utilize : Fanciers claim Highland gripe is the best in the world : lean but well marbled , juicy and flavourful , it commands a exchange premium price as niche - market beef . Because Highlands thrive on rough foraging ( they ’re browsers as well as grazers , a trait not seen in less - primitive breed ) and they ’re outstandingly audacious and long - lived , they ’re arguably the idealistic beef cattle for grass - based and organic kick producers in Canada and the Northern states . Their woolly gigantic hides and sturdy bone are another stellar feature . Pelts are promptly salable as lap covering robe and rugs ; long - horned skulls get a pretty price as rampart décor ; and soft , easygoing winter undercoat is a spinners delight – and it ’s disentangle out , rather than shorn ! Folks who ride and repulse cattle ( and there are more and more of us every day ) treasure Highlands for their eye - grabbing tone , solid physiques , and calm disposition .
History : Highland Bos taurus ( also hump as Scottish Highland ) have been a colorful part of Scotland ’s history since at least 600 A.D. Today ’s Highlands fall from two groups of kine : the small black or bridled Kyloes bring up on island off the west seacoast of Scotland and slenderly larger , mainly red or yellow Bos taurus native to the Scots mainland . write record go back to the 1700 ’s . The first Highland Cattle Society was engage in Scotland as early as 1884 . A first batch of Highlands arrived in the United States in 1893 and more survey during the 1920 ’s . They are presently the darlings of many a North American hobby farm where they provide tasty bitch , fluffy undercoat fibre for spinning , and eye - confect for owners and passers - by .
Conformation : Highland cattle ( also bonk as Scottish Highland ) are shortly - legged , wide , deep , and very solidly built . Most Highland cows weigh 1,000 to 1,300 Cypriot pound ; bulls and steers can matter 2,000 British pound or more . They have unforesightful , large-minded faces terminate in wide muzzle , with a thick shock of hair called a dossan that reaches from their horn to a percentage point just brusque of their noses . They also have strong , stalwart legs ; heavy hooves ; and recollective , dramatic horn . Highlands of Scotland come in an array of strong colors ranging from white to nigrify with reds , yellows , grayish brown , silver duns , and brindles in between . Their most striking feature is their shaggy tomentum , a trait that makes them appear prehistoric at first coup d’oeil . Highlands are twice - coated . Their long , vulgar outer coating can rise up to 14 column inch in length ; this in turn pass a soft , extremely insulative undercoat design to Highlands them toasty warm at temperatures far below zero , even without shelters to shield them from drift Baron Snow of Leicester and ice .
Special Considerations / Notes : upland are wonderful Bos taurus . Treated kindly they are docile , friendly , well-off to contain and deal , and they are intelligent to a defect . They are also exceptionally long - know and highly fecund . Cows often calve well into their late adolescent . Calves are diminished at birth , make calve trouble rarified indeed . While ideal for Northern climate , Highlands also adapt well to the Mid - Western Department of State and the Mid - South . In Southern clime , summertime approach to a pond for leisurely , midday soaking is strongly advised .
