If you have your own ranch or own any cattle, you are probably familiar with the longhorn cattle. The Longhorn Cattle, also known as the Texas Longhorn, are known for their excessively long horns. The average length of a longhorn cattle’s horns is between 195-205 inches. The longest horns ever recorded on a longhorn cattle is 127 inches. While most cattle do have horns, the longhorn cattle certainly stick out as an anomaly (hence how they got their name). The average longhorn cattle weighs around 1,300 pounds.

History of the longhorn cattle

The longhorn cattle originated in an area that is known as present day Spain and mixed with cattle from India. Once brought to the Americas, a large portion of the longhorn cattle resided in Texas. This is because they can withstand high temperatures and can go long periods of time without a lot of water. 

Today, longhorn cattle are a very sought after breed. Longhorn Cattle with good genes typically sell for around $35,000, and the most expensive longhorn cattle ever sold was for a whopping $400,000. Aside from their very long horns, longhorn cattle are also known for their very calm and friendly demeanor. There are very few reports of longhorn cattle attacking humans.

Why do longhorn cattle have long horns

Longhorn cattle have long horns as a result of evolution and natural selection. While the longhorn cattle were living in the wild, they were forced to fend off predators like jaguars and wolves, whom in packs were very fast and posed a significant threat to the longhorn cattle. Thus, the cattle with the longer horns were better able to fend off attacks from these predators. As a result, the gene for long horns was passed down at a very high rate, which is why longhorn cattle today have such long horns.