To a certain extent one can also age sheep by the same process, though as their horns tend to be
ridged anyway it's much less helpful. Having had a "handle" come off while holding sheep for routine
dosing I can say there are certainly weak places in horns after a bad winter.

Sue M

-- Graham and Sue Millard
Daw Bank, Greenholme, Tebay, Penrith, Cumbria CA10 3TA. 01539 624636.
http://www.dawbank.co.uk/
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On 7 Jan 2016 at 8:52, GIDNEY L.J. wrote:

>
> Dear Pamela,
> Yes, horn rings are a relative guide to age but not an indicator of
> exact calendar age. Since the great de-horning of the 1960's it's a
> dying art. My Dexters show this trait clearly. Regards, Louisa
>
> From: Analysis of animal remains from archaeological sites
> [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Pajx
> [[log in to unmask]] Sent: 07 January 2016
> 05:45 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [ZOOARCH] ageing cattle by
> horn rings?
>
> Hi all
> This might be of interest...Cattle are not my speciality, but I don't
> seem to remember ageing by horn rings? Has anyone else? 
>
> It's mentioned here in a piece about Irish folk ways...
>
> They were, however, acute and wise in their generation-intelligent
> cattle-dealers, on whom it would have been a matter of some difficulty
> to impose an unsound horse, or a cow older than was intimated by her
> horn-rings, even when conscientiously dressed up for sale by the
> ingenious aid of the file or burning-iron. 
>
> Editor (1830) The donagh: Or the horse-stealers. The National
> Magazine, 1, 637-654.
>
> I suppose it's of limited use, how often does the actual horn survive
> in most European sites? cheers
>
>
> Pamela J Cross
> PhD researcher, Zoo/Bioarchaeology
> Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford,  BD7 1DP  UK
> p.j.cross (at) student.bradford.ac.uk  / pajx (at) aol.com
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