Editing Texas Longhorn (section)

== History ==

[[File:Texas Longhorn in Alvin, Texas.jpg|thumb|A Texas Longhorn in [[Alvin, Texas]]]]
[[File:TexasLonghornCattle.jpg|thumb|A Texas Longhorn in [[Fort Worth, Texas]]]]
The Texas Longhorn derives from cattle brought to the Americas by Spanish [[conquistadors]] from the time of the [[Second Voyage of Columbus|Second Voyage]] of [[Christopher Columbus]] until about 1512.{{r|mctavish}} The first cattle were landed in 1493 on the [[Caribbean]] island of La Isla Española (now known as [[Hispaniola]]) to provide food for the colonists.{{r|jan|p=279}}<ref name=Rouse1977>{{cite book|first=John E. |last=Rouse |year=1977|title=The Criollo: Spanish Cattle in the Americas|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |location=Norman, Oklahoma}}</ref>

Over the next two centuries, the Spaniards used the cattle in [[Mexico]] and gradually moved them north to accompany their expanding settlements. The Spaniards reached the area that became known as "Texas" near the end of the 17th century. Eventually, some cattle escaped or were turned loose on the [[open range]], where they remained mostly [[feral]] for the next two centuries. Over several generations, descendants of these cattle developed to have high feed- and drought-stress tolerances and other "hardy" characteristics that have given Longhorns their reputation as [[livestock]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Terrence J. |last=Barragy |year=2003 |title=Gathering Texas Gold |isbn=9780961160487 |publisher=Cayo Del Grullo Press |location=Cayo del Grullo, TX |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/gatheringtexasgo0000barr }}</ref>{{r|uta}}

[[File:"Horses on the Beach," a horseback-riding operation on Padre Island, Texas, is an incomplete description of the experience, as this photograph attests. Some guests get a short excursion aboard the LCCN2014633476.tif|thumb|Riding a Texas Longhorn on [[Padre Island, Texas]]]]

The Texas Longhorn stock slowly dwindled, but in 1927, the breed was saved from near extinction by enthusiasts from the [[United States Forest Service]]. They collected a small herd of stock to breed on the [[Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge]] in [[Lawton, Oklahoma]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Donald E. Worcester|title="Longhorn Cattle," Handbook of Texas Online|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/atl02|publisher=Published by the Texas State Historical Association}}</ref> The breed also received significant attention after a Texas Longhorn named "[[Bevo (mascot)|Bevo]]" was adopted as the mascot of The [[University of Texas at Austin]] in 1917. The animal's image became commonly associated with the school's sports teams, known as the [[Texas Longhorns]]. A few years later, [[J. Frank Dobie]] and others gathered small herds to keep in Texas state parks. Oilman [[Sid W. Richardson]] helped finance the project.{{r|trib}} The Longhorns were cared for largely as curiosities, but the stock's longevity, resistance to disease, and ability to thrive on marginal pastures resulted in a revival of the breed as beef stock and for their link to Texas history.

In 1957, Charles Schreiner III began creating a Longhorn herd on his ranch, the ''Y O'', in [[Mountain Home, Texas]], as a tribute to the ranching legacy of his grandfather, Captain Charles Armand Schreiner, and the Longhorns he ran on his ranches. Schreiner purchased five heifers and one bull calf for $75 each from the [[Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge]] near Lawton. In 1964, Schreiner founded the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America. The YO herd were the first cattle registered with the association. To draw attention to the Longhorn and its new association, in 1966, Schreiner organized a [[Cattle drives in the United States|cattle drive]] of Longhorn steers from [[San Antonio]], Texas to [[Dodge City, Kansas|Dodge City]], Kansas.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://texoso66.com/2016/12/08/y-o-ranch/ |title=YO Ranch |date=6 December 2016|website=Texas History Notebook |access-date=6 September 2020}}</ref> The drive was promoted as a centennial commemoration of the earlier [[Chisholm Trail]] drives. Schreiner arranged for local members of the [[Quanah, Texas|Quanah]] [[Posse comitatus|sheriff's posse]] to stage a simulated “Indian attack” as the steers crossed the [[Red River of the South|Red River]] at [https://texoso66.com/2016/10/20/doans-crossing/ Doan's Crossing]. The attack was so authentic that the steers stampeded with cowboys in close pursuit. Four hours were needed to reassemble the herd. In 1976, [[Texas Tech University]] in [[Lubbock,_Texas|Lubbock]] persuaded Schreiner to stage a cattle trail drive to celebrate its new [[National Ranching Heritage Center]].<ref>{{cite journal |editor=Dr. Idris R. Taylor Jr. |date=April 1976 |title=Trail drive to Mark opening of Center |department=The International Center for Arid and Semiarid Land Studies |institution=Texas Tech University |url=https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/handle/2346/72523 |journal=ICASALS Newsletter |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=5–6 |access-date=6 September 2020}}</ref>

In 1995, the [[Texas Legislature]] designated the Texas Longhorn as the state large mammal.{{r|tsl}} In the 21st century, Texas Longhorns from elite bloodlines can sell for $40,000 or more at auction. The record of $380,000 on March 18, 2017, was for a cow, 3S Danica, and heifer calf at side, during the Legacy XIII sale in [[Fort Worth, Texas]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rightsidesd.com/?p=29562|title=Texas Longhorn Cow Sells For $380,000.00|date=19 March 2017 |website=rightsidesd.com}}</ref>

[[breed registry|Registries]] for the breed include: the [[Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America]], founded in 1964 by the [[Kerr County, Texas|Kerr County]] rancher Charles Schreiner III; the International Texas Longhorn Association; and the Cattlemen's Texas Longhorn Registry.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ctlr.org/index.html/ |title=Cattlemen's Texas Longhorn Registry |publisher=Cattlemen's Texas Longhorn Registry |access-date=2013-12-13 |archive-date=November 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116003914/http://www.ctlr.org/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The online National Texas Longhorn Museum displays the diversity of horns found in the breed, stories about notable individual cattle of the breed, and a gallery of furniture made from cattle horns.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://longhornmuseum.com/|title=The Alan Rogers Texas Longhorn Museum|website=longhornmuseum.com}}</ref>