Is This A Cow Horn?

Hi,
I picked this up, not sure if it is a cow or something else - 14" in length. Has 1800 carved into the side, this looks old but not sure if the date is correct. I've seen powder flasks and cups made of horn, but not sure if this is just a decorative item or not.
Any information appreciated
thanks for looking

 

Looks like a Steer horn. Cow horns are generally smaller in size

 

Thank-you Rayo

 

I think breed also affects the length of the horns ....

 

The 1800 is most likely a fantasy. It has no function other than decoration. They did do the aging fairly well though.

 

it looks like it...cow that is...and at the very best...maybe a drinking vessel...but not any powder horn i've ever seen...

 

Thank-yo quirky those are certainly big horns! So cows have big horns too?

 

Thanks Terry - so this isn't old?

Thanks komokwa - Yes, I know it isn't a powder horn, just wasn't sure what it is.

 

Yes, they can. Usually you don't see them because so many get de-horned as calves (which I believe it's mainly due to convenience for the dairy farmers)

 

Thanks again quirkygirl, always a learning process

 

And danger to them and workers.
I worked on a small cattle ranch with Charolais.
Let me tell you... The cows are insane. The only bull there...was a puppy. We could do anything to him. Even in the rack he could give a s**t. Walked in and out on his own.
I had a fifteen foot gate wide open to move a cow to another pen.
Instead, she leapt over the 8' pole fence and slammed her udder into it.
What nutcakes they are.

 

To be sure, tip it over and see if milk comes out. Best try this over a sink, just in case

 

No - Cow horns are just "U" shaped and small. Most are bred out or burned off.

 

Holy crap - if all your life consisted of eating and screwing cows I guess you would be completely docile too!!

 

Thanks Rayo! I'm confused now, this is a cow horn and has been artificially aged?

 

there are different types of bovine horns..

 

Hahaha ... it is starting to get confusing, isn't it?

I think it's due to the term "cows"
A lot of people refer to all domesticated cattle, regardless of gender, as "cows" ...
but some folks are more specific ... this is what I've been taught by my husband, a former herdsman (so if these are wrong, I'm putting the blame on him ):
bull = un-castrated male, steer = castrated male, cow = female (bred), heifer = female (un-bred)
Some breeds of 'cattle" are hornless ... Angus for example, (I don't know if they never had them, or if it was bred out over time)
For other breeds, both males and females produce horns, but they can nipped or burned off when they're very small, if the farmer does not wish to deal with horned livestock.

I think that you're asking if the horn you have could be from one of the typical cattle breeds (without regard to gender) here in the Americas. My opinion is that it could be ... but I don't know if there are other "bovines" (as komo suggested) that could also have long smooth horns similar to yours.

The photos I had posted were just to show that some bred female cattle ... "cows" could have very long horns too

 

Can someone tell from the image with the knot in it, just what that knot and 'line' are made of????

And I think it DOES resemble a Scottish steer horn......

 

Good question! Looks to be organic such as a strip from a cornstalk or something similar but it surely would be look eaten or rotted no?

 

So, would it (the strip and knot) be old or no?????