Most Pineywoods cattle are horned, and the horns vary from long and twisted to short and crumpled. The Pineywoods breed includes almost all of the solid colors and many of the spotting patterns known to cattle. This is a legacy from Spain, where even today ranchers prefer multicolored herds for range conditions. Some of the family strains have been selected for specific -colors or patterns. Conway cattle, for example, are red and white in various patterns.
Griffin cattle tend to be yellow.
Other strains, such as Carter and Barnes, -include several colors. The Pineywoods is critically rare, with only a few hundred cattle alive today. Though little known outside the Southeast, the Pineywoods, and the closely related Florida Cracker breed, are high conservation priorities. These American breeds have important qualities, such as fertility and longevity, that are lacking in the Brahman, Zebu, and other heat-tolerant cattle commonly used. The Pineywoods, with almost 500 years of adaptation to the American Southeast, has history on its side as well.