Thursday, October 29, 2009

Our Horny Herd

Have you noticed a pattern with our cattle? There is something special about them.

Here's a hint....

crazy m brand

That's our brand "Crazy M". Look at it. Now look at these...


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You see it? Left horn down, right horn up. Arrows of our brand match.

The husband LOVES crooked horns. He believes they make the cattle look more "western". Or gives them character especially for rodeo.

Do you know how we do it?

Horn weights.

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Once the heifer/bull gets long enough horns, we try to get the horn weights on them. The weight bolts around the horn and adds additional weight. So as the horn grows, the weight pulls it down.

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The only problem we have is when the horn starts to turn, sometimes the weight falls off. You know how hard it is to find a horn weight in a pasture?! We've been lucky a few times and found them in feed troughs. But we are missin' some right now. The husband said he needs to train the dogs to find them.

One other fact about the Crazy M herd....they all have horns. We don't have a muley on the place. It's not allowed per the husband.

24 comments:

Unknown said...

That is so cool! We had dairy cows. Had to de-horn them or get hooked every time you went to milk. Never heard of horn weights. I know when we have fly masks for the horses we put reflective stuff on them (try paint like the road paint) wait until about dusk and go out with a flashlight. Find them in a jiffy.

Sherry Sikstrom said...

Interesting ,we have all polled cattle, and dehorn anything that isn't polled. But we raise for beef.I do like the look of horned cattle

Calamity Lace said...

Well ain't that neat. I have never heard of doing such a thing!

Mikey said...

Filed under: Things I did not know!!
How crazy is that? I've seen those type horns, but I thought it was natural! Which I spose it could be also. But I had no idea there were weights.
I always learn good things here :)

The Wife said...

Mikey-You're right, some can grow that way naturally. Also, you can cut it at an angle and it will grow crooked. That's what happened to Stubby.

Leah said...

Interesting post -- I've heard of this before (using weights to bring both horns down for safety issues I suppose) but you know I have no idea where I've heard it. It will probably wake me up sometime!

~The South Dakota Cowgirl~ said...

Like fernvalley said- we have mostly polled stuff. We do have a longhorn in our herd, but all the calves are polled since we raise calves that go on to become commercial feed cattle. And even our longhorn is black. We have a pretty boring herd!

But I am digging on the crooked horns!

lisa said...

Hey, cheap advertising!

Foxterriermom said...

Very Cool!

How long does it take for the horn to turn down???

Anonymous said...

Wow. No idea they existed. We had beef cattle and bred partly for polled.

That is cool. I'm afraid I would have to experiment and try to make devil horns, or two horns down, or spirals...hahahahaha

Linda said...

Well I never. Huh! Who woulda thunk? I think you ought to invest in a metal detector;-)

The Wildwood said...

There I thought you had to look long and far to find them with horns to match the brand...hahahah....

Unknown said...

I learn something new everyday. Here I figured you were growing a bunch of mutant cattle! I like your brand!
BTW, congrats on the upcoming photo opportunity! How cool is that?

Anonymous said...

Cute horns, but how do you know if they are signaling for a left turn or a right turn?

LOL
Sorry, couldn't resist
Di
The Blue Ridge Gal

Robynn's Ravings said...

I have never heard of that in my LIFE! You KNOW I'm not a cowgirl!

Hey, thank you for your sweet words and prayers earlier this week. Means a lot. :)

City girl turned Country Girl said...

Well you have officially won the most interesting post today!! That's really cool!! Such an intricate system you have going on there!!

Shirley said...

Cool the way the horns match the brand. I was thinking the same thing as Linda, you need a metal detector. Christmas gift?

Karen said...

Metal detector? Been around cows all my life and didn't know about this! Dang.........you can teach an old dog new tricks!

Far Side of Fifty said...

Very interesting about the horn weights..as for them matching the brand..way cool:)

Tatersmama said...

How cool! Who would a thunk it??
I agree... invest in a metal detector, and you'll find all sorts of things you never even expected!

missy said...

ahhhh haaaaaa!!!!!! the first few pictures i was like.....wow that is awesome.....but what are the chances that that will happen.......now we know!!!!!
that is cool!!!!
i wondered too......how long does it take to get them how you want them to look????

LadyFi said...

I see it! Those crooked horns are wonderful! so full of personality and character!

Paula said...

Those are some crazy lookin' horns! I had no idea you could alter them like that! Love the brand!

Andrea said...

Cool horns, I never knew you could do that with their horns! So cool!!