The name “Texas Longhorn” is a bit of a misnomer, as the breed originated in Africa. The Moors took the breed to Spain over 500 years ago. The Longhorn came to the New World on Christopher Columbus’ second trip to Santa Domingo in 1493.  In 1521, the Spanish explorer Gregorio de Villialobos brought  Longhorn cattle to Mexico. Coronado drove 500 head of Longhorns to the northwestern regions of Neuvo Mexico in his search for “the Seven Cities of Gold.” These Longhorns and their descendants were often scattered by Indian attacks, escaped outright or were abandoned along with many of the early Spanish missions when they went into decline after 1770.

400 years of natural selective breeding by “survival of the fittest”, without the intervention of man, produced mighty bulls and cows of exceptional strength and endurance. They developed flat ribs, narrow hips and flexible pelvic structure that gave these cattle a casual gait requiring minimal effort. So equipped by nature, they could walk great distances in search of water and food without tiring. They could calve easily and often, and over time became a very different breed of cattle ideally suited to be driven hundreds of miles to market.  That would influence the history of the United States.

By 1860 the unbranded and untamed Longhorn numbered 10 million. Early Texas settlers were surprised to find what they thought were native cattle “wild as deer and more dangerous than a grizzly”. Unlike vast herds of American Bison that blackened the plains, thee skittish wild cattle traveled across Texas in small groups, hiding in bottoms by day and grazing only at night. The meanest bulls were called cimarrones.

The Longhorn was there for the taking, but only the most skilled hunters could capture or kill them. They had “fighting horns” of magnificent and legendary proportions, with spreads of 5 – 8 feet. They would attack man or beast without provocation. Wounded bulls were known to hunt down their enemies by scent alone.

When General Zachary Taylor led his troops through southern Texas to engage Santa Anna, one soldier took a casual shot at a wild bull. The errant shot so angered the bull that he charged the entire regiment, scattering men and wagons like a powerful whirlwind. The scene became so chaotic that no one could get off a clean shot at the brute, and it escaped unharmed – the only lone creature ever to have thoroughly routed a unit of the United States Army.

The Texas Longhorn made many land barons wealthy during and after the Civil War. Ten million Longhorns were walked North out of Texas. By 1880, homesteaders were buying fat, squatty European cattle, raising crops and putting up fences. Longhorn cattle fell from favor and were killed. In a short time the Texas Longhorn came closer to extinction than the buffalo and the whooping crane.

In 1927, the Federal government appropriated $3,000 to save this historic cattle breed. Two U.S. Forest Service Rangers traveled over 5,000 miles and inspected more than 30,000 head, looking for purebred Texas Longhorns. They found 20 cows, 3 bulls and 4 calves.

These animals were shipped to the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Preserve near Cache, OK, to be seed stock for a heritage herd of Texas Longhorns. Animals culled from the Wichita Preserve are branded “WR” and represent the seven old Texas families who are credited with rescuing this endearing breed of cattle from extinction. Today Texas Longhorn cattle can be found in every state and some countries and are sought after for their positive attributes.