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The social environment of Creole cattle in four productive parishes of the Santa Elena Peninsula was described. Structured surveys were applied to 216 producers to obtain a description of the production system and its social environment, a morphometric and phaneroptic characterization was carried out on 348 adult bovines between females and males. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. As results, it was evidenced that the majority of ranchers have a primary education level, this activity is carried out by men, having between 1-50 bovines with 93%, they carry out free grazing, 65% carry out deworming and 98% vaccinate against the foot-and-mouth disease because it is mandatory, they do not have professional assistance. On the coast, bay-colored bovines with cornalon-shaped horn and black-colored ontoceros predominate, with short hairs, straight fronto-nasal profile, black nose and hooves, drooping ears, the average values of the morphometric variables mostly did not present significance except in the variables for females and males ACR 127.3 ± 8.6 and 129.7 ± 69.4 for the zoometric indices they are medium-sized animals mesoline in males and longiline in females, dolicephalic. It is concluded that there is no sexual dimorphism and that body measurements differ among other populations of the Ecuadorian coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bovine horns is an anatomical region that has been poorly studied from an anatomical and physiological point of view. The lidia bull is an iconic animal and its horns a mythological symbol of integrity, to such an extent that farmers resort to applying synthetic resins covers to preserve it from any manipulation. With the present work it is intended to study the histological structure of the horn of the lidia bull, analyzing the possible influence of the practice of "sheathing" on it. To this end, horns have been collected from 30 bulls (4-5 years old) in bullrings in, with a control group of 15 animals not sheathed. After the analyses, the normal histological structure of the bull's horns is described and the lesions observed in some animals, such as spongiosis in the stratum spinosum, cellular disorganization of the stratum basalis or the presence of multiple neovessels in the dermis, are described. No effect of sheathing is detected at the histological level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: the anatomy and physiology of bovid horns are consistent with their thermoregulatory function. Objective: to evaluate a possible correlation between ear and horn size, as key factors for body thermoregulation. Methods: measurements of horns (length and perimeter) and ears (length and width) were obtained from forty-six Pyrenean Brown (Bruna dels Pirineus) beef calves. The sample was randomly distributed between horned (n=34) and polled (n=12) animals, aged 332 ± 56 days. Results: a negative correlation between ear and horn size was observed (p<0.05) and the multivariate clustering demonstrated a tendency of polled animals towards bigger ear size. Conclusions: according to these results, horns and ears contribute to thermoregulation; this function is not therefore solely a function of big or small horns, as has normally been stated to be the case. Although the sample is small, results would indicate an interesting hypothesis for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]