Shorthorn cattle

The Shorthorn breed of cattle originated in the North East of England in the late 18th century. The breed was developed as dual-purpose, suitable for both dairy and beef production; however, certain blood lines within the breed always 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, and the Milking Shorthorn. All Shorthorn cattle are coloured red, white, or roan, 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, which was developed to cross with black Galloway cattle to produce a popular blue roan crossbreed, the Blue Grey.

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 Robert, started to improve the Durham cattle using the selective breeding techniques that Robert Bakewell had used successfully on Longhorn cattle. In 1796, Charles Colling of Ketton Hall, bred the famous Durham Ox. 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. Related cattle may have been imported to the United States by Harry Dorsey Gough of Baltimore, Maryland, before 1808.

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 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.

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