Purpose

Most breeds of cattle fall into either beef or dairy. The Texas longhorn is more of a beef animal and is known for its lean beef, which is lower in fat and overall calories than most beef. The Texas Longhorn is also utiliozed for their many excellent qualities adding hybrid vigor and easy calving when crossed with other breeds. However, they continue to represent the romance of the Old West and are often retained for their beauty and intelligence.

Many Texas longhorn breeders (owners) raise their cattle for horn measurements. Due to the variation in horn growth, with some cattle having almost flat horns while others have many twists and turns, there are 3 measurements that are taken.

· Tip to Tip - The length from each tip of the horn, a straight line. This is the most common measurement.
· Total Horn - The total length following the horn and always greater than the Tip to Tip
· Base (or Poll) - The circumference of either horn at the point where it meets up with the animal's head
These measurements are also adjusted to a Horns per Month of Age (HMA) which is calculated by dividing the number of months of age into the horn measurement. For example, a 48 month old animal with 50" of horn would be 50 / 48 or 1.04" per month of age.

It is also common for many ranchers to cross breed longhorn with other breeds to have the same behavioral characteristics. This is especially true in colder areas where purebred longhorn cattle may have a difficult time through the winter

Texas longhorn in popular culture

The Longhorns is the nickname of the sports teams of The University of Texas at Austin and the school mascot is a longhorn named Bevo.