was selling their herd of Texas Longhorns. It only took one look for Eitan to know what he wanted to do with the ag exemption on his land.
“I’ve worked cattle all my life, but mostly Herefords,” says Sandy. “I had a lot of dealings with them charging up to me and my horses, so I wasn’t fond of cattle. But I didn’t know anything about Longhorns. Eitan though was bouncing off the truck after seeing the Longhorns, and it amazed me that he was so excited.”
Sandy and Eitan immediately began researching everything about Texas Longhorns, and through the research, Sandy joined Eitan in the excitement.
“I was amazed about learning how hardy they are, that they eat brush, which would help with our land. Our land is so rich of grass and brush, so what could be better than having beautiful cows on it,” Sandy says.
The couple started off by buying two cows, and continuing with their research, they knew that they needed to have working pens. They contacted P&C Cattle Pens, who directed the Barhums to Josh Moss.
“I met Josh for lunch to take a look at his pens and how they are set up,” Eitan says. “He brought along Alan Sparger. I was a little worried because I didn’t know anything about the industry, just starting up, but lunch
was wonderful and they were so helpful. We saw the Moss’ herd and pens, and I went home and ordered the pens right away.”
From that lunch conversation, the Barhums knew their cattle needed to include superior bloodlines. They attended their first Longhorn sale in 2015 – the popular Red McCombs Fiesta Sale – where they purchased two cows.
“Little by little, we turned this ranch into a working Longhorn operation,” says Eitan. “We are blessed to have met Alan and Teresa. Now we have some Longhorns that are from the best bloodlines, and we are just two years in the making…the future is bright.”
They purchased several more Longhorns and are breeding to some of the highest of pedigrees which has included Cowboy Tuff Chex, JP Rio Grande, Iron Beauty, Boomerang Beauty, just to name a few. Some of their Longhorns have been bred to Icon of RM, who quickly became Sandy’s favorite bull. One of their other favorite animals, 3S Iron Beauty, came bred from Icon of RM.
“We called the baby SE April Icon Beauty because she was so beautiful and she was born into a field of beautiful flowers,” Eitan explains.
One of the lessons they learned early on was how well Longhorns take care of their calves. They became worried parents when they
2017 SEPTEMBER i TEXAS LONGHORN JOURNAL 39
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