It's All About the Horns - 2  
28x22
This Texas Longhorn steer struck quite the pose with his Texas “twist” style horns, as my husband and I hurriedly pulled off Highway 290 between Houston and Austin, TX to take photos and simply gaze at him and his herd mates.   Longhorn horns are the most recognizable trait of this breed.  The horns can span four to six feet from tip-to-tip.  There has been a recent record of an 11-foot span.  Three different types of horn growth affect a cow’s maturity: 1) speed of growth, 2) natural horn curl, and 3) a backward twist.  As a matter of interest, no horn grows perfectly straight.  But, in order to raise the type of longhorn desired, breeders must utilize bloodlines where every animal in the pedigree for three generations back is very superior.  Superiority prevails.  In any event, there are so many factors about horn type and horn growth, which, I believe, make these animals so incredible.