> "anything" without
> taking offense and disregarding
> the value of others opinions and
> programs. However, these type of
> issues are evident in ANY
> profession, business, or
> educational level...it is one huge
> pecking order, sociologically.
> Life is too short to unduly stress
> ourselves by attacking others. So,
> since this message is directed at
> the hundreds of people out there
> that interact with the various
> message boards, can't we all be a
> little more tolerant, accepting,
> and stop putting down and
> condemning each other???? (smiles
> and peace to all!)

My post was not meant to put down Longhorn. I actually appreciate alot of the qualities they possess, like their immune system. Like you I enjoy alot of the posts on this site but get a little frustrated with the over-zealous nature of many of the different breed owners. This is especially true when they cross up their facts. This is why I pointed out the fact that Longhorn in a more "native environment" are not the doscile animals that are raised on farms.

Thru all the breeding for better animals w/in the longhorn breed, has the superior immune system been maintained?



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> when we all have the same breeds or breeds(3 or 4) we will be like the hog and chickin factory farms then i.b.p an excel and houever will have us by the b!!!!!



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> My post was not meant to put down
> Longhorn. I actually appreciate
> alot of the qualities they
> possess, like their immune system.
> Like you I enjoy alot of the posts
> on this site but get a little
> frustrated with the over-zealous
> nature of many of the different
> breed owners. This is especially
> true when they cross up their
> facts. This is why I pointed out
> the fact that Longhorn in a more
> "native environment" are
> not the doscile animals that are
> raised on farms.

> Thru all the breeding for better
> animals w/in the longhorn breed,
> has the superior immune system
> been maintained?

As far as I know. I have not heard any comments from any of the Longhorn breeders, including the multi-million $$ operations about problems. Similarly, I have heard NO reports of any incidence of pinkeye or stuff. Like any animal, if a critter is left in the wild to fend for themselves, they will definitely become "survival of the fittest" creatures and without human handling, a touch unruly and defensive. As many know, it is extremely rare for a Longhorn calf to have any health problem from day one, assuming the parents are at least average in lineage and health for the species. For the PUREBRED longhorns for several + generations to have any health or calving problems (e.g. having to pull a calf) is extremely rare. This is not to say that some other breeds do not have similar good health and calving records. With any breed, if there is no human intervention to regulate who breeds whom, then there will always be some "culls" or bad apples; and, some will not survive...Darwin's Law. For any responsible cattle person, it is up to them to only breed and perpetuate the best of the litter and not pass on problems (health, conformation, or attitudes) to an unsuspecting or novice cattle person. Another example: I recently looked at the website of a major Longhorn breeder who had a great looking 3 week old calf with an outstanding pedigree who was advertised for $3,500. This same calf (black and white coloring) would probably have not brought more than $250 at the local sale barn since it was "Longhorn" and not solid red or black.



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> Please tell me where you have seen these Longhorn crosses with the enhanced horns unless you are possibly talking about a Watusi cross. I breed registered Texas Longhorns and also cross some for commercial beef but in the registered Longhorn world crossing is a no no. We are constantly striving for an animal that has a good beefy body as well as the longest possible horn length. I will have to disagree with you on this one. Sure there may be someone who has been dishonest and crossed another breed in with their Longhorns to get this but this is not the norm. I'm pretty sure there's some beef breeds being crossed in some Longhorn lines especially in some of these really competitive folks who want to win at all the shows. I know someone right now who has a Longhorn bull that has been promoted quite heavily-the semen from this bull seems to do quite well for those breeders who want a good beefy animal. However, I wouldn't dare breed one of my good registerd cows to this bull because I fell that I would be diluting the Longhorn breed. I don't know what they bred in to him but it looks as if it could be Limousin etc. This is fine foe a cross but not for promoting the pure bred Longhorn.I sometimes show my cattle as well but I usually get better show results when the shows are being judged by a Longhorn judge rather than a beef judge. The beef judge will always pick the animal showing the most beef traits and usually with much shorter horns than your average Longhorn.I'm not going to sit here and proclaim the Longhorn as an official beef animal-however I will say that for healthy low fat beef they are very capable of producing this. Sure the Angus are much beefier and have alot more fat. I don't like Angus personally but I don't knock others who do. I do see a lot of Angus people who are very closed minded and think it's the only breed. It's not-neither is Longhorn. I also have some Beefalo and like them-they sure do make some dandy crosses when crossed with Longhorn if you want a good beef animal. I've also sold some Loonghorn bulls to Angus breeders for those first calf heifers-that way yopu will pretty much geta a small calf that will grow well and usually be black for those black lovers out there.

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>Amen, Bill. I totally agree with you. Of course I do raise Longhorns and I love em but I don't bash other peoples breed of choice. As for the temperament of Longhorns-so far my experience has been very good. I did have one Longhorn bull that got too frisky when you approached him. He is no longer in my breeding program. I've been run through a barbed wire fence by a Belgian Blue bull, and also charged by a Hereford bull. My most recent bad experience was when my neighbor's Angus bull decided to take out several feet of fence and proceed to beat the crap out of one of my young Longhorn bulls who I had in with some young heifers. The Angus gave us all Hell and it was two weeks before we could actually get him loaded and on the way to the sale barn (by the way we didn't sell the neighbor's bull-he did because of the bull's outrageous behavior). This particular bull broke down a couple of gates and basically caused alot of trouble for no reason. The heifers weren't in heat evidently since all have sinced calved and were from the Longhorn bull. Yes I'm sure there are some mean Longhorn bulls but not mine-I know that this disposition will be passed on to the offspring. I tend to believe that most breeds are gentle as a whole and that alot of this depends on how they are raised and handled. But you can always have that one rogue in any lot.

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Roger, Yea they are corriani cross and I don't think I spelled that breed right, sorry to the breeders.It was a hit or miss breeding program.They did it only for rodeo. In an earlear post I talked about a Longhorn Steer who had some of the longest horns I'd ever seen on an animal,he was Watusi x Longhorn. The fellow who owned him is not into breeding animals he has a private petting farm. I am not into Longhorns I just shared my experiance with them. I admire a good animal that is well bred no matter the breed. Each breed has a special roll to fill for the breeder.Other wise they would't be in it,I have also found alot of people are not allways in it for the money.but also for the pleasure it gives them.But not all. Thanks

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Well said! We are also breeders of purebred Texas Longhorns, chasing beefy bodies, horns, color, and other "better" attributes of the TL. We do very selective line-breeding and out-crossing to other purebred longhorn lineages.

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Every breed has its ornery/mean cows. Longhorns are no different. We raise registered longhorns and one of the traits we look for in our cows and offspring is its disposition. When I get my hands on a mean one by accident, it ends up in the freezer. When my neighbor, who raises angus, gets an ornery/mean angus, he does the same.

My neighbor and I have great respect for each others' herds. We raise cattle for different reasons. He raises his to sell into the beef market. I raise mine to sell to the buyer who is looking for something beautiful in front of his estate.

There is a market for both types of animals whether they be longhorns, angus, herefords, etc.



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I have mostly Angus, and Simmental, but I have a couple of longhorns too. All the cows are fine, no problems, but the longhorns have been a pain, there is no fence that will keep them in, they crawl under, fly over, or walk through. On the positive side, they are good brushers and could survive where others can't, plus...you wear off any fat from the marbled beef chasing these ones back! On the negative side, I have no flowerbeds nor vegetable gardens left!!! I would like to know, do all longhorns rebel against fences, or are mine special?? Tell me quick before I shoot them myself!



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> Sorry about your rogue Longhorns. I've had two that I had trouble keeping in but out of the 50+ that I have currently-no problems. In my experience with various breeds there's always been somebody that just had to rebel. But seriously my Longhorns are pretty well mannered and stay where they should. I had a couple of heifers that I put into a pasture with a hot wire and that taught them a lesson.

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I personally don't think Beefalo should be considered cattle. They are only half bovine and don't have and true base they can be any breed crossed with Bison. I've been around these animals and a whole bunch of them are extremely ugly. But I'll agree with most people that there meat is tender for what little you can get that's not grissle. Jake

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One of my neighbors has about 10 longhorns and has the same problem with all of them. One day we sat there with a Video-recorder and a camera and watched one with 36" horns get on her knees and crawl under the electric wire. It was a sight! Jake

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> I personally don't think Beefalo
> should be considered cattle. They
> are only half bovine and don't
> have and true base they can be any
> breed crossed with Bison. I've
> been around these animals and a
> whole bunch of them are extremely
> ugly. But I'll agree with most
> people that there meat is tender
> for what little you can get that's
> not grissle. Jake

Jake, Thanks for your input. However beefalo are 3/8 bison 5/8 bovine as you pointed out of any breed.They are also as little as 17.5 %.While I will not pick a fight with you as you are entitled to your opinion. I can see however you haven't eaten the meat. If you had you would have found that they are increadably tender if finished right.They are higher in protein and moisture lower in fat,caloeies,cholesterol,etc. I know because alot of private reasearch has been done in this country and other parts of the world.You could enlighten your self if you wanted to check out the web sights, try the American Beefalo International, also The American Beefalo World Registery.You could point to " Beefalo" on your brouser.Good Luck! I have eaten this meat and in MY OPINION It was the best I have ever eaten,And yes I grew up on home growen beef.Corn Fed!!

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> I personally don't think Beefalo
> should be considered cattle. They
> are only half bovine and don't
> have and true base they can be any
> breed crossed with Bison. I've
> been around these animals and a
> whole bunch of them are extremely
> ugly. But I'll agree with most
> people that there meat is tender
> for what little you can get that's
> not grissle. Jake

Oh! Yes Jake, I raised a 1000# Bull calf who dressed out at700# and the Butcher who knows beefalo said he rated it PRIME!!! Cant do any better!!

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> A true Beefalo is not half Buffalo-it is 3/8 Bison and 5/8 Bovine. They look like regular cattle. In fact many look like Angus-some look alot like Charolais. This is due to the fact that any breed of cattle base can be used to make them. Yes, the foundation crosses (1/2 cow, 1/2 buffalo) are a little odd looking.

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> The CAB program is the
> responsibility of the American
> Angus Association. Indirectly, it
> is the responsibility of each and
> every member of the American Angus
> Association. What is an
> association other than a
> collection of members?

> Yes, it is the also the
> responsibility of each person that
> sells cattle through the CAB
> program to only present verifiable
> angus animals for CAB inspection.
> In reality, what is taking place
> is a convenient little "turn
> a blind eye to what is
> happening" pass the buck
> situation. NO ONE takes any
> responsibility whether they know
> what the cattle are or not. The
> inspector says, "as far as I
> knew, they were Angus" ,
> feedlot and packer say the same.
> The association says that the
> inspectors are in charge of making
> sure the animals are angus.

> Ultimately, the responsibility is
> that of the Angus Association. The
> real problem is that they are too
> money hungry and gutless to live
> up to their responsibilities. And
> I feel the same about each and
> every Angus Association member
> that turns their back on this well
> known fraud and keeps allowing it
> to happen. If you believe that
> less and less cattle of non-angus
> breeds are going to be sold
> through CAB in the future, then
> you have your head stuck deep in
> the sand.

> The real crime (and make no
> mistake, I believe it is criminal
> to keep perpetuating this
> deception on consumers) is that it
> is so very simple to remedy. All
> the Angus Association has to do is
> require that any CAB animal has
> one registered Angus parent.

> Don't worry it won't happen. I
> stand by what I have written. It
> is the responsibility of the
> American Angus Association to
> "clean up their act" but
> they are too money hungry and
> gutless to act.

> As far as Angus breeders are
> concerned, if the shoe fits wear
> it. You don't have to answer to
> me, only to your own conscious. I
> have no more to say about this
> matter.

I am not an Angus breeder, I have a problem with my breed, Hereford, the very same thing that John S is talking about and that is integerity when I use a bull that I like either AI or natural and I start getting brockle face calves I get mad a 6inch ring of red hair around the eyes is not eye pigmatition it is brockle faced and there is a skunk in the wood pile! Why because some purebred breeder wanted to get to the next size frame score faster than the next guy. As far a breed associations our association offers bloodtyping kits why would you do this if you were not sanctioning cheating. Don't you Angus breeders laugh at us I challange any Angus breeder to find an Angus without Chi. influnce in it.



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LOL. Sorry for my inappropriate laughter. No...all Longhorns are not like that. On the other hand, when Longhorns are introduced to a pasture they will walk the fence line looking for a weak spot. They can jump as well as like to use their horns to "test" fences and to play with objects when they are bored. If you have a fence jumper or crasher, get rid of it (preferably to the freezer) and get another one that is more well-mannered...genetics, genetics. We use 5' high barbed wire fences with 6 or 7 barb wires for our Longhorns (for added insurance, since I'm too old to chase a rare event down the road). Bottom 2 wires about 8" apart, rest of wires about 9" apart with no problems. I would not consider use an electric fence on our property since we have about 1/2 mile of highway frontage. And, in the State of Texas, a minimum 4' high, 5 barb wire fence is considered "legal effort to contain your livestock"...and a good defense in court. We do overkill on our fences; however, I always sleep well at night! Since we are producers of registered seedstock, our animals are too expensive to lose one due to cutting corners on fence construction.



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I grew up in Iowa, eating "corn fed" beef.. now I cant stand the stuff.. have to wipe the grease out of my mouth.. ick. Today, I can't find a decent piece of meat in the super market.. all tasteless and full of garbage. Including the "certified Angus" that is overpriced and just as tasteless. Too many antibiotics, too many growth hormones, too much hurry up on the feed out process. I raise Longhorns, and yes eat some of them. All natural, no antibiotics needed, no hormones required and lean. Wont eat anything else anymore...more like cant.. it is too disgusting. If you eat Longhorn meat, you have to learn how to cook it, but if you do, your heart will be alot healthier.

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Well said, good points! I would also add the note that ANY naturally lean meat, regardless of the species or breed, is cooked differently than unnaturally enhanced, overly fat meat. The same is true of "70% Ground beef vs 90% Lean Ground beef". Don't seen anything wrong with letting an animal graze and be fed naturally and maybe having a few more to make up for the "lost pounds" and ending up with non-hormone, steroid pumped-up, artificial meat. Mind you, I'm NOT into "organically certified foods" (that goes along with this un-natural bottled water craze...aka, tap water with a designer label)...but, we can raise healthy animals that produce excellent edible meat without pumping them up with "Incredible Hulk" steroids and such. Enuf said... :)



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