Anatomy of Cow Horns

By Jolee Lautaret, eHow Contributor

updated: May 23, 2010

Anatomy of Cow Horns

Horns on cattle are used primarily for defense, or by males for fighting during mating season. Both
females and males can have horns, depending on the particular breed. Probably the most famous
horned cattle are Texas Longhorns, though the Watusi actually have the largest horns--up to 8 feet
from point to point and 8 inches in diameter in some cases. The rings on a horn can be used to
determine the age of the cow.

Core
1. The core of a horn is made of bone. The bone grows from the skull through to the tip of the
horn. The bone has blood vessels running throughout as well as nerves. The bone is a living part of
the cow as with any other bone. With proper nutrition and good health, the bone will continue to grow
throughout the life of the cow, although growth slows as the cow ages.

Keratin
2. The outer shell of a horn is made of keratin. Keratin is a tough, non-mineralized, structural
protein. It is found most commonly in fingernails but is also a building block in claws, hair, feathers
and hooves.

Tissue
3. A thin layer of tissue connects the outer keratin shell of the horn to the bone. This tissue is
also a living organism of the cow. Upon death of the cow, this tissue dies. Eventually, the loss of the
tissue will cause the outer shell to slip off the underlying bone.

Antlers
4. Horns differ greatly from antlers found on deer, elk, and other species. The anatomy of
antlers is simpler--antlers are made only of bone. Antlers die upon maturity each season and are
shed annually. Therefore, they are not a permanent part of the animal's anatomy as cow horns are.
Unlike antlers, cow horns do not branch out, having just one point at each end.

Maintenance
5. Horns can be removed early in the cow's life, as process known simply as "dehorning." If
allowed to grow, horns are sometimes blunted, as process known as "tipping." Tipping generally
does not hurt the cow as only the ends of the horn are trimmed, avoiding the blood vessels and
nerves within the horn much like trimming toe nails on a dog.

If a horn is broken, it should be repaired immediately. If broken low enough to break blood vessels,
broken horns can cause tremendous pain to the cow. With immediate attention and casting, horns
will grow back together and the cow will remain healthy

Difference Between Cow & Goat Horns

By Ethan Schowalter-Hay, eHow Contributor

Goats and cattle both belong to the same family of ungulates (hoofed mammals), Bovidae. Horns are a
defining feature of most species in both subfamilies. The underlying anatomy in goat and cattle horns is
similar: There is a bony core attached to the skull and sheathed with keratin.

Sex
1. In all wild cattle (loosely defined here as the bison, buffalo and oxen, not the "antelopes" in the
same subfamily) and many goats, males and females have horns. Sexual dimorphism is
significant: This means the horns of males are generally larger and more robust than those of
females (see Reference 1).

Shape
2. Wild cattle typically have sharp horns curving upwards not far from the base. The horns of male
wild goats are often spectacular, gently arcing scimitars, as in the ibex.

Size
3. The horns of male wild goats are typically proportionately larger than those of wild cattle. Those
of the markhor may be 60 inches or more for ananimal five feet long (see Reference 2).
Nonetheless, some cattle have relatively long horns--two feet, for example, in the banteng--and
those in the bos family might be massive, especially in water buffalo and gaur.

Pattern
4. Ibex, markhor and the wild goat have strongly spiraling or segmented horns. The horns of wild
cattle are usually smooth (see Reference 3).

Multiple Pairs
5. Most horned ungulates have one pair of horns. Polycerate goats--those genetically coded to grow
two or more pairs of horns--are occasionally seen in domestic animals. This trait also exists in
some domestic sheep breeds and the four-horned antelope. Goats with as many as eight horns
have been recorded (see Resource 2).
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