English Longhorn

English Longhorn Cattle

Cow and calf
Conservation status	FAO (2007): not at risk[1]: 144  DAD-IS (2021): at risk[2] RBST (2021): UK native breeds[3]
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Distribution	Australia Holland Ireland New Zealand United Kingdom
Standard	The Longhorn Cattle Society
Use	beef, formerly draught and dairy
Traits
Weight	Male: usually: 750–900 kg maximum: over 1000kg Female: 500–600 kg
Height	Male: 150 cm Female: 130–140 cm
Coat	variable: red, brown or grey and white, finched
Horn status	long curved horns
Cattle Bos (primigenius) taurus

The Longhorn or British Longhorn is a British breed of beef cattle characterised by long curving horns. It originated in northern England, in the counties of Lancashire, Westmorland and Yorkshire, and later spread to the English Midlands and to Ireland.^[4]: 49 It was originally a slow heavy draught animal; cows gave a little milk, although high in fat. In the eighteenth century Robert Bakewell applied his methods of selective breeding to these cattle, which for a short time became the predominant British breed.^{[5]: 232 [6]: 32} Both the numbers and the quality of the breed declined throughout the nineteenth century and for much of the twentieth. A breed society was formed in 1878, and a herd-book published in that year.^[5]: 232

The Longhorn was formerly listed as "priority" on the watchlist of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, but in 2021 was listed among the "UK native breeds".^[3]

The cattle are variable in colour, but are always finched – with a heavy line of white along the spine, tail and underside of the belly.^[5]: 232