Corriente cattle are a breed of Criollo cattle descended from

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animals brought to the Americas as early as 1493. They are primarily used today as sport cattle for rodeo events such as

team roping Team roping also known as heading and heeling is a rodeo event that features a steer (typically a Corriente) and two mounted riders. The first roper is referred to as the "header", the person who ropes the front of the steer, usually around ...

and bulldogging (

steer wrestling Steer wrestling, also known as bulldogging, is a rodeo event in which a horse-mounted rider chases a steer, drops from the horse to the steer, then wrestles the steer to the ground by grabbing its horns and pulling it off-balance so that it fall ...

). Some breeders raise them for their meat, which contains approximately half the fat of the meat from most modern beef cattle. Corrientes are fairly small cattle, with cows averaging well under 1,000 pounds (450 kg). They are lean, athletic, and have long upcurving horns. They are known as "

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s," as little human intervention is required in their calving, and they eat significantly less than larger beef cattle breeds. Like other Criollo breeds, the corriente require less water and can live on sparse

open range In the Western United States and Canada, open range is rangeland where cattle roam freely regardless of land ownership. Where there are "open range" laws, those wanting to keep animals off their property must erect a fence to keep animals out; th ...

. Corrientes are also known as accomplished escape artists, as they can leap a standard barbed-wire fence and squeeze through fairly small openings. Corriente cattle white belly

Names for the breed differ. The official breed registry in the

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calls them Corriente cattle, which is the most common term in Northern

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

. In other parts of Mexico, they are called '' Criollo'' or ''Chinampo'' cattle. They are closely related to Pineywoods and Florida Cracker cattle, two breeds from the

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and

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References

External links

* Th
American Criollo Beef Association
* Th
North American Corriente Association

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corriente Cattle Cattle breeds Cattle breeds originating in the United States