Barbed C Ranch with dozens of longhorns running toward a fence.

Longhorn Resources

Discover everything you need to know about being a cattle rancher with our online resources and expert insights.

Table of Contents

Fun Facts About Longhorns

    • The ancestral Spanish cattle were first brought to North America by Christopher Columbus in 1493 to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, traveling from Spain to the West Indies, then Mexico, before arriving in Texas and Nebraska.

    • The Texas Longhorn's population plummeted to near extinction in the 1920s and was revived with guidance from the U.S. government.

    • Texas Longhorn cattle sales post-Civil War helped Texas recover from an economic depression.

    • They didn’t become the Texas state large mammal until 1995.

    • They are not related to the English Longhorn and are sometimes mistaken for Watusi cattle.

    • The breed is also referred to as the American Longhorn.

    • Both male Longhorn bulls and female heifers have horns.

    • They come in all colors and patterns, including spotted.

    • Longhorns can forage on brush and survive days without water, unlike other cattle.

    • Calves begin sprouting horns by the age of 3 weeks and are known for their hardiness, standing quicker and being popular in crossbreeding.

    • The widest horn measurement spans more than 10 feet.

    • The heaviest steer tipped the scale at 2045 pounds at 10 years old.

    • The longhorn cow is famous, in novels like “The Longhorns” by J. Frank Dobie, who was instrumental in saving the breed from extinction.

    • Their horns exemplify evolution’s natural selection.

Many longhorns and calves on Barbed C Ranch grazing in the grass.

Courses / Workshops

Ranching for Profit School

This online course will help you to find the breakthroughs that will improve the health and productivity of your ranch, the profitability of your business, and the quality of your life. LEARN MORE →

Ranch Management University

This intensive 4-day workshop targets new or inexperienced ranchers and landowners and covers the fundamentals of soils and soil fertility, forage establishment, pasture management, and utilization by livestock. LEARN MORE →

Newsletters and Magazines

Subscribe today to these various magazines and email newsletters to stay up to date about cattle ranching.

Helpful Books

Browse our educational book recommendations, organized by category, to find the perfect resources for enhancing your cattle ranching expertise.

    • Grass Fed Cattle: How to Produce and Market Natural Beef by Julius Ruechel.

    • How to Not Go Broke Ranching: Things I Learned the Hard Way in Fifty Years of Ranching by Walt Davis.

    • Storey's Guide to Raising Beef Cattle by Heather Smith Thomas.

    • Salad Bar Beef by Joel Salatin.

    • Knowledge Rich Ranching by Allan Nation

    • Grassfed to Finish: A Production Guide to Gourmet Grass-Finished Beef by Allan Nation.

    • Healthy Land, Happy Families and Profitable Businesses: Essays to Improve Your Land, Your Life and Your Bottom Line by Dave W Pratt

    • No Risk Ranching: Custom Grazing on Leased Land by Greg Judy.

    • If You Want To Be A Cowboy, Get A Job by Stan Parsons.

    • You Can Farm: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Start & Succeed in a Farming Enterprise by Joel Salatin

    • Thoughts and Advice from an Old Cattleman by Gordon Hazard.

    • The Contrary Farmer by Gene Logsden

    • You Can Farm by Joel Salatin

    • Introcution to Permaculture by Bill Mollison

    • Making Your Small Farm Profitable by Ron Macher

    • The Merck Veterinary Manual, 11th edition

    • The Cattle Health Handbook by Heather Smith Thomas.

    • Essential Guide to Calving: Giving Your Beef or Dairy Herd a Healthy Start by Heather Smith Thomas.

    • Moving 'Em: A Guide to Low Stress Animal Handling by Burt Smith.

    • Humane Livestock Handling: Understanding livestock behavior and building facilities for healthier animals by Temple Grandin.

    • Manual of Stockmanship by Steve Cotes.

    • Range Management: Principles and Practices, 6th Edition by Jerry Holecheck

    • Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior by Temple Grandin

    • Stockmanship 101 by Bob Kinford

    • Steve Cotes, soil and range conservationist, teaches stockmanship to range, feedlot, dairy, and pasture livestock producers. Order his book at www.cotestockmanship.com/learning-resources.html

    • Hands-On Agronomy: Understanding Soil Fertility and Fertilizer Use by Neal Kinsey

    • Greener Pastures on Your Side of the Fence: Better Farming With Voisin Management-Intensive Grazing by Bill Murphy

    • Kick the Hay Habit: A Practical Guide to Year-Around Grazing by Jim Gerrish

    • Management-Intensive Grazing: The Grassroots of Grass Farming by Jim Gerrish

    • Quality Pasture: How to Create It, Manage It & Profit from It by Allan Nation

    • Pasture Profits With Stocker Cattle by Allan Nation

    • How To Raise Cattle: Everything You Need To Know by Philip Hasheider

    • Holistic Management: A Commonsense Revolution to Restore Our Environment by Allan Savory, Jody Butterfield

    • Holistic Management Handbook: Healthy Land, Healthy Profits by Jody Butterfield, Sam Bingham, Allan Savory

    • Pasture Perfect: How You Can Benefit from Choosing Meat, Eggs, and Dairy Products from Grass-Fed Animals by Jo Robinson.

    • The TLBAA  cookbook

Hand Drawing of grass.

Memberships

Join leading cattlemen associations and memberships to connect with fellow ranchers and stay informed on industry best practices.

Cattle Drives

Experience the tradition and adventure of cattle drives from expert cattle ranchers.

Third-generation cattle rancher Weldon Wilson must moves his herd of longhorns across 16 miles of land the old fashioned way.

The Huebner family has been driving their cattle herd from the Matagorda Peninsula across the Colorado River through the town of Matagorda for 80 years.

  • Most modern Texas Longhorns are gentle and easy to handle, making them popular as riding steers and ideal for weekend ranchers. Regular interaction with people keeps them manageable, but those not used to humans can become wary. While our cattle have never intentionally harmed anyone, their long horns require caution to avoid accidental contact. They also protect their calves from dogs, so we keep dogs at a safe distance.

  • No, Texas Longhorns have minimal health problems. Follow standard vaccination programs, provide good pasture or hay, necessary minerals, clean water, and regular parasite control. Supplement their diet if pasture quality is poor. With proper nutrition and vaccinations, health issues are rare.

  • No, we have never had birthing problems with Texas Longhorn calves, and such issues are nearly nonexistent in the breed. This is why many commercial cattlemen use Texas Longhorn bulls with European breed cows. The calves are born easily and crossbred cattle usually gain weight quickly.

  • Texas Longhorn bulls typically reach about 50% of their eventual horn length by one year of age and 95% by four years. Cows reach 50% around 15 months and 95% between five and six years. Horn growth slows with age, though steers' horns continue to grow steadily due to low testosterone levels. These are averages, with variations depending on horn shape.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Registered Texas Longhorns must have a holding brand (the ranch or owner's brand) and a unique private herd number. Branding can be done with fire or freeze brands. Brand designs should be registered with both the breed association and your local authorities, following local regulations. In Texas, brands must be registered in each county where the ranch operates and renewed every decade at the County Courthouse.

  • Texas Longhorns are raised across North America, parts of Europe, and Australia. They thrive in hot, cold, and moderate climates. Successful breeders can be found everywhere cattle are raised, including Canada, the Pacific Northwest, the northern Plains, the Northeast, and the Southeast. They do well even in areas where other breeds struggle.

  • Texas Longhorns, like all cattle, primarily eat grass and forbs. However, they graze on a wider range of plants than most cattle. This reduces damage to rangeland since they don't focus on just a few species, allowing them to thrive in various conditions.

  • We pasture our horses with Texas Longhorns, as many breeders do, without any issues. Keeping cattle and horses together is often recommended to maintain pasture quality and reduce parasite loads, as cattle parasites don't survive in horses and vice versa.