Corriente cattle are a breed of Criollo cattle descended from Spanish animals brought to the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

as early as 1493. They are primarily used today as sport cattle for

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaq ...

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 falls ...

). 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 "

easy keeper Easy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Easy'' (film), a 2003 American romantic comedy film *''Easy!'', or ''Scialla!'', a 2011 Italian comedy film * ''Easy'' (TV series), a 2016–2019 American comedy-drama anthology ...

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. 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

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

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

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. 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

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

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