I think it should get lighter toward the tip, although, now that I've looked for some pics, I've found some that look both ways. https://www.getanimals.com/ccwild/steer.jpg https://www.satcure.co.uk/sticks/images/Cow_horns.jpg You might also want to experiment with the ridge direction.... some of these pics seem to have the ridges running along the horn's length rather than around the width.