1982 - Volume #6, Issue #3, Page #17
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Repair Jobs For Hornless Longhorns
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The vet had fouled up by sawing both her horns off so they'd match!
The sickening part of our polled Texas Longhorn story is that there might have been some hope in saving the broken horns. Don Zavislan, Texas Longhorn breeder from Pueblo, Colorado, has several tips for breeders who might find an injured horn.
The first sign of a "loose or damaged" horn will be blood coming from either side of the nose. "It may appear to be alright, but these small cracks or slight breaks can start a horn growing crooked or cause the shell to fall off if not treated," according to Zavislan.
So you ask, "When can the horn be repaired, depending on how bad the break is?"
Zavislan claims that most breaks can be repaired with plaster casts even when "they're just hanging by the skin. Of course the sooner they're repaired, the better chance you have of saving the horn. Immediately, is best," he says.
"The result is a cow with a horn that has a slight growth ring where the cast was, but with equal horn length on both sides of her head. There's no price depreciation on our cattle because of an injured horn!"
"If you're in doubt of whether or not the horn is repairable, go ahead and repair it. We've never had one fail and we've had some bad ones," says Don.
"Now, the types of breaks I'm talking about are breaks at the base of the horn. If a horn breaks at the tip, your chances of saving it are next to none. The best thing to do if a tip breaks is to cut off the damaged part as far out as you can."
The horns will wear anyway with normal horn growth, but if they're shattered and not cleaned up, they'll continue to shatter until they're all the way down to the core. If you rasp-off the broken part, you'll be surprised how they'll eventually blend in.
Applying the casting material is a simple procedure. The material needed is inexpensive and consists of four-inch wide rolls of plaster cast. You'll need a minimum of three rolls of plaster cast each time you cast a set of horns. If the cattle are going to be roped, be sure and use half-inch wide rebar to reinforce the casting. Rebar is the material used in construction that reinforces concrete. If the cattle will just be turned out, rebar isn't necessary.
Don says he has repaired some pretty bad breaks, even when the horn is hanging clear down the side of the cow's head. The trick to the whole thing is getting there soon enough to repair it before an infection sets in or the blood supply has been damaged.
Owen McGill, of Wheatland, Wyo., had a Texas Longhorn that shelled a horn completely. He was there when it happened, put the horn back in place, and casted it immediately. The cow is now fine and her horns are still growing, even though this happened over three years ago.
Reprinted with permission from Texas Longhorn magazine, Walsenborg. Co.
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