Miniature Texas Longhorns

[WildAcresFarm]

Hi all! I see there isn't too many Texas Longhorns breeders on here, but this is mainly for those few that are.

I've been breeding horses and lambs for about 10 years now and last year purchased my first bovine - a 9 month old Miniature Texas Longhorn bull. After that I was hooked! I now have a 4 year old cow bred to a beautiful white bull named Royal Flush and cannot wait for this baby!! I've always been obsessed with Texas Longhorns for as long as I can remember. But as we have a pretty small acreage farm that is bascially taken over by the horses as it is, the miniatures were my only option for the time being.

Miniature Texas Longhorns are still purebred registered Texas Longhorns, they're just short. Not too many people have heard about them and even fewer actually breed them (only a handfull in the entire US). If yall want to read up about them, I wrote a nice article for Wikipedia that provides tons of information. It can be found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniature_Texas_Longhorn

Anyways, I just wanted to post some picutures of my bull and cow and see what yall think of them. Remember they're supposed to look like regular sized Texas Longhorns, just pint-sized!

This is my 4 year old cow, Roxy

And my 2 year old bull, Little Bodacious - his horns are still growing rapidly!

(Pictures taken Aug 08)

Taken Feb 09. I know his eyes are closed and its not the greatest picture, but you can see his horn growth from Aug.
(Its hard to take a picture of Bo without him shoving his nose into and licking the camera!)

Thanks for looking, comments, etc!

 

[SANDTRAP]

i like roxy...looks just like a regular longhorn
and look at that set of horns

 

[Keren]

You have a beautiful cow there in Roxy, and a good start to build a little herd from.

Little Bo looks okay but to me doesnt seem as high quality as Roxy, but I'd have to see more pics of him as these arent the best angle.

Thanks for the pics, I never knew they had mini longhorns before

 

[WildAcresFarm]

Thanks I'll have to get some better pics of Bo soon!
Also, Roxy is a whole lot taller she's 48" tall which is the max hight for a "Miniature." Bo is only 36" tall, so that's why we have them as a breeding pair, Roxy for her quality and Bo for his size.

 

[goddy]

And the purpose of a miniature Longhorn is ?

When I looked at the first picture of the bull I have to admit I checked the date to see if it was April 1st.

Single trait selection whether it be for color or size or anything else is very dangerous in my opinion.

 

[Rustler9]

We have a miniature cow that we raised. She is out of full sized parents but for whatever reason she never got over 40" tall. She just had her first calf, a nice little bull out of a Heavy Hitter grand son. We'll see how he grows out. He's a nice red and white line back and appears to be regular sized. I know that John Fore in Louisiana has been breeding mini's for several years now. He bred them down from regular sized animals. I hope you enjoy your minis, they look nice, especially the cow. You'll find that there aren't many people on here who like Longhorns anyway so you'll probably get some nice remarks about them. I guess these are bred for the same reason any other breed has been bred down in size, more for the hobbyist or person who has small acreage but still wants to have a few cows. Good luck with them.

 

[WildAcresFarm]

We have a miniature cow that we raised. She is out of full sized parents but for whatever reason she never got over 40" tall. She just had her first calf, a nice little bull out of a Heavy Hitter grand son. We'll see how he grows out. He's a nice red and white line back and appears to be regular sized. I know that John Fore in Louisiana has been breeding mini's for several years now. He bred them down from regular sized animals. I hope you enjoy your minis, they look nice, especially the cow. You'll find that there aren't many people on here who like Longhorns anyway so you'll probably
get some nice remarks about them. I guess these are bred for the same reason any other breed has been bred down in size, more for the hobbyist or person who has small acreage but still wants to have a few cows. Good luck with them.

Thank you! I appreciate that! And yeah, I've noticed that. Every Longhorn breeder I've met has been kind-hearted, but I know lots of dissaproval from other breed breeders.

And the purpose of a miniature Longhorn is ?

When I looked at the first picture of the bull I have to admit I checked the date to see if it was April 1st.

Single trait selection whether it be for color or size or anything else is very dangerous in my opinion.

And to the purpose of them - I said in my first post - I do not have the acrage for full sized cattle, and I personally love Longhorns. So since, with the market being the way it is and I cannot afford to purchase more land, I got into the minis. Texas Longhorns are a historic and wonderful breed. I know many ranches that simply breed them to show them and just to have them, not harvest them. So the minis serve the same purpose to me as the full-sized do to those farms, to enjoy. Because what is life and farming without enjoyment? I have a quarter horse that I ride simply for enjoyment and a dog that I keep because I love her company. When I drive my truck up the road, my bull hears it and bellows out to me. People train Longhorns (the bigger ones) to ride, and claim they are just as smart a horses are. So why can't they posses the same love that horses do? Are all the people who raise horses simply to enjoy, pointless?

 

[alacattleman]

i dont think it matters if folks dont like em... i like longhorn myself, just dont want any. i was raising what i wanted at one time. but the market didnt care for em much...then i learned too like what the market wanted... you can actually see their enthusiasm through a increase at the pay window not too mention your own .

 

[Rustler9]

Wildacres, I've been into Longhorns for eleven years and have somehow managed to continue to breed and raise the breed of cattle that I like. I don't mind if the bull calves that I sell go for roping, beef, trophy steers or heifer bulls. I sell heifers to commercial cattlemen, Longhorn breeders whoever wants them. Many end up as pets, some probably wind up across the scales but I'm going to raise the breed of cattle that I like, not what somebody else thinks I should raise. I've had cattle all of my life and have had several breeds and crosses over the years but this is the breed that I will die with. If you like em, keep em and enjoy them. And oh by the way, they taste pretty darn good too. Don't let somebody tell you that they have to be certified_________beef to be good. I like my steaks cooked medium, if you don't burn em up they don't have to be full of fat. The main thing is-enjoy your cows whatever breed they are and don't worry about fitting into the mainstream black generic pool. I hear that they're not bringing such high prices right now either.

 

[goddy]

We have a miniature cow that we raised. She is out of full sized parents but for whatever reason she never got over 40" tall. She just had her first calf, a nice little bull out of a Heavy Hitter grand son. We'll see how he grows out. He's a nice red and white line back and appears to be regular sized. I know that John Fore in Louisiana has been breeding mini's for several years now. He bred them down from regular sized animals. I hope you enjoy your minis, they look nice, especially the cow. You'll find that there aren't many people on here who like Longhorns anyway so you'll probably
get some nice remarks about them. I guess these are bred for the same reason any other breed has been bred down in size, more for the hobbyist or person who has small acreage but still wants to have a few cows. Good luck with them.

Thank you! I appreciate that! And yeah, I've noticed that. Every Longhorn breeder I've met has been kind-hearted, but I know lots of dissaproval from other breed breeders.

And the purpose of a miniature Longhorn is ?

When I looked at the first picture of the bull I have to admit I checked the date to see if it was April 1st.

Single trait selection whether it be for color or size or anything else is very dangerous in my opinion.

And to the purpose of them - I said in my first post - I do not have the acrage for full sized cattle, and I personally love Longhorns. So since, with the market being the way it is and I cannot afford to purchase more land, I got into the minis. Texas Longhorns are a historic and wonderful breed. I know many ranches that simply breed them to show them and just to have them, not harvest them. So the minis serve the same purpose to me as the full-sized do to those farms, to enjoy. Because what is life and farming without enjoyment? I have a quarter horse that I ride simply for enjoyment and a dog that I keep because I love her company. When I drive my truck up the road, my bull hears it and bellows out to me. People train Longhorns (the bigger ones) to ride, and claim they are just as smart a horses are. So why can't they posses the same love that horses do? Are all the people who raise horses simply to enjoy, pointless?

Point taken and I absolutely agree - if you don't enjoy what you are raising then what is the point . Sometimes a typed question comes across badly - wasn't my intent to get your back up

Still seems to me that attention to structure, soundness etc is important in any breeding program if its going to be long term and , it may just be the pic , the back legs on the bull would really worry me.

 

[Mad dog 7]

Looks neat. Never saw any before now. I like them. I have learned something new.