Shorthorn
Encyclopedia
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
originated in the North East of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in the late 18th century. The breed
Breed
A breed is a group of domestic animals or plants with a homogeneous appearance, behavior, and other characteristics that distinguish it from other animals or plants of the same species. Despite the centrality of the idea of "breeds" to animal husbandry, there is no scientifically accepted...
was developed as dual purpose, suitable for both dairy
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
and beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
production; however there were always certain blood lines within the breed which emphasised one quality or the other. Over time these different lines diverged and by the second half of the 20th century two separate breeds had developed - the Beef Shorthorn
Beef Shorthorn
The Beef Shorthorn breed of cattle was developed from the Shorthorn breed in England and Scotland in around 1820. The Shorthorn was originally developed as a dual purpose breed, suitable for both dairy and beef production. However different breeders opted to concentrate on one purpose rather than...
, and the Dairy Shorthorn
Milking Shorthorn
The Milking Shorthorn or Dairy Shorthorn is a breed of dairy cattle that originated in Great Britain. It developed from the Shorthorn, which itself came from County Durham, Northumberland and Yorkshire in north eastern England....
. All Shorthorn cattle are coloured red
Red
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
, white
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
or roan
Roan (color)
Roan is a coat color found in many animals, notably horses, cattle and dogs. It is defined generally as an even mixture of white and pigmented hairs that does not "gray out" or fade as the animal ages...
, although roan cattle are preferred by some, and completely white animals are not common. However, one type of Shorthorn has been bred to be consistently white – the Whitebred Shorthorn
Whitebred Shorthorn
Whitebred Shorthorn is a British type of beef cattle originating in north west England and south west Scotland. It is derived from Shorthorn cattle, but is always white, rather than being the range of colours found in other Shorthorns...
, which was developed to cross with black Galloway cattle
Galloway cattle
The Galloway is one of the world's longest established breeds of beef cattle, named after the Galloway region of Scotland, where it originated. It is now found in many parts of the world....
to produce a popular blue roan crossbreed, the Blue Grey
Blue Grey
Blue Grey is a type of beef cattle popular in Scotland and the north of England.It is traditionally produced by crossing a whitebred shorthorn bull with black Galloway cows...
.
History
The breed developed from Teeswater and Durham cattle found originally in the North East of England. In the late 18th century the Colling brothers, Charles and RobertRobert Colling
Robert Colling , and his brother Charles , English stock breeders, famous for their improvement of the Shorthorn breed of cattle, were the sons of Charles Colling, a farmer of Ketton near Darlington. Their lives are closely connected with the history of the Shorthorn breed...
, started to improve the Durham cattle using the selective breeding techniques that Robert Bakewell had used successfully on Longhorn cattle
Longhorn cattle
Longhorn cattle are a long-horned brown and white breed of beef cattle originating from Craven in the north of England. They have a white patch along the line of their spine and under their bellies....
. In 1796 the Charles Colling of Ketton Hall, bred the famous Durham Ox
Durham Ox
The Durham Ox was a castrated bull which became famous in the early 19th century for its shape, size and weight. It was an early example of what became the Shorthorn breed of cattle, and helped establish the standards by which the breed was to be defined....
. The culmination of this breeding program was the birth of the bull Comet, bred by Charles Colling, in 1804. This bull was subsequently sold for 1,000 guineas in 1810 at the Brafferton sale; the first 1,000 guinea bull ever recorded.
At the same time Thomas Bates of Kirklevington and John Booth of Killesby were developing the Teeswater cattle. The Bates cattle were subsequently developed for their milking qualities, whereas the Booth cattle were developed for their beef qualities. Animals taken to Scotland in 1817 from the Booth herd were used to produce the Beef Shorthorn
Beef Shorthorn
The Beef Shorthorn breed of cattle was developed from the Shorthorn breed in England and Scotland in around 1820. The Shorthorn was originally developed as a dual purpose breed, suitable for both dairy and beef production. However different breeders opted to concentrate on one purpose rather than...
breed.
In 1822 George Coates published the first volume of his herd book, this was the first pedigree herd book for cattle in the world.Beef Breeders' Annual, An Inverell Times supplement, Shorthorn breed arrived with the First Fleet.
Coates published the first four volumes, after which Henry Stafford took over the ownership and publishing of the herd book, retaining the name "Coates's Herd Book". The Shorthorn Society of Great Britain and Ireland was founded in 1874, and purchased the copyright of the Herd Book from Stafford. They have continued to compile and publish Coates's Herd Book ever since. The American Shorthorn Herd Book was the first to be published in the United States for any breed and was started in 1846, with the formation of the American Shorthorn Association following 26 years later in 1872.
Health
Some Shorthorns have been found to have a genetic defect called Tibial Hemimelia (TH), a diseaseGenetic disorder
A genetic disorder is an illness caused by abnormalities in genes or chromosomes, especially a condition that is present from before birth. Most genetic disorders are quite rare and affect one person in every several thousands or millions....
caused by an abnormal gene. TH was identified in a small number of Shorthorn cattle in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 1999. It is characterized by severe deformities in newborn calves, which are born with twisted rear legs with missing tibia
Tibia
The tibia , shinbone, or shankbone is the larger and stronger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates , and connects the knee with the ankle bones....
s (shin bones) and fused joints, large abdominal hernias and often skull deformities. They cannot stand to suckle and must be destroyed. All the affected animals descend from a single individual. The gene
Gene
A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...
involved is recessive: the disease occurs only when homozygous
Zygosity
Zygosity refers to the similarity of alleles for a trait in an organism. If both alleles are the same, the organism is homozygous for the trait. If both alleles are different, the organism is heterozygous for that trait...
(two copies of the gene are present); heterozygous
Zygosity
Zygosity refers to the similarity of alleles for a trait in an organism. If both alleles are the same, the organism is homozygous for the trait. If both alleles are different, the organism is heterozygous for that trait...
(carrier) animals show no symptoms, but are likely to be much more widespread in the population than affected animals.
Distribution
Today the breed is found mainly in English speaking countries, and South America. The main countries are: ArgentinaArgentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, United States of America, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, and Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. Beamish Museum
Beamish Museum
Beamish, The North of England Open Air Museum is an open-air museum located at Beamish, near the town of Stanley, County Durham, England. The museum's guiding principle is to preserve an example of everyday life in urban and rural North East England at the climax of industrialisation in the early...
in north-eastern England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
preserves the Durham breed.
Australia
Shorthorn cattle were one of the first purebred breeds to be imported into Australia when several cows were brought into New South Wales in 1800. More purebred Shorthorns were imported into NSW in 1825 by Potter McQueen of SconeScone, New South Wales
Scone is a town in the Upper Hunter Shire in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2006 census, Scone had a population of 4,624 people. It is located on the New England Highway north of Muswellbrook about 270 kilometres north of Sydney, and is part of the Hunter and Upper...
. Nine months later the Australian Agricultural Company
Australian Agricultural Company
The Australian Agricultural Company is a company which serves to improve beef cattle production through responsible natural resource and land use...
imported additional Shorthorns, and in the 1930s Thomas Simpson Hall, the breeder of the Halls Heeler
Halls Heeler
The Halls Heeler was a dog bred by Thomas Simpson Hall to herd cattle on the Hall family's extensive properties in north-western New South Wales in the 19th century. On Dartbrook Station, in the Upper Hunter Valley, Hall selectively crossed the offspring of Northumberland Drover's Dogs that he had...
, imported Durham Shorthorns from which he developed extensive herds of Poll Shorthorns.
The breed has a wide genetic base, resulting in the development of several distinct though closely related strains — these are the traditional strains:
- Beef ShorthornBeef ShorthornThe Beef Shorthorn breed of cattle was developed from the Shorthorn breed in England and Scotland in around 1820. The Shorthorn was originally developed as a dual purpose breed, suitable for both dairy and beef production. However different breeders opted to concentrate on one purpose rather than...
- Poll Shorthorn
- Durham
- Dairy Shorthorn
- Australian Shorthorn
The current Shorthorn Society of Australia encompasses the Poll Shorthorn, Australian Shorthorn and the Durham.
Many other beef cattle breeds have used Shorthorn genetics in the development of new breeds such as the Belmont Red
Belmont Red
Belmont Red is a breed of beef cattle developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation during 1954 in response to the need in the Australian Tropics for cattle which would improve the fertility of Bos indicus cattle...
.
See also
- Beef ShorthornBeef ShorthornThe Beef Shorthorn breed of cattle was developed from the Shorthorn breed in England and Scotland in around 1820. The Shorthorn was originally developed as a dual purpose breed, suitable for both dairy and beef production. However different breeders opted to concentrate on one purpose rather than...
- Dairy Shorthorn (known as Milking Shorthorn in North America and New Zealand)
- Durham OxDurham OxThe Durham Ox was a castrated bull which became famous in the early 19th century for its shape, size and weight. It was an early example of what became the Shorthorn breed of cattle, and helped establish the standards by which the breed was to be defined....
- Whitebred ShorthornWhitebred ShorthornWhitebred Shorthorn is a British type of beef cattle originating in north west England and south west Scotland. It is derived from Shorthorn cattle, but is always white, rather than being the range of colours found in other Shorthorns...
Breed associations
- American Shorthorn Association
- Asociacion Argentina de Criadores de Shorthorn
- Shorthorn Association of Australia
- Canadian Shorthorn Association
- Irish Shorthorn Society
- New Zealand Shorthorn Association
External links
- Cattle breeds: Shorthorn
- The Shorthorn Breed of Cattle - Oklahoma State University
- Shorthorn Breed Information - Cattle.com
- The Durham Ox - painting of Comet, a Durham Shorthorn, 1804