GILLILAND
LONGHORN RANCH-- We have a herd of over 200 registered Texas Longhorns
in the Kansas Flint Hills near the Oklahoma border. Our breeding
program is approached scientifically with continuing education,
exhaustive pedigree study, using knowledgeable longhorn consultants and
visiting experienced breeders in the field. We strive for the complete
package prioritizing tip to tip horn measurements followed closely by
conformation, color, and disposition. That said, the most important
trait is the ability to reproduce those traits in progeny. We have gone
through each animal in our herd for several generations back to document
the number of 70ʼʼ–80ʼʼ–90ʼʼ TTT ancestors in each pedigree. This is
important genetically to make sure that lateral horn length is embedded
in each animalʼs blood line without compromising the total package. A
pedigree with many high TTT ancestors indicates there is a higher
heritability factor . This gives you predictability. We believe that you
can increase heritability of TTT horn length by stacking genes from
different pedigrees that have additive effects. Additionally, there will
should be less regression back to a mean because their horn length is
less likely attributable to spontaneous mutations or environmental
variables. We also study production history by examining progeny with
different pedigree combinations. This has led to a few key combinations
which appear to be synergistic. We hope that you can find animals in our
herd that will work for you. We have periodic price reduction sales
when the herd gets too large so visit our website frequently to take
advantage of them.