Welcome to the Boards!
Longhorns are a leaner breed. Again you are right about the disease resistance and fertility. They also have tremendous longevitity and maternal instincts, and cross well with many different breeds. They are extremely adaptable, and can be found being raised efficiently everywhere from deep south Texas all the way up into Canada (the Alberta Texas Longhorn affiliate is celebrating their 25th Anniversary this year). I have seen Longhorns crossed with Angus, Brahman, Red Angus, Charolais, MaineX, Simmental and Limousin. All the crosses looked good. THey are born small and hit the ground running and growing. On their own they do not compete with other breeds... however, when crossed right, and starting with quality stock, Longhorn crosses do very well, and Longhorn cross moms are excellent.
Thank you to Keren for the compliment on my animals. If you take at look at the website for the ranch I work for you can see what she is talking about:
http://www.shopsanddollarranch.com . We run them about an hour or so northwest of Fort Worth, and we are very happy with them. We raise them for show, but emphasize beef, structural correctness, and functionality. We will not win any awards for horn, but all of ours have them. We continually strive to breed the best animal we can, and have been very successful in the show ring with them.
As I have already noted, the "Shows" are not representative of the characterictic look of the Texas Longhorn in pasture condition and environment, as is typical of most livestock shows.
I would disagree with this statement. As not all longhorns in the pasture condition and environment are the same. That is one of the great things about longhorns is their versitility and differences within the breed. Our show animals do very well in the pasture and the show ring. I go to many shows across the country every year, I know the show side of the industry very well, and would say that the animals at the show tend to do very well in the pasture. The selection, management and overall goals of breeding programs are geared different for the show ring versus breeders trying to develop horn or not showing in general. Not saying either are better at selection or management, just they are different, but both can be successful in the pasture.
I wish you good luck if you do get some longhorns. I believe if you start with good, quality stock you will be very happy with the longhorns. They are a great cow with a tremendous history, and can still be extremely useful in the beef industry today.
Ryan