Fort Worth, Texas is the only city in the world that has its own herd of longhorn cattle. They celebrate the history of the Texas trail herds every day at the Stockyards in Old Fort Worth in the northern part of town. The cattle are kept at a corral there at the Stockyards, and each day at 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM, city employees dressed as cowboys saddle up and perform a cattle drive down the street. The cattle go just a couple of blocks and round the corner and return to the corral. They have done it so many times they could probably do it without the help of any cowboys. Onlookers can stand at the curb to watch, or they can have a seat at an open-air restaurant nearby. It’s a great promotional idea and is fun to watch.

I’ve always thought of the longhorns as being brown in color, but that’s a mistake. They come in many colors, even white with black spots. Every one is different.

An interesting static display of a cattle drive can be seen in Dallas. There are several bronze statues of longhorns coming off a knoll and crossing a water feature. The cattle are 25% larger than life size and are tended by a bronze cowboy on horseback. These bronzes can be seen at Pioneer Plaza in Dallas. Another interesting feature there are bronze plaques embedded in the sidewall featuring the trail brands of the men who bossed the trail drives back in the old days.

Dave Thomas

2/12/2026