Longhorn or Mexican Bulls
Are of Spanish origin and are essentially the same
type as were seen in the fighting arenas of Spain.
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In the Old West, when calves were rounded up for branding, about one in every ten bull calves was kept for breeding purposes. The others were castrated and became steers. Large numbers of bull horns were not collected. They were shorter, stockier and less shapely than cow and steer horns. Bull horns typically had a forward and up growth pattern and would have not often reached 30 inches, tip to tip. Bulls have shorter lives than cows and steers and, on the average, would live ten to thirteen years. These early Mexican-type bulls, at maturity, might weigh around 1100 pounds. |