Puro Corriente Cattle Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Partners: Dean Cameron, Bill Owen and Clay Tyree

 

 

 Breeding better roping cattle using historic Corriente genetics

 

What can Puro Corriente cattle bring to your roping or Corriente breeding program?

• Superior genetics that preserve historic Mexican Corriente lineage
• Hardy, adaptable cattle that thrive in almost any environment
• Roping cattle that consistently perform in the arena

 

 

 

About Puro Corriente

We named our cattle operation Puro Corriente because that's what we raise, pure Corriente cattle of Spanish and Mexican descent.  The partners in Puro Corriente have been involved with commercial cattle ranching in Arizona for many years.  Our longevity in the cattle business has taught us to learn as much as we can about the product we produce and the environment we produce it in.  After many years of continuing drought in Arizona, we decided that to stay in the cattle business we needed to change.  The forced reductions in our cow herds, smaller calf crops and increased supplementation caused us to look for options.  We concluded Corriente cattle were the answer. 

 

When we went looking for breeding cattle for our operation, we knew that in order to produce quality cattle year after year, we needed to look beyond the horns and color of the cattle.  The trail led us to the Corrientes of Spanish and Mexican descent.  We have built our herd upon the genetics of those corrientes that exemplify the unique true Corriente traits.  

 

 

History of Corriente Cattle

The "Corriente" is a descendant of cattle introduced to the New World by the Spanish as early as 1493.  These cattle were known as Criollo.  They were an important food source for the early explorers.  The term Corriente means "common cattle' or "cattle of the country".  These cattle roamed for centuries in Mexico where they adapted to a variety of harsh conditions and terrain.  In the early 1950's, realizing the Spanish blood corrientes were disappearing and their historical importance to Mexico, the Mexican government initiated searches for the "pure corriente".  Herds were put together from isolated ranches across Mexico and studied by the Mexican government, and Universities.   About the same time, American cowboys found that Corriente steers made excellent roping cattle.  Thousands have been imported over the years as ropers and bulldoggers in this country.  The Mexican government, because of economics and a loss of interest, decided to sell their pure corriente herd.  In 1995 we were able to purchase part of this herd that had been genetically protected and studied for over 40 years.  In January 2005, we purchased another herd of Spanish blood Corrientes from the deserts of Mexico that typify the traits we desire.     

 

 

Puro Corriente Breeding Operation

The Corriente cow has remarkable mothering instincts that ensure the survival of their young even in the harsh environment of the Arizona desert.  They have resistance to parasites, disease, heat and thrive in conditions that would kill other breeds. These cattle are gentle, intelligent, easy to handle and reproduce into their twenties while requiring far less feed and maintenance than other breeds.  Being small and athletic, the corriente cow grazes where other cattle can't get to or won't. Our cows aren't found lying around a water hole. They water out and move back to a mountaintop.  The Arizona desert is exactly where the traits of the corriente are most appreciated.  They are efficient converters of available forage to energy producing lean muscle with little waste in fat.

 

These cattle are hardy, thrifty, resourceful and through natural selection over the centuries, require no improvement to fit the environment we are surrounded by in arid Arizona.  All of our heifers are carefully selected for traits representative of the original corrientes that were seen at ropings before the mongralization of the herds of corrientes in Mexico.  In recent years the Mexican government has encouraged the importation of beefier cattle and has supplied them to the small corriente breeder in rural Mexico so they can raise a larger calf.  It is getting increasingly difficult to find corriente cows in Mexico that don't have brahma or northern European beef breed influence in them.  The corriente roper from Mexico as we once knew them are becoming scarce.

 

 

Raising Superior Roping Cattle

We have built our herd in Arizona upon the genetics of those Corrientes that exemplify the unique Spanish blood Corriente traits because we have found those traits produce our ulitmate goal: superior roping cattle.  The Corriente replacement bulls that we put on our cow herd are tested in the arena for temperment, longevity, dependability and performance.  Those are the traits that we strive to breed into every performance animal that we sell off the ranch. 

 

Through our selective breeding and herd management, we have been able to minimize many of the undesirable traits found in roping cattle that stem from crossbreeding programs.  We have found that habits like head ducking, dragging, running up the rope are traits that stem from the influence of other cattle breeds introduced into the Corriente.  Spanish blood Corriente cattle are even tempered and dependable.  They are easy to handle in the corrals, have a good horn base, stand quiet in the chute, and make the same run time after time. Because of their consistent arena performance, ropers have a greater opportunity to make smooth runs on these cattle.  Their outstanding arena abilities make Spanish blood Corrientes easier for horses to handle as well.

 

 

Puro Corriente - Rope the Difference!

 

 

 

	For Sale: Corriente roping cattle Replacement heifers Cows Bulls Ranch Horses
	Part of the Cow Herd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making Ranch Horses