Resting Longhorns BW 001
by Jor Cop Images
Title
Resting Longhorns BW 001
Artist
Jor Cop Images
Medium
Photograph - Cow Photographs
Description
It was a beautiful day during a Countryside drive and walk in the Calgary, Alberta area in which was only made better by circumstances where upon my path crossed paths with this distinct breed, making my day, giving me a city dwellers chance to admire this breed knowing it’s only one of so many different breeds of cattle that exist.
All though the Texas Longhorn cow (cattle) carries the name of Texas upon its back, (can also be referred to as the American Longhorn) it shows us genetics that originated from an lberian breed with two ancient cattle markers.
One being the “taurine” breed line descending showing about 85 % of the breed from the domestication of the wild Aurochs in the the middle east and the second breed called “Indicine”, giving us the 15% mixed into its original breeding and it was descended from the domestication of the Aurochs breed from India.
History shows us that the Texas Longhorns are direct descendants of the very first cattle in the New World.
It was Christopher Columbus that brought over the first cattle in 1493 to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. Between the years of 1493 and 1512, it was the Spanish colonists that brought over additional cattle giving the Americas three different breeds, the Retinto, Barrenda and the Grande Pieto.
With in the next two centuries the Spanish moved their cattle north into an area which in time would become Texas at the end of the 17 century. These cattle were turned loose or escaped into the open range, where the became mostly feral during the next two centuries.
The early US settlers started mixing their own eastern cattle with these Mexican feral cattle that were in the area between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande.
Upon doing this and mixing the different breeds of cattle, it gave us a tough and rangy cow that had long horns that can extend up to a seven foot span with very long legs. Although with the mixing of these breeds it did not have real consequence regarding the whole makeup of the Longhorn cattle but it has altered the colour, in which has a vast colour range that goes from a bluish-grey, and various yellow hues all the way to solid and mixes of brown, black, white and ruddy in which can be a clear and sharp as well a dirty-speckled.
Two of the closest breeds of cattle that are known to the Texas longhorns are from the Portuguese breeds such as the Mertolenga and Alentejana that are them selves two of the thirteen registered Portuguese breeds from all Portugal regions.
In time the Texas longhorn stock slowly dwindled, it was in the early 1920s the population of Longhorns became near their extinction. It was with the guidance from the United States Forest Service which in turn collected a small herd to breed in the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge Region in Lawton, Oklahoma in which
the numbers began to increase slowly from that point on.
Over the years the breeding stocks longevity and resistance to disease along with its ability to thrive upon marginal grassed pastures has quickly revived this breed as an reliable beef stock as well retaining their link to Texas history.
My black and white photograph does show us a photo of a Texas Longhorn resting and chewing amongst other Longhorns on bright sunny afternoon, but this particular herd is in Alberta, Canada. Being a breed of cattle that has been with us for ever it has been a breed that still attracts farmers as well as commercial ranchers to maintain such animals as well to cross-breed longhorns with other breeds of cattle to increase its Hybrid Vigour and longevity.
(Please note: The "Watermark" will not appear on final prints of the photograph.)
Uploaded
June 12th, 2018
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