Today on most farms and ranches riding steers and oxen are normally a bottle calf, or throw away roper. Even though some members of the IRSA have been breeding for quality steers for some time now, this is the exception to the rule. Why? The number one reason given is the cost of a quality steer. Good calves in the Longhorn breed start out at 1500-2500 with no training at all. Finished steers bring 15-25 thousand and more. This can seem like a lot of money for a steer that will never produce to some; however those serious about riding steers know the money is well spent.

The IRSA has always had a section of our registry for bulls and cows that produce several quality oxen or riding steers over their lifetime. Most breeders are always striving for better cows. In doing so they breed for better udders, stature, confirmation, breed type and so on. Steers that come from these operations have a good start, but did the breeder also look at temperament? The Rodeo people have known for many years that you can breed buck in and you can breed buck out. Kicking is another thing that is genetic. Beef producers are just now seeing the benefits of breeding for better temperament. The Dairy farmer has known that temperament is mandatory for centuries. This is one of the reasons that so many steers and oxen come from a dairy background.

Because most of those in our membership with a few exceptions either buy their steers and do not breed or just have a few cows and do not have a pure bred program or show. I thought it would be fun and informative for us all to participate in an on going experiment regarding breeding of riding steers and oxen. We will start generation #1 with an average registered Longhorn heifer. The kind found in most back yard breeding programs. The heifer has temperament and lots of good ol’ Longhorn color, however is lacking in many areas of confirmation. She is also small, both due to her genetic line and the fact she was bred to early and was on poor pasture for some time. A common background found in the "average" cow. Our goals are for her female off-spring to place in confirmation shows and win consistently in Produce of Dam competitions. Why? Because breed type and confirmation is also a goal of any steer producer. When you ride or drive your animal in public you are representing your breed. You should have the best representation available. In some cases this is the only time the public may ever see that breed in person. Confirmation is also longevity and soundness. These are two very important points for steer and oxen breeders. Traits that can be confirmed in the breed ring. Udder improvement is always important. With out good capacity and attachment your calves will not be getting all they could from birth to weaning. Some breeds like the Longhorn don’t have large udders however do produce a large amount of milk and about 8% butter fat. Many breeds such as beef breeds and Longhorns don’t test their milk for butterfat content. This is a shame really as the calf would benefit greatly by higher amounts of fat.

The goals are to improve size, increase bone structure. Better the top line while leaving the clean underline. We want a nice horn that is not lateral. I know a lot of people want a lot of lateral horns on their Longhorn steers.

Riding a steer during fly season may change your mind and teach you the difference between a riding steer and a trophy steer.

Many Longhorn Judges are starting to make this separation in the show ring and placing riding steers with less horn and better confirmation above a trophy steer. Like it or not a steer is about curb appeal. We need to maintain bright and various color pattern in our produce.

So here is how you can help play the game and help document and improve one line of riding steers.

First evaluate the heifer. Then choose a bull to be used from the list below. AI is the only method of breeding that will be used so that we can make the best choices for this individual.

Bulls available for the first year are

All of the above bulls can be found on the Dickenson Cattle company web sight except Royal Justice. He can be found at TTT Longhorns owned by Trig Moore.

Im willing to purchase other bulls if one is voted on as being better than the ones in my tank.

Votes must be in no later than May of 2008. This gives everyone a lot of time to research the possibilities, look at what the bulls have produced in the past with what type of cows etc. Remember just because a bull is famous doesn’t mean he will work on every cow. Look at his strong points, and his weak points. Compare this to what strengths and weaknesses the cow has. Temperament can be lost on one great act of taking it for granted. Money can buy fame in a bull, but it can’t produce greatness in a calf.

I will use what ever bull our membership has voted on. You must be a member to vote. When the calf is born I will keep a diary of his progress from birth weight, exceptace of humans at birth, at what age he/she did come to people on its own and many other factors. When training is started the diary will be kept almost daily. Photos of growth progress etc will all be recorded for the lifetime of the animal, or such time as it is sold unless the new owner cares to continue to participate. If heifers are born they will then be added into the program and their offspring will also be decided on by our membership and diaries also kept on the progress of those off-spring. This will go on for 5yrs on the original cow and 5yrs for any produced heifers and so on and so forth on the female line. As a membership we will evaluate the progress or regress of each breeding. We will discuss what we liked and what we wish to change. All while trying not to loose the perfect temperament this cow already possess naturally. She is a non-kicker, and non-bucker as is a heifer calf she now has on the ground.

The heifer’s name is Walayla, and is registered in the ITLA ( International Texas Longhorn Assn) and has been given the number C-4 in the IRSA breeding program. C-1 Is Flying S Liberty, C-2 is Roxy ( Owned by Paula) and C-3 is Sarah, also owned by Paula. King although dead is given B-1. There are no other animals in our breeding program at this time.

*Diaries will be published annually both on line and written for anyone that would like a copy. All training issues, training methods etc used on these calves will also be included in the daily diary. Every event in the lives of these calves will be recorded. These diaries will not only serve as a genetic reference but a training manual as well.*

*Note if anyone of any other breed would like to participate just contact the IRSA for what you will need to do*.

This heifer also comes from cow that has a triple twist horn. The reason I choose this heifer for the project was there are no limitations to what our members can choose to produce. We all have things we prefer. One member may not like a twist in the horn while another may really enjoy that.

I have listed below some of my favorite things that the Longhorn breed allows. This I hope will help our membership in choosing a calf that fits with my breeding program while getting an education about breeding better cattle and about the Longhorn breed it’s self. It will be like owning a cow you don’t have to feed. Each animal sold I will donate 15% back to the IRSA to help buy books for share or what ever else our membership feels we need at that time. This will be a long going program.

* When I started my breeding program I made a list of what I liked in a Longhorn, what I could stand and what I didn’t like at all. I wrote down what my perfect Longhorn steer, and cow would be if I had a magic wand to produce that animal. I have added and changed a few things over the years, but what I like for the most part hasn’t changed much. Remember this is my opinion and others may have a very different opinion. Not everyone knows that chocolate should be the only flavor after all. *grins*

1) Breed type. The animal should always ad-hear to the breed standard.

2) The best possible confirmation. In Longhorns that also means the fish hook above the tail. This should be deep yet clean in cows.

3) Temperament. The calf should willingly approach a human before it is weaned and allow people to touch it and enjoy this interaction before weaning. Calf should not kick out when walking around it or when it is touched even when scared.

4) Color, As Frank Doby said the beauty of the Longhorn is the rainbow of colors they come in. I personally prefer the duns, grullo and heavily roaned cattle. Speckled cattle are so pretty when they sport more than one color of spots. I detest red and refuse to produce it. Red cattle are a dime a dozen. It costs as much to feed a rare colored steer as it does to feed a common one. Just plain black and white is as common as I will go. After all, that is my option in this breed.

5) Back and legs. Back should be shorter than most. Knees should not be to large. The over all bone of the animal should be large and substantial.

If you decide you want to do this, please do your home work and don’t just guess at it. A real life calf will be produced with the opinions of our membership. This calf will live about 35-40 years. Take the responsibility of producing a life responsibly and do your best to produce a calf that will show the knowledge of our members. You all will also get to name it.

Wado’s heifer from a Classic bred butler bull.