The Texas Longhorn

Jose Adan Pena

The Texas Longhorn.

The Texas Longhorn cattle is a name derived from a mixing of Spanish retinto stock and English cattle that Anglos brought to Texas from southern and Midwestern states . When I think about the Texas Longhorn I think about the University of Texas at Austin. Our University mascot is a longhorn by the name of “BEVO”. J. Frank Dobie wrote, "contend that both the horns and bodies of the Texas cattle were derived from importations from the States out of Longhorn Herefords of England. The Longhorn is considered as one of the oldest breed of cattle in England. It origins are very rare, and its breed was abundant in the northern countries of England. In the 17th and 18^th century Longhorns were the perfect animals to bread during the time. Their size and power was what the longhorns where known as in the northern states of England. Cattle arrived in the Americas with the first Spanish settlers. There were over 40 million longhorns in Texas alone by the end of the nineteenth century. The cattle is very strong and well adapted to their environment that they could not compete with the European beef breeds. By the 1920’s the Texas longhorn were almost extinct. The Texas Longhorn is the living symbol of the Old West. Their color is highly variable and their greatest characteristic is their immense horns which have been know to grow to an eight or nine foot span. They are long-lived, produce small calves and are highly disease-resistant. It colors vary according to the origin of the species. An individual animal my have areas of black, gray, brown and white. When I think about the longhorn I think about the wonderful aspects of Texas. What comes to your mind when you think about cattle, ranches, fairs, amusement parks? Every time I see a longhorn I think about my past. I think about the annexation of Texas into our nation. I think about the Alamo. Every time I think about the longhorns I feel happy and proud of being part of the team that represents the state of Texas. The longhorn will still be remember as a part of Texas and as a part of our lives.