by
Hannah Farber
| Oct 02, 2026
Close to 20 years ago, Wes Autry bought five Texas Longhorns as pasture art, animals meant to look good on the land more than anything else. It didn't take long for that to change. Once the herd was actually there, Wes fell for the breed's disposition and hardiness, and he started noticing things that mattered beyond looks: their heat tolerance, and their willingness to eat plants that beef cattle won't touch
Three Generations in the Making
Autry Farms didn't start with Longhorns. The ranch goes back three generations, beginning with Wes's grandfather, who raised cattle and hogs. His father took things in a different direction, specializing in exotics like bison, elk, and big cats including leopards, cougars, lynx, and ocelots. Wes brought the ranch back toward livestock, building it around AQHA Quarter Horses, Spanish goats, Myotonic (fainting) goats, and Texas Longhorn cattle.
Along the way, Wes credits Kathy Kittler of Kittler Land & Cattle as someone who has gone out of her way to help over the years, one of many breeders he's grateful to have met in the Longhorn world.
A Breed the Whole Family Can Enjoy
Ask Wes what he loves most about the ranch, and he points straight to the Longhorns. Unlike some breeds that demand a certain kind of handler or a certain level of experience, Longhorns have a way of fitting into a family's life at every stage, from the kids who want to help with chores to the grandparents who just want to watch them graze. "Longhorn cattle are truly a breed that the whole family can enjoy," Wes says. "The versatility is simply amazing." That versatility shows up everywhere on the ranch, in temperament, in how the breed handles heat and rough forage, and in how easily it fits alongside the horses and goats Wes also raises.
Why Hired Hand
For Wes, a new Hired Hand powered website needed to do two jobs at once. It had to bring in new buyers, and it had to work as a serious record-keeping tool for a ranch with decades of breeding history behind it. The feature that sealed the decision was specific: the linked pedigree system, which lets Wes track lineage and performance in one place instead of piecing it together across spreadsheets and paper records. As Wes put it, that was hands-down his deciding factor.
If you're a breeder building something worth noticing, Hired Hand Software can help make sure the people looking for what you have can actually find you.