Angus Cattle - "The Business Breed"

One of the most successful English breeds of cattle, the Angus has long been the cattle industry's “business” breed.

Its black color is highly sought after in crossbreeding programs as a potential seal of Angus quality. Perhaps the most representative breed in cowherds, the Angus holds a well earned spot amongst all beef breeds.

In the northeastern part of Scotland lie the four counties of Aberdeen, Banff, Kincardine, and Angus. These counties touch the North Sea and all extend inland and have some high or mountainous country.

They have been favored through the ages with a temperate climate and good crops, although the topography of the country is rough.

It is a fact that pastures do well in the area because of well-distributed rainfall. Plenty of grass, plus a nearly ideal temperature for cattle production, has made the area very suitable for some of the greatest improvement that has been made in our purebred breeds of cattle.

The county of Angus was early noted for its production of potatoes, grain crops, and feed. Counties are known as "shires" in the Great Britain, and this shire contains a fine expanse of highly cultivated land known as Strathmore - one of the very fine valleys in that part of Scotland which has become famous in the history of the Aberdeen-Angus breed.

The county of Aberdeen is the most productive agricultural region in Scotland and depends largely upon crops and livestock for income.

While the fishing industry is stressed along the coastline, the tiny counties of Banff and Kincardine have long been known as livestock centers.

Northern Scotland, although in a more northern latitude than the United States, has a more uniform temperature throughout the year. The Gulf Steam tempers the climate in the winter, and the summers remain cooler than weather commonly experienced in the United States.

This all lends to ideal land for cattle.

So where did Angus cattle originate?

There are three distinct and well-defined breeds of polled cattle in the United Kingdom. These breeds are the Aberdeen-Angus, the Galloway, and the red polled Norfolk and Suffolk breeds that are found in England.

Polled cattle apparently existed in Scotland before recorded history because the likeness of such cattle is found in prehistoric carvings of Aberdeen and Angus.

Historians believe that there were hornless (polled) cattle in Siberia centuries earlier. And believe it or not, there is believed to have been a hornless race of cattle in other parts of the world such as what was depicted in Egypt by sculptors and painters of that ancient civilization.

Some historians feel that the Aberdeen-Angus breed and the other Scottish breeds sprang from the aboriginal cattle of the country and that the breeds as we find them today are indigenous to the districts in which they are still found.

Although little is known about the early origin of early Scottish cattle which later became known as the Aberdeen-Angus breed, it is thought that the improvement of the original stock found in the area began in the last half of the 1700's.

The cattle found in northern Scotland were not of uniform color, and many of the cattle of the early days had varied color markings or broken color patterns. Many of the cattle were polled, and some did in fact have horns.

The characteristics that we commonly call "polled" was often referred to in the old Scottish writings by the terms of "humble," "doddies," "humlies," or "homyl."

Two strains were used in the formation of what later became known s the Aberdeen-Angus breed of cattle.

In the county of Angus, cattle had existed for some time that were known as Angus "doddies."

A local Rev. James Playfair wrote in 1797, "There are 1129 horned cattle of all ages and sexes in the parish. I have no other name to them; but many of them are dodded, wanting horns."

This seems to be the first authentic reference to polled cattle in the county of Angus, apart from ancient sculptures.

In the area of Aberdeenshire, other polled cattle were found and were called Buchan "humlies," Buchan being the principal agricultural district in Aberdeenshire.

These cattle were apparently early valued as work oxen, as were most of the other strains of cattle that later acquired various breed names. It is believed that polled cattle were found in Aberdeen in the 16th century.

The presence of polled cattle in Aberdeenshire, 400 years ago is proved beyond the shadow of a doubt, and it may generally be taken for granted that they were co-existent in various parts of northeastern Scotland, their purity being contingent on the degree of care exercised in breeding.

Improvement in Scottish agriculture started to take shape in the middle 1700s.

Apparently little attention was given to the breeding of cattle before the middle of the 18th century, but in the last half of that century, great progress was made in Scottish agriculture. And yes, it is not strange that as farming practices were improved, men likewise sought to improve the livestock on their farms.

Fact is that it was only natural that breeders, in improving their cattle, would buy cattle of similar kinds from adjacent areas. As a result, the cattle of the Angus doddie strain and the Buchan humlie strain were crossed.

This crossing and recrossing of these strains of cattle eventually led to a distinct breed that was not far different from either type, since the two strains were originally of rather similar type and color pattern.

By the beginning of the 19th century, the polled cattle of the Buchan district had attained considerable favor as market cattle for the production of carcass beef.

Among the polled herds of Aberdeenshire that were famous for such production in the early 1800s were those of Messrs. It was those of Williamson of St. John’s Wells and Robert Walker of Wester Fintray.

The Williamson herd later supplied the herd of Tillyfour and, through it, the Ballindalloch herd with some of their humlies.

In the world of Angus cattle, the herds of William Fullerton, Lord Panmure, Lord Southesk, and Alexander Bowie contributed many of the Angus doddies that later became prominent in the breed. Robert Walker of Portlethen seems to have been the principal cattle breeder in Kincardineshire.

But no, they were not the only ones contributing to the breed. In fact, it is said that if any one person can be singled out as the founder of a breed of livestock, Hugh Watson of Keillor, who lived in the vale of Strathmore in Angus, is worthy of that distinction.

If not the first real improver of Aberdeen-Angus cattle, he was certainly the most systematic and successful.

Both his father and grandfather had been buyers and breeders of the Angus doddies. The family is known to have owned cattle as early as 1735. Hugh Watson was born in 1789 and, in 1808, at the time he was 19 years of age, he became a tenant at Keillor.

When Hugh Watson started his farming activities at Keillor, he received from his father’s herd six of the best and blackest cows, as well as a bull.

That same summer, he visited some of the leading Scottish cattle markets and purchased the 10 best heifers and the best bull that he could find that showed characteristics of the Angus cattle that he was striving to breed.

The females were of various colors, but the bull was black; Watson decided that the color of his herd should be black and he started selecting in that direction.

Mr. Watson’s favorite bull was Old Jock 126, who was awarded the number "1" in the Herd Book at the time it was founded. The bull was bred by Watson in 1842 and was sired by Grey-Breasted Jock 113. The bull apparently was used very heavily in the herd from 1843 until 1852 and was awarded the sweepstakes for bulls at the Highland Society Show at Perth in 1852, when he was 11 years old.

Another very famous cow also made considerable history in the herd at Keillor. This cow was Old Granny 125, who was calved in 1824 and was killed by lightning when past 35 years of age. She is reported to have produced a total of 29 calves, 11 of which were registered in the Herd Book.

A very large percentage of our living Aberdeen-Angus cattle trace to either Old Granny or Old Jock, or both of these very famous foundation animals, and most would trace many times if their pedigrees were extended to the foundation of the breed.

Hugh Watson practiced the fitting and showing of his cattle more than was common by other breeders of his day. He made his first exhibition at the Highland Agricultural Society Show at Perth in 1829. During his long show career, he is said to have won over 500 prizes with his cattle and did a great deal to increase the popularity of the black polled cattle over the British Isles.

And yes, there were other early contributors to the breed.

Lord Panmure established a herd of polled cattle in 1835, and not only operated a private herd but also encouraged his tenants to breed good doddies.

William Fullerton, who was born in 1810, began to breed cattle in 1833. His most important early purchase was that of another Aberdeen cow named Black Meg.

Black Meg 43 is sometimes referred to as the founder of the breed, since more cattle trace to her than to any other female used in the origin of the breed. She is the only cow to surpass Old Granny in this respect.

Robert Walker of Porlethen founded his herd in 1818 and continued to breed cattle successfully until his death in 1874.

In 1810, the Colling brothers of England sold the famous Shorthorn bull Comet at $5,000. The publicity resulting from this sale naturally spread throughout Scotland, and many breeders looked with favor upon the use of Shorthorn blood in improving the native cattle.

Subsequently good herds of Shorthorn cattle were established in Scotland, and the cattle were used in the improvement of native stock. The use of the Shorthorn cattle on the black native cows was a very common practice of the period for the raising of commercial stock.

And yes, if you're wondering, this practice of crossbreeding did in fact threaten the Aberdeen-Angus breed with extinction. Yes, extinction.

It is often suggested that some Shorthorn blood found its way into the Aberdeen-Angus breed prior to the time the Herd Book was closed.

Alexander Keith, secretary of the Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society from 1944 to 1955, takes exception to this opinion by writing:

"The statement has been frequently made that shorthorn blood was introduced into the Aberdeen-Angus breed at an early stage of its existence. There is no foundation whatever for such a statement. The tribes from which the Aberdeen-Angus breed were drawn were supplying England with beef cattle for generations before what became the beef Shorthorn was taken across the Border into Scotland and improved into what is known as the Scotch Shorthorn. Of the Aberdeen-Angus pioneers, Hugh Watson had a certain number of Shorthorn cattle, but it is quite evident from his won remarks and his insistence upon the blackness of his Aberdeen-Angus cattle that he would never have permitted mixing them. And McCombie: when one or two farmers introduced the Teeswater or Shorthorn breed into his neighborhood he drove them out by completely dominating the local shows with his Aberdeen-Angus black polls. The feeling of the early improvers of Aberdeen-Angus cattle may be gathered from the fact that my own grandfather, who was one of McCombie’s friends and associates, would not allow anything but a black beast on his farm and in his old age when I was a young boy he would insist that if I ever became a farmer and wished to be a successful feeder of cattle I must stick rigidly to the Blacks."

William McCombie of Tillyfour came along and is regarded as the preserver and great improver of the Aberdeen-Angus breed.

Fullerton and others had started the blending of the two types of cattle, which later became known as the Aberdeen-Angus, but this success was enlarged at Tillyfour.

He was an excellent breeder. Known as the Master of Tillyfour, he was born in 1805 and died in the spring of 1880.

Like his father before him, he had been a successful dealer in cattle before he began his operations in 1829 as a tenant farmer. Mr. McCombie is distinguished in the history of the Aberdeen-Angus breed because of his great foresight in planning matings, his careful management, his unparalleled success in the show ring, and in publicizing his famous cattle.

Probably his crowning success in the show ring was at the great International Exposition held at Paris in 1878. There he won the first prize of $500 as an exhibitor of cattle from a foreign country and also the grand prize of $500 for the best group of beef-producing animals bred by any exhibitor.

But not only did Mr. McCombie show in breeding classes, he also exhibited in steer classes at the market shows.

Probably the most famous steer that her produced was the famous show animal Black prince, who won at the Birmingham and Smithfield Shows in 1867 when he was four years of age. From the latter show, he was taken to Windsor Castle for the personal inspection of none other than Queen Victoria.

It's said that later, Queen Victoria accepted some Christmas beef from the carcass of the steer. And yes, I'm almost sure she had a great Bar-B-Q afterwards.

The English Crown has long been interested in livestock improvement, and Queen Victoria paid a personal visit to Tillyfour a year or two after the visit of the famous Black prince to the castle.

Remember that we're talking about a time when having a visit from the Queen was looked at as a huge tribute. Since her visit was made to an outstanding breeder, naturally it attracted great attention to the already famous herd.

Later, McCombie had the further distinction of being the first tenant farmer in Scotland to be elected to the House of Commons.

According to the historian Sanders:

"Aberdeen-Angus history may fairly be divided into two periods; the first, before William McCombie’s time; the second, since. That is as good as any other way of saying that the Master of Tillyfour-recognized cattle king of his day and generation in Aberdeen-Angusshire and of all Scotland-stands a very colossus upon any canvas which accurately portrays the original arrival of black cattle as a factor of world importance in the field of prime beef production."

William McCombie always had utility in mind when producing his cattle, and his ideal animal seems to have been one with size, symmetry, and balance, yet with the strength of constitution and disposition to accumulate flesh.

Because of this, there were some important developments at Tillyfour.

Although his original stock was gathered from many sources and his purchases were many, Mr. McCombie’s outstanding acquisition was probably the good yearling heifer Queen Mother 41 at the Ardestie Sale.

Mr. McCombie purchased the bull Hanton 80, calved in 1853, from the breeder Alexander Bowie. This bull was a grandson of Old Jock 126 and was said to have weighed a ton at maturity. Despite the fact that he had scurs, which is a partial or deformed horns in livestock, he was a great show bull and was exhibited widely by Me. McCombie.

The bull’s success, however, was more pronounced in the breeding pen, and he probably made his greatest contribution to the breed through his double grandson, Black Prince of Tillyfour 77, calved in 1860.

Few, if any, cattle of the breed are living today that do not trace at least a dozen times to Black Prince of Tillyfour.

It is difficult to say how much contribution Mr. McCombie made to the Aberdeen-Angus breed through his successes in the show ring, but he outstripped all of his competition in England, Scotland, and France. Consequently, the name of Aberdeen-Angus became known on an international basis.

It was on the farm of William McCombie where the Aberdeen-Angus breed really took shape. Prior to his time, people spoke of the cattle as Aberdeen and Angus.

In his herd was found the justification for leaving out the "and" and replacing it with the hyphen that has become familiar. At Tillyfour, the master breeder molded the two original strains into one improved breed superior to either of its components. There is no question but to state the fact that William McCombie, "the Great Preserver of the Angus" cattle, left the breed far better than he found it.

Another very famous Aberdeen-Angus herd in Scotland was that of Ballindalloch, but the origin of this herd is lost in the mists of antiquity. It was probably first founded by Sir John MacPherson Grant, but it was not until the time the farm came into the hands of Sir George (George Grant), a son, that systematic breeding was started.

Sir George drew heavily on Tillyfour cattle in establishing his herd. And yes, it was very fortunate for the breed that the Ballindalloch herd was kept in the family for over three generations.

The main herd was dispersed on August 8, 1934, but it had already left a great imprint on the Aberdeen-Angus world.

Not only was the Ballindalloch herd the outstanding herd in Scotland but it mush also be given credit for having furnished a great deal of very valuable foundation stock to the herds of the United States and other foreign countries.

So now we come to the first Angus in America.

When George Grant transported four Angus bulls from Scotland to the middle of the Kansas prairie in 1873, they were part of the Scotsman's dream to found a colony of wealthy, stock-raising Britishers.

Grant died five years later, and many of the settlers at his Victoria, Kansas colony later returned to their homeland. However, these four Angus bulls, probably from the herd of George Brown of Westertown, Fochabers, Scotland, made a lasting impression on America's cattle industry.

When two of the George Grant bulls were exhibited in the fall of 1873 at the Kansas City (Missouri) Livestock Exposition, some considered them "freaks" because of their polled (naturally hornless) heads and solid black color (Shorthorns were then the dominant breed.)

Sir Grant, a forward thinker, crossed the bulls with native Texas longhorn cows, producing a large number of hornless black calves that survived well on the winter range.

The Angus crosses wintered better and weighed more the next spring, the first demonstration of the breed's value in their new homeland.

The first great herds of Angus beef cattle in America were built up by purchasing stock directly from Scotland.

Mostly to the Midwest, in a period of explosive growth, a heavy importation of Angus cattle direct from Scotland followed when 1200 cattle were brought in from 1878 to 1883. 

As a side not, remember that this was the peak of the boom of the American Cowboy.

By 1877, the largest of the cattle-shipping boom towns, Dodge City, Kansas, shipped out 500,000 head of cattle.

By the 1880s, barbed wire was sectioning off rangeland because overgrazing stressed the open range. With railroads ever expanding to cover most of the nation, and meat packing plants were built closer to major ranching areas, making long cattle drives from Texas to the railheads in Kansas became unnecessary.

Though Cowboys were used on small local drives and in feed lots and on some ranches, the age of the open range was gone and large cattle drives were over - and so was the need for so many Cowboys.

As for Angus cattle, well over the next quarter of a century these early owners, in turn, helped start other herds by breeding, showing, and selling their registered stock.

The American Aberdeen- Angus Breeders’ Association was founded on Nov 21, 1883 in Chicago, Illinois.

In 1950, it was renamed the American Angus Association. Today, it holds the distinction of being the largest purebred beef registry in the world.

Angus beef hardly needs an introduction anywhere in the world.

During 2003 and 2004, the American fast food industry assisted in a public relations campaign to promote the supposedly superior quality of beef produced from Angus cattle - “Angus beef”.

Back Yard Burger was the first such large scale product sold in the US, dating back to 2002. Angus burgers are also menu items for chains such as Hardee's and Canadian-based Harvey's.

Beginning in 2006, McDonalds began testing hamburgers made with Angus beef at a number of its restaurants in several regions in the US. The company said that customer response to the burgers was positive and began selling the burger at all US locations in July 2009.

At the same time, McDonald's Australia also began selling two variants of the burger, the Grand Angus and the Mighty Angus, using Australian-bred Angus, in their outlets

Today, Angus beef is renowned for its fine marbling texture and superlative eating qualities.

For Angus cattle, if given a minimal amount of days on feed, they will manage to repeatedly turn out Prime and Choice grade meats.

The Certified Angus Beef (CAB) program was the first of its class. It provides Angus beef producers, ranchers, an increase in the marketability of their stock directly leading to higher premiums. And for consumer, it provides a consistent eating experience and the assurance of knowing what one is purchasing.

The surge in the Certified Angus Beef program has led to a wide-reaching escalation of breeding black into cattle stock, most often using Angus bulls.

The goal of the Certified Angus Beef brand was to promote the idea that Angus beef was of higher quality than beef from other breeds of cattle.

In order to qualify under the phenotype requirements of the Certified Angus Beef programs, the cattle must exhibit at least 51% black coloration as well as the absence of non-Angus traits - such as Brahman humps, dairy cattle conformation, that sort of thing.

Cattle are eligible for Certified Angus Beef evaluation if they are at least 51% black and exhibit Angus influence, which include black Simmental cattle and crossbreds. However, they must meet all 10 of the following criteria, which were refined in January 2007 to further enhance product consistency, to be labeled "Certified Angus Beef" by USDA Graders:

• Modest or higher degree of marbling
• Medium or fine marbling texture
• "A" maturity
• 10 to 16 square-inch ribeye area
• Less than 1,000-pound hot carcass weight
• Less than 1-inch fat thickness
• Moderately thick or thicker muscling
• No hump on the neck exceeding 5 cm (2")
• Practically free of capillary rupture
• No dark cutting characteristics

Besides the Certified Angus Beef program, Angus bulls are an excellent crossbreeding option. In fact, they are used as a genetic dehorner as the polled gene is passed on as a dominant trait.

And also, Angus cattle are widely used in crossbreeding to reduce the likelihood of dystocia (difficult calving).

Breeding to an Angus bull virtually eliminates calving problems. The resulting calves are born polled minimizing injuries in feedlot situations.

The Angus’ black coloration also serves as “sun block” of sorts, helping to prevent cancers and sun burning of the udder.

The ChiAngus (Angus x Chianina) and the SimAngus (Angus x Simmental) are only two examples of Angus hybrids that carry the qualities of both breeds making leaner, more efficient grain converters with higher performance numbers.

While the high quality traits of beef are not exclusive in the Angus, their numbers increased due to their consistency in producing quality.

There is little lacking in the Angus breed. The breed, as a whole, meets the needs of a demanding cattle industry on a wide range of points.

Angus is a docile breed which is pretty hardy. Angus cows calve easily and have excellent maternal instincts. And yes, for producers, at feedlots their meat quality proves its superiority time and again.

There is a reason that Angus is called "The Business Breed."

It is a commonly held believe among many cattle ranchers that when in doubt "go black." It is a time tested strategy that really has served many a cattle producer very well.

Hereford Cattle - The Icon of the Cattle Industry

The Hereford has long been the icon of the cattle industry. Their breeding is steeped in tradition and has a great number of steadfast supporters.

With their large frame, their trademark red bodies and white faces, Herefords populate cattle pastures the whole world over. One would be hard pressed to find a more resilient and overall outstanding breed of beef cattle, which has so thoroughly taken over the beef business since its introduction.

The Hereford breed was founded some two and one-half centuries ago as a product of necessity. It is said that enterprising farmers near Hereford in the County of Herefordshire, England, were determined to produce beef for the expanding food market created by Britain's industrial revolution. To succeed in Herefordshire, those early-day cattlemen realized they must have cattle which could efficiently convert their native grass to beef and do it at a profit.

There was no breed in existence at the time to fill that need, so the farmers of Herefordshire founded the beef breed that logically became known as Herefords. These early Hereford breeders molded their cattle with the idea in mind of a high yield of beef and efficiency of production, and so firmly fixed these characteristics that they remain today as outstanding characteristics of the breed.

Believe it or not, beginning in 1742 with a bull calf from the cow Silver and two cows, Pidgeon and Mottle, inherited from his father's estate, Benjamin Tomkins is credited with founding the Hereford breed. This was 18 years before Robert Bakewell began developing his theories of animal breeding. 

From the start, Mr. Tomkins had as his goals economy in feeding, a natural aptitude to grow and gain from grass and grain, rustling ability, hardiness, early maturity, and prolifically, traits that are still of primary importance today. Other pioneering breeders were to follow the Tomkins' lead and establish the worldwide renown for the Herefordshire cattle causing their exportation from England to wherever grass grows and beef production is possible.

Herefords in the 1700s and early 1800s in England were much larger than today. Many mature Herefords of those days weighed 3,000 pounds or more. Cotmore, a winning show bull, and noteworthy sire weighed 3,900 pounds when shown in 1839. Gradually, the type and conformation changed to less extreme size and weight to get more smoothness, quality, and efficiency. These early animals were much larger than their easier fleshing, modern counterparts. Always a hardy breed they were able to efficiently convert grazing into body mass making them exceedingly popular in their region and attractive to all cattlemen.

In 1817, statesman Henry Clay of Kentucky imported the first three Herefords to the United States. The first importation was a bull and two females. These cattle and their offspring attracted considerable attention, but they were eventually absorbed by the local cattle population and disappeared from their permanent identity. But it was in 1840 when William Sotham and Erastus Corning brought them back into the public eye by actively breeding and marketing them within the New England states.

So basically the first breeding herd of Hereford Cattle in America is considered to be the one established in 1840 by William H. Sotham and Erastus Corning of Albany, New York. For practical purposes Herefords in the United States date from the Sotham-Corning beginning. Records of the New York State Fair reveal that 11 Herefords were exhibited there in 1844 and were highly praised. Several breeders were active in exhibiting at fairs and exhibitions in the East and Midwest where the Herefords met with great success.

With the end of the American Civil War and the coming of the American Industrial Revolution, the Westward expansion continued and so did America's appetite for beef. Western ranching developed from free land and local Longhorn cattle originally brought to Mexico by the Spanish. They bred in the wild and soon populated northward into what is now America's great southwestern cattle country. These cattle were tough and had the bred-in ability to survive, a trait that enabled them to be driven to railhead shipping points and then transported by rail to slaughter at eastern markets.

It was on such wild Longhorn cattle that Herefords proved to be the great "improver." They survived the rough ranching conditions and improved beef quality in the process. Because of this, demand for Hereford bulls boomed. And because of that demand,  Hereford cattle importation increased.

To satisfy the growing market which developed from the Western cattlemen, Hereford breeders expanded their herds through heavy importations from Herefordshire. Where only 200 head were imported up to 1880, more than 3,500 head of Herefords came over during the 1880-1889 period.

During that time, breeders of Herefords led by such men as T. L. Miller, C. M. Culbertson, and Thomas Clark, all of Illinois, won hard-fought battles for breed acceptance in the agricultural fairs and expositions which furthered the use of Herefords in American beef production. In fact, one of the greatest early interests in the breed came from the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia where T. L. Miller was awarded a medal for the first-prize herd.

Early Hereford breeder promoters and exhibitors in the 1870s and 1880s included such names as Earl, Stuart, Fowler, Van Natta, and Studebaker of Indiana, and the Swan Land and Cattle Co., the forerunner of the present Wyoming Hereford Ranch. These breeders were instrumental in the movement of Herefords to Wyoming, other mountain states, and the Northwest. Gudgell and Simpson of Missouri made their start in 1877. Four years later, they were to gain everlasting renown in the Hereford world through importing and concentrating on the great young sire Anxiety 4.

No other bull comes close to the stature of Anxiety 4 for he is often credited as being the "Father of American Herefords" and "the bull that gave Herefords hindquarters." Today, he is the common ancestor of nearly all Hereford cattle in this country.

The momentum continued with increased exhibitions and participation in cattle shows. Slowly but surely, Hereford cattle, the breed itself, began to prove its presence in the cattle industry.

The Hereford industry in America passed a great milestone of progress on June 22nd, 1881, when a few breeders met in Chicago at the Grand Pacific Hotel to lay the foundation for the organization of the American Hereford Association.

The American Hereford Association was formed in an attempt to promote interest for the Hereford in addition to serving as a record-keeping seat. Both horned and polled Herefords were registered under the Association. The AHA continues to be active and involved in all aspects and commercial needs of its ever-increasing membership now the second largest in terms of numbers and members. One of their main accomplishments was the push and ultimate creation of a Certified Hereford Beef program.

For over a century, the AHA has performed its duties with little change in the original bylaws while providing leadership for the industry that has seen Hereford cattle taken to every area, region, and territory of America and become the greatest influence in the nation's beef production activity.

Herefords Become Dominant

It was largely through shows and expositions that Herefords gained their greatest acceptance among cattlemen of this country and, no doubt, the first great impact was scored at the 1883 Chicago Fat Stock Show, the forerunner of the famous International Livestock Exposition which, until closing after the 1975 event, was the premier show for market animals in America. At that show over a century ago, the Hereford steer Roan Boy won the grand championship for his exhibitor, C. M. Culbertson. The steer's early maturity marked the beginning of the end for the previously popular four-year-old steers which some say are the big, rough, old-fashioned kind.

In 1886, a two-year-old Hereford was the grand champion. And in 1903, Hereford yearlings won the carlot grand championship. Three years later a 336-day-old Hereford won the show, the first ever at less than two years old. Because of this, Herefords led the way in revolutionizing beef production in America. This fact is said to be because of the traits of doing ability and early maturity -- getting fat at an early age and producing the ideal in "baby beef."

While other traits in beef cattle continued to be important in the cattle breeder's selection program during the ensuing years, there is no doubt that early maturity and fattening ability were of primary concern - first because the market paid the highest price for the cattle that fattened well on forage, and second because the preferred breeding animals were those that demonstrated the ability to fatten readily at a given age.

To get this early maturity, breeders in the late 1930s and 1940s eagerly sought out the compact type of conformation -- short, low set, wide, and deep-bodied cattle - as their preferred breeding stock. By comparison, such cattle were naturally smaller. Their success in achieving such an animal with its abundance of fat and establishing that kind as the breed's "ideal" proved to eventually be a detriment.

That was fine until the market changed in the 1960's. It caused such cattle to be penalized in price and discriminated against. All of a sudden, it was apparent that demands were starting to change what were being looked for in types of Hereford cattle.

Following World War II, and really well into the 1950s, the compact, fat, small-type cattle continued to be favored in the show ring, but quietly and almost unnoticed, there was a change taking place in the meat-packing industry and in the basic American consumer's diet which reflected on the demand and price of the favored kind up to that time.

The commercial market for fat or beef tallow declined, plus the fact that consumers were unwilling to buy the excess fat on cuts from "overdone" carcasses. The result was that beef packers paid less for the overfat cattle and suddenly there was a different type of animal preferred by the industry.

Consumers wanted a trimmer, leaner, less fat, and more red meat kind of beef. The once preferred wide-backed, overfat, and wastey (too fat) cattle were heavily docked in the market. This change in consumer market preference was first expressed in Hereford circles at the National Hereford Conference in Denver in 1963. But then it was voiced even more loudly in 1967 at a conference in Kansas City, and then at the now-famous 1969 conference in Wisconsin. This change was very conclusively demonstrated, consumer desire had changed.

Economics in cost of production required faster daily gain at less cost conversion of feed to muscle instead of fat and far less loss in offal waste in the desired market kind. These requirements translated to more size and a different style of conformation which, in turn, presented the breeder with a tremendous challenge in modernizing the breed and turning it around to a new kind of Hereford.

What was needed was a Hereford endowed with all the basic economical traits to encompass total performance yet without the other traits. One without the other, at the expense of another, is hard to find. Accomplishing their objective in a remarkably short time is a great tribute to the dedication of Hereford breeders, the broad genetic base of the breed, and the ability of breeders to utilize modern technology along with the practical application of the breeder's art.

The 1960s saw the beginning of acceptance of the performance era in Herefords. Breeders began giving concentrated attention toward applying new-found tools such as performance testing, artificial insemination, objective measures, embryo transfers, generation turnover, and sire evaluation to affect more and more rapid genetic change in the past 25 years than perhaps had been accomplished previously since Benjamin Tomkins undertook his systematic efforts to make better beef cattle from his native Herefords.

In 1963, the American Hereford Association embarked on an experimental program to test sires under practical feedlot conditions through their progeny in feedlot performance and carcass yield. That program was replaced by the current National Reference Sire program to identify superior sires. This program led the way for all breeds in sire testing.

The beginning of the American Hereford Association's record-keeping activity was expanded to include performance records and initiation of the present Total Performance Records (TPR) service in 1964.

Having been developed over some two decades, often amended to utilize new technology and to provide maximum service to breeders, the TPR program that has evolved has proven to be a great service to individual breeders and the breed in general.

Presently, there are some two million records of performance on file in the AHA computer, stored for use to assist in selecting improvements in future cattle generations.

The late 1960's found breeders faced with overpowering evidence that the breed had too many cattle that simply did not measure up in the modern measures of performance and with great competition from European "exotic" breeds, Hereford followers sought out breeders and bloodlines noted for cattle of substantial size and performance.

It was fortunate for the breed that there was an ample and broad genetic base from which to select when the demand came for larger framed cattle. Breeders found the growth traits fairly easy to select for. Both 205-day and yearling weights were accurate measures of growth, fairly easy to obtain, and they were highly heritable.

To maximize selection within the herd, within-herd selection, was a long process when considering the rule of thumb of cow generation being some seven years. Many breeders began looking for shortcuts. They searched the country for sires with more frame and size, requesting and analyzing weaning and yearling weights.

Leaders in beef cattle education and research stressed growth as a major criteria of performance, often ignoring or de-emphasizing the most important economical trait of beef cattle production, fertility. Breeders were often selected for frame score and mature weight and paid little heed to fertility, structural soundness, feet, and legs. The "yellow and mellow" coloring, a tic of white in the back, or extra white on the legs and underline became less of a selection criteria. "If big enough, markings and color became less important."

Where and in what bloodlines could these cattle be found to increase the frame and weight of Herefords? Voices of the speakers at the Madison, Wisconsin, conference in June 1969, had barely quieted when breeders started looking.

The frame 5 steers at the conference came from the Northwest. That's where many breeders headed and they found some bigger-than-average framed bulls there. Many were of Evan Mischief, Mark Donald, and Real Prince Domino's bloodlines.

Some breeders selected bigger framed cattle in Canada, many of which traced to an American-bred Prince Domino son, Real Prince Domino 109. Also about this time, breeders found the Line One cattle developed by the U.S. Range and Research Station at Miles City, Montana.

It was at the Miles City station in 1934 that a selection program commenced and the development of inbreeding several different lines with selection emphasis on yearling weights. Of all the different lines developed at Miles City, the most prominent to date has been the Line Ones.

The foundation cows for the Line Ones can be traced back to stock purchased in 1926 from George M. Miles. The bulls used in the development of the line were half-brothers, Advance Domino 20 and Advance Domino 54, purchased in Colorado. These two foundation sires were strong in Prince Domino's blood.

Although the Line One cattle were developed at the Miles City station and they have remained a prime source of seed stock, a number of other breeders drew heavily on Line One sires starting in the 1940s, and these breeders became suppliers of the Line One seed stock in the early 1970s.

The complete and universal acceptance of utilizing performance records was a slow process and, even today, does not have universal appeal. Different breeders place emphasis on different aspects.

Because of such differences in opinions in the past, the present, and likely in the future, it is believed that Hereford cattle will command the premier spot in the beef cattle industry for years to come. On its own, Hereford beef does not fall short of the superior eating qualities required of Select or Choice grade meats.

It is because of the undeniable palatability of the naturally tender Hereford that the newly formed Certified Hereford Program is an escalating economic success. It is no overstatement to say Herefords owe their success to heritable qualities.

As a docile breed with high fertility levels, Herefords calve easily and have excellent maternal instincts. They are without a doubt an optimum choice when seeking maximum heterosis. As is likely within all economic venues, the cattle industry not having the necessary performance data and cattle experience, at one point considered the Hereford to be a relatively inferior beef.

Due to their high popularity and adaptability in all regions, they were for a time not as carefully selected for the most favorable beef breeding scene. A staple of the beef cattle industry, the Polled Hereford has fought a long battle to occupy its current position as one of the primary cattle breeds in the world’s beef market.

Possessing a typically large, muscular, red frame, with a white face, crest, dewlap, and underline—it is one of the two most common purebred beef breeds in the US. The horned Hereford was developed and has a reputation as a hardy animal. It opened the door for introduction and acceptance into the new beginning cattle industry of the United States.

It wasn’t until 1898 after seeing a polled Hereford at the Trans Mississippi World Fair that Warren Gammon, an Iowa rancher, began to look closely into the benefit of a naturally hornless, known as polled, variety of Hereford. Thought to cause less injury to self and ranchers, the development of a genetically polled Hereford became his objective.

In 1901, after an extensive search for all polled Herefords, he founded the American Polled Cattle Club, with only 11 "white faces."

Currently known as the American Polled Hereford Association, it is combined with the American Hereford Association. The Polled Hereford are highly resilient cattle, able to withstand harsh weather conditions and insufficient grazing. It is because of their adaptability, they have effortlessly spread to every corner of the cattle country.

Considered to be one of the gentlest-natured cattle breeds, owners of these cattle will be quick to point out the ease with which these cattle are handled. Their docile temperament continues to be unrivaled by other breeds. In spite of their qualities, the status of the Polled Hereford was tainted by negligent breeding. A genetically hornless animal is almost certainly beneficial to the beef cattle industry.

Dehorning calves can be an expensive endeavor, the stress surrounding the procedure at times proving to be detrimental to a calf’s development. The desire to have naturally polled cattle led to indiscriminate breeding.

Crosses to any polled bull or cow became the rule in hopes of repeating the hornless condition in offspring. Indisputably the quality of the cattle breed decreased when only its polled status was considered when deciding on a cross. This practice has steadily come to an end but left a small blemish on the breed’s reputation.

Today we can thank ranchers out there who refused to run anything but purebred Hereford cattle herds. They are men and women who stuck to the guns and stayed the course and refused to crossbreed many of the great qualities of Herefords out of the breed.

It is interesting to note that John Wayne had a purebred Hereford cattle herd on his ranch and sold some of his prize bulls to cattle producer George Berner, then president of the Georgia Cattlemen's Association, back in the early 1970s.

Today, the carcass value is on the rise, however, as more and more people are returning to the breeding of the white-faced red cattle. Though not the norm, the Polled Hereford’s meat may at times prove to rival the Angus’ renowned marbling. Hereford cattle and Hereford crosses are now being marketed under a branded beef program called Certified Hereford Beef. The continued growth of this program is an indication of consumer satisfaction and confidence in Hereford beef quality. Its high reproductive efficiency is quickly garnering it a return to grace.

Polled Hereford calves are quick to mature and flesh easily, making them popular in cross-breeding programs such as the black baldie (Hereford / Angus), the super baldie (Hereford / Brangus), and the tigerstripe (Hereford / Brahman) to name a few.

A highly popular cross, the Black Baldie, combines the enduring traits of the Hereford with the high meat quality of the Angus. And yes, we'll discuss Angus cattle next in our series about cattle. It is in essence an improving breed, which taking into account already excellent characteristics in terms of frame, reproductive success and high meat quality will only serve to keep the Polled Hereford predominant within the beef cattle industry.

Today, Herefords have demonstrated they are high-quality beef cattle in every aspect. Herefords have demonstrated they are high-quality beef cattle in every aspect. Most ranchers will laughingly joke that Herefords can almost subsist on twigs and rocks because they are excellent foragers, all while also being excellent mothers, and providing a consistently excellent eating experience for consumers.

So now, here is something more about this breed. There are Miniature Herefords. To the uninformed, those who know very little about Miniature Herefords may see them as "great pets" that are somehow genetically defective or not equal to full-size Herefords. Well, they are wrong. A Miniature Hereford is a full-blood Hereford. 

The distinction between the full-size Hereford and the Miniature Hereford cattle breed is that the Miniature Hereford is simply not as tall as the normal full-size Hereford that we find throughout our country. While ordinary Herefords are outstanding, Miniature Herefords have their advantages. 

I've read that the "Purebred Miniature Herefords" are free of the dwarf gene and subsequently that's why they are registered with the American Hereford Association (AHA). Yes, just the same as their larger counterparts. As for their bloodlines, their pedigrees within the American Hereford Association can be traced all the way back to when Hereford cattle first arrived in America.

Because Herefords have proven their hardiness time and time again, their incredible ability to adapt to any environment, and their ease of gaining weight to produce high-quality beef, these superb traits are treasured by cattle producers. Miniature Herefords are no different.

Because of their smaller size, Miniature Herefords are much easier to handle compared to large cattle. They require less space and Miniature Herefords are excellent for children because of their docile nature. And yes, this makes Miniature Herefords the perfect 4-H or FFA animal. And really, as most of us who have been involved with 4-H and FFA projects for children, we all know very well how such projects help instill a sense of responsibility, pride, and accomplishment in youngsters.

There are many reasons to choose a Miniature Hereford. They are small and compact. They mature quicker than their full-size counterparts. They eat 30-40% less than their full-size counterparts. They adapt to a variety of environments with varying conditions and temperatures. They really have a gentle disposition. Their dispositions make them easy to handle, especially for children taking part in 4-H and FFA. In reality, Miniature Herefords make great 4-H or FFA projects.

All of these are winning factors, especially since Miniature Herefords require less acreage and cost less to raise. The advantages of Miniature Herefords for more Americans today make them the perfect cost-efficient beef cattle to raise on smaller farms. And because more and more families on small family farms today are raising beef for themselves, Miniature Herefords sound like the perfect choice for American families with limited acreage.

This information has been compiled from many sources.

Tom Correa

Horse Facts, Information, & Lots of Trivia

There's all sorts of facts, information, and trivia here.

From general horse facts, facts about a horse's body, pregnancy and foals, horses in the wild, how to get to know them,  history and quirky pieces of horse information, there are things here that just might surprise you.


So Let's Get Started!

Around 75 million horses are alive in the world today.

There are more than 400 separate breeds of horses in the world

Horses first evolved in the Americas but they became extinct until the Europeans reintroduced them.

It's true. Horses began to evolve on the American continent over 60 million years ago but they later died out.
Lucky for us that they were reintroduced by Spanish settlers.

The horse was reintroduced into the Western Hemisphere with the voyages of discovery by Christopher Columbus for Spain at the end of the fifteenth century.

These Spanish steeds, derived from Moorish stock, first landed in the Caribbean in November 1493. The Spanish horses acclimated rapidly and within twenty years formed the chief supply for the Spanish mainland expeditions.

Other European explorers brought horses to eastern and western parts of the New World in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. English colonists imported European horses. In the British colonies as a whole, horses were valued for riding, hunting, and racing.

In 1918, there were 27 million horses and mules in America. That date is the all time peak of the horse and mule population in America.

Equine, a term used for things dealing with horses, came from the Greek word “equus” which means quickness   

In America, the horse industry is huge:

• 7.1 million Americans are involved in the industry as horse owners, service providers, employees and volunteers.
•  3.6 million and 4.3 million of those participated in showing and recreation, respectively, with some overlap in cases of people who participate in both activities.
• 941,000 people participated in racing in either a professional or volunteer capacity.
• 1.9 million people own horses.
• In addition to the people actually involved in the industry, tens of millions more Americans participate as spectators.

The horse industry directly produces goods and services of $25.3 billion and has a total impact of $112.1 billion on U.S. GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

Racing, showing and recreation each contribute more than 25% to the total value of goods and services produced by the industry.

The industry's contribution to the U.S. GDP is greater than the motion picture services, railroad transportation, furniture and fixtures manufacturing and tobacco product manufacturing industries. It is only slightly smaller than the apparel and other textile products manufacturing industry.

All horses, regardless of when they were actually born, are considered to have a common birthday of January 1. Even if a foal is born on December 31st he or she will have their first birthday the very next day.

Horses are measured in hands and fingers. Each hand us four inches

The scientific name for the horse is Equus caballus. Equus comes from the Greek word for ‘quickness’.

All horses (including zebras) belong to the genus equus.

Horse Categories

Horse breeds fall into four categories:

Ponies - Pony breeds are defined as being under 14.2 hands (one hand = 4 inches) or 58". Many pony breeds have developed in the wild and this has led to a natural hardiness that is not found in most horse breeds.

Coldbloods - Usually refers to the large, bulky draft horse breeds, such as the Shire, Clydesdale, Percheron and Belgian. These horses are known to be docile and insensitive,and are often called gentle giants.

Hotbloods - Usually refers to Arabians, Thoroughbreds and other horses of oriental origin. These horses are known to be energetic and sensitive, or hot.

Warmbloods - Originally a cross between a hotblood and a coldblood, resulting in a trainable, athletic horse with good size and bone and are often used as a sport horse for dressage, jumping, eventing and so on. European breeders have warmblood registries that represent particular lineage, such as Hanoverian, Holsteiner, Oldenburg, Trakehner, Dutch Warmblood and Swedish Warmblood. These European horses are highly sought after in other countries, resulting in a large exportation market.

Their Body

A small indent in a horse’s skin (usually on the neck or shoulder) is called a prophet’s mark and is considered good luck.

The average horse weighs about a half a ton, its brain is the size of a baked potato.

Some of the equine family's closest relatives are tapirs and the rhinoceros.

If you're curious, a Pony is any horse under 14.2 hands high is technically a pony

Colt is the name of a male horse, 4 years old or younger

Filly is the name of a  female horse, 4 years old or younger

Foal is the name of a newborn or very young horse, male or female

Gelding is the name of a male horse older than four that has been castrated, or gelded

Mare is the name of a mature female horse, a female horse older than four years old is called a mare

Stallion is the name of a male horse older than four that has not been castrated is a stud or a stallion.

Dam  is the term given to a mare when she becomes a mother

Sire is the term given to a stallion when he becomes a father

Horses have four different gaits:

• walk
• trot
• canter
• gallop.

The fastest gait is the gallop

No two horses are identical

Horses height is measured in units known as "hands." One hand is equal to 4 inches.

The left side of a horse is called the “near side” and the right side is the “off side”

The world record for a horse galloping over a short, sprint distance is 55 miles per hour.

Horses only breathe through their noses. They do not breathe through their mouths. In fact, horses cannot breathe through their mouths.

A horse has approximately 205 bones

Adult respiratory rate is 8-16 breaths per minute

The average horse produces 10 pounds of saliva per day.

A healthy adult horse should have a pulse of between 36 and 40 beats per minute while at rest.

The heart of a horse weighs about 10 pounds

Horses can require up to 10 gallons of drinking water each day, and can drink at least 25 gallons of water a day or more.

It's possible to tell a horse’s age by its teeth

Horses are herbivores (plant eaters).

All horses are grazers

Dogs and cats drink by lapping water with their tongues while cattle and horses make use of a sucking action

Horses eat short, juicy grass, and hay. Foods like barley, corn, oats and bran are good for working horses

Horses cannot vomit

Horses have bigger eyes than any other mammal that lives on land.

Horses can see in two directions at the same time

Their sense of smell of the horse is better than that of a human

Horses tend to rely more on vision than smell.

Their field of monocular vision is almost 360 degrees with a narrower field of binocular vision in front and slightly to the sides.

Horses have a blind spot directly in front of the nose and directly behind them.

They do have much better night vision than humans.

Horses have an advanced sense of taste which allows the horse to sort through grasses and grains to find the things that the horse would most like to eat.

Horses generally will not eat plants that are poisonous, but when the horse cannot find more adequate food, the horse will eat plants that contain toxins.

A horse's gut is designed to have food flowing through it almost continually, and horses graze most of the day if allowed.

Horses have two blind spots: one directly behind and another directly in front of them

Horses can lock the muscles in their legs so they can go to sleep standing up and not fall over.

Horses lie down only about 43.5 minutes a day

A horse only needs four hours of sleep per day at 15 to 20 minute intervals.

Horses can sleep both lying down and standing up. 

Horses sleep longer in the summer than in the winter

Male horses generally have 49 teeth, while females have 36

A horses stomach should always make gurgling noises

Horses’ teeth never stop growing

Soaking hay before feeding it to a horse helps reduce respiratory problems

A fully grown horse weighing 1,000 pounds contains around 13.2 gallons of blood

Horses with coats marked by large patches and white and another colour are known as pintos. While in Britain and Ireland they are known as coloured, piebald, or skewbald

Any marking on a horse’s forehead is called a star, even when it’s a different shape. In fact, most stars resemble diamonds

The longest horse tail ever measured was 22 feet long. It belonged to an American Palomino named Chinook

The highest speed recorded for a horse's kick has been recorded at 75 mph.

Domestic horses have a lifespan of around 25 years.

A normal horse has a body temperature of between 100 and 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit

A horse’s ear can be rotated almost 360 degrees and is controlled by 13 muscles

A horse’s upper lip is prehensile. This means it’s adapted for holding objects and is very sensitive and can feel small differences in the texture of an object

A horse’s hoof will grow about a quarter of an inch each month. A hoof is similar to a fingernail. It grows constantly, and should be clipped before it becomes overgrown and causes distress to the horse.

A horse’s knee joint is the equivalent to a human wrist, and their hock joint is equivalent to the human ankle.

Contrary to some beliefs, horse are not color-blind and can in fact see colours

Horse feathers are long hairs on the back of horses’ ankles which help to keep away water from the hoof

The Arabian horse is the oldest pure breed in the world. It is also the most likely to pass along its character traits through the generations

Arabian horses are slightly different from other horses in anatomy, with one less rib, one less lumbar bone, and one or two fewer vertebrae

Horses are not naturally predisposed to jumping. When able to do so most will go round the obstacle instead

Standardbred horses generally have larger hearts than other breeds

A horse’s head shape varies widely based on breed. Arabians usually tend to be dish-faced with a concave profile; draft horses have Roman noses and a convex profile

A mule is a cross between a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare).

Mules are usually sterile.

A hinny is a cross between a male horse (a stallion) and a female donkey (a jenny).

Hinnies are usually sterile.

Mules are known for having very long ears.   

Getting To Know Them

Studies have assessed equine intelligence in the realms of problem solving, learning speed, and knowledge retention. Results show that horses excel at simple learning, but also are able to solve advanced cognitive challenges that involve categorization and concept learning.

Horses have a social hierarchy within their herds, with more dominant horses asserting themselves as the leaders. Just like humans, each horse has a different personality  

Horses make eight basic sounds: snort, squeal, greeting nicker, courtship nicker, maternal nicker, neigh, roar, and blow

Horses use facial expressions to communicate their emotions and moods. If a horse has its ears back and its nostrils flared, it may be preparing to attack

If you hold your hand out to a horse and it approaches you and blows warm air onto your hand it wants to be friends

A horse can sense its owner’s emotions and will mimics his mood. If you are in a bad mood, your horse will likely be in a bad mood also

A horse’s mood can be determined by watching their facial expressions and the positioning of their nostrils, eyes, and ears

Horses use their tails to send signals to each other horses about how they are feeling

Horses will mourn the passing of a companion

If kept alone horses will get lonely

Horses have a better sense of smell than humans

A healthy horse will be bursting with energy, displayed in its unrestricted movement

Horses will sometimes groom one another by nibbling around the neck region, in the much the same fashion that mares care for their young

Sacking out is the process of slowly introducing a horse to frightening objects in order to prevent it from spooking when it comes across them

Horses sometimes communicate vocally. The whinny means a horse is excited or agitated while a snort usually means that it senses danger

When a horse’s ears are lowered or limp, the horse is relaxed or resting

Horses will often rear up when startled, at play, or excited

Blue Horses

Perhaps one of the rarest colors of horse is the grulla (pronounced grew-ya) or grullo (grew-o), also known as the black dun, blue dun or lobo dun.

The coat color is the result of the dun gene on top of a black gene, which produces individual hairs that are a mousy gray, smoky blue or slate gray color. Grulla horses can vary quite widely, from a distinctive smoky blue to a mousy tan.

Often these horses have a dorsal stripe on their back, a dark face, dark ear tips and edging, dark mane, tail and legs and leg barring (called tiger striping)

The Spanish word "grulla" refers to a slate-gray crane.

Pregnancy, Foals and Breeding

A mare’s gestation period (pregnancy) is usually 11 months, but can sometimes be as short as 10 months or as long as 12 months

Colts may sometimes be capable of reproduction as early as 18 months. However, they are rarely allowed to breed until they are at least three years old

Most foals are born in the springtime, at night, when the herd is unlikely to be on the move and food is plentiful

Most foals are born at night

When first born, foals cannot eat grass because their legs are too long to reach the ground

Horses can run shortly after birth.

At birth, a foal’s legs are already 90 per cent of their full-grown length

Foals instinctively recognise the scent of their mothers

Newly born foals cannot reach down to eat grass because their legs are too long

It’s not possible to predict a horse’s colour when it is foal. It will experience several changes before the colour becomes fixed at about age two

A mare can give birth in as little as 15 minutes. But if someone is watching here she may stop foaling and wait until the observer leaves before she continues

Many young domestic horses are handled by people within the first few days of their lives in order to get them used to the touch, sound and smell of humans

A mare’s first milk is called colostrum. It is very rich and protects against disease in the foal

Just one hour after birth, a foal is able to stand. After just two hours, it can run

Horses in the Wild

Feral horses are the descendants of once-tame animals that have run free for generations

Wild horses (feral horses) that live in North America are called Mustangs

The Przewalski’s horse is the only truly wild horse whose ancestors were never domesticated. The last wild Przewalski’s horse was seen in Mongolia in 1968

A breed of horses called Akhal-Teke from Russia can go for days without water or food

Mature horses will kick both colts and fillies out of the herd when they reach sexual maturity, helping to prevent inbreeding

Horses and ponies feel safest in herds

In the wild, mares decide when the herd moves to another spot to find food

Mares decide when and where the herd will go while the stallions follow.

Ponies are able to survive in inhospitable climates because they conserve body heat so well

Like sheep and cattle, horses are browsers, constantly wandering as they feed

Mustangs are related to horses brought to the New World by Spanish explorers nearly 400 years ago. They are one of the few wild North American breeds

Horses and ponies always feel safest when they are in herds

There is usually only one stallion in any herd of horses

In tropical areas, horses are usually small, energetic, hardy, and capable of surviving with little food

In the wild, horses feed on grass and herbs. Combined with water, these alone are adequate for a horse’s sustenance

Horses expand more energy when they are lying down than when they stand upright

Herd bound horses become flighty and difficult to control when they are separated from the herd

In the wild, all horses eat for about 22 hours each day, and sleep for about two

For Horseshoers

A blacksmith, or farrier or horseshoer, is a person who trims and shoes horse’s hooves.

Hippo-sandals were used in the first century as a precursor to horseshoes. They were tied to the horse’s hoof with leather strings, rather than being nailed in place as is now done with horseshoes.

What was the average price for shoeing a horse in 1842 and 1920 in America? A shoeing in 1842 cost $0.5 or a load of corn. The average price for a shoeing in 1920 was $1.75

The first patent awarded for the machine manufacturing of horseshoes was to S. Decatur and W. Tatharn when they received a patent for a horseshoe making machine in 1809. The machine did not succeed in production.

There were 1,749 patents awarded for different horseshoe designs between 1822 and 1950

In 1860, the total daily iron consumption for making horseshoes was 397 tons per day. 43 tons were used in machine-made shoes and 354 tons were consumed in making horseshoes by hand.

The first successful machine to make complete horseshoes from a single piece of iron in one operation was patented in 1857. Originally the machine could make six shoes per minute. By the 1870's H. Burden and
Sons had six improved forging machines and they were capable of making six shoes per second.

The turning point for the acceptance of machine made horseshoes was when the Burden Iron Company of Troy, New York, received a contract in 1861 to supply the federal government with large quantities of horseshoes to be used in the Civil War. This was the first large scale demand for machine-manufactured horseshoes and marks the turning point for acceptance of the machine manufactured horseshoe.

The first successful horseshoe nail-making machine was patented by Thaddeus Fowler, who designed the first nail-making machine with pointed horseshoe nails. The brand name of the nails was "Vulcan".

The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to animals gave its endorsement in 1874 to the use of India-rubber horseshoes. They were made, lined, and worn like the rubber overshoe used by humans. The elasticity of the rubber shoe allowed the hoof to remain in its natural shape, while being protected from the abrasions of pavements. The rubber shoes were manufactured in sixteen sizes, weighed about 40% less and cost about one-third more than iron horseshoes.

Outspoken anti-horseshoe advocates in England began arguing in the 1880's that 90% of a horse's foot trouble came directly from the use of horseshoes. The movement suggested using no horseshoes at all on the more than 2.25 million horses then living in the United Kingdom. The movement died because of it's impracticality.

The US Calvary field-tested aluminum horseshoes in the 1890's. The report praised the ease of shaping, fitting and light weight but determined that the shoe would not wear long enough to be practicable for military service.

In 1897 Sears, Roebuck & Company catalog offered generic horseshoes and horseshoe nails in its hardware section. The price for 100 pounds of shoes cost $3.75, and 25 pounds of nails cost $4.25

Professor William Hunting in his 1898 work, The Art of Horse-Shoeing: A Manual For Farriers has suggested weights for shoes based upon the horses use. The suggested weights for: race horses, hacks and hunters, carriage horses, omnibus horses and draft horses varied:

Race horses: 2 to 4 ounces.
Hacks and hunters: 15 to 18 ounces
Carriage horses 20 to 30 ounces
Omnibus horses 3 to 4 pounds
Draft horses 4 to 5 pounds

Did You Also Know?

The first horse lived around 50 million years ago and was called Hyracotherium. It had four hoofed toes on the front feet, three hoofed toes on the back feet and was about as big as a fox.

Horses were domesticated by at least 2000bc and there is evidence that they could have been domesticated as early as 4,500bc

Both the ancient Romans and Asians looked upon their horses as great warriors. Although the Romans prized large horses in battle for their strength, Asians preferred smaller, more nimble and sure-footed ones

On the Greek Island of Hydra, horses and ponies are the only legal for of transportation

Horses have been found in cave paintings that date back to around 15000 B.C.

Asian nomads probably domesticated the first horses some 5,000 years ago, and the animals remained essential to many human societies until the advent of the engine

The first veterinarian text written that included a section on the horse's foot was written by De Arte Veterinaria in 430 BC by Simon of Athens.  

Chariot racing was the first Olympic sport in 680 B.C.

Julias Caesar rode a horse with three toes. The condition results from a rare genetic mutation that can affect the front of rare hooves

Alexander the Great’s horse was named Bucephalus. Alexander received the wild horse as a boy and was able to tame it

The Roman emperor Caligula made his horse, Incitatus, a priest of Rome. The horse had nearly 20 servants, a jewelled collar, and was often feed oats dripped in gold

The Greeks used horses for the first ever Pony Express

The Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria, was founded in 1572. It is one of a handful of schools that still teaches classical dressage

Upon his death Napoleon's war horse was presented to the Royal United Service Institution. Its hooves were made into snuff boxes

The first recorded horse-jumping competitions were held in Dublin, Ireland by the Royal Dublin Society in 1864

So how long is a furlong? Well, 1/8 mile or 220 yards

The sole survivor of Custer's Last Stand was a buckskin named Comanche.

Comanche had twelve wounds and spent a year in slings before becoming fully recovered. The US Cavalry headquarters allowed Comanche complete freedom for the rest of his life at Fort Riley, Kansas.

Comanche was officially retired and it was ordered that no one would ever ride him again. He was called "the Second Commanding Officer" of the 7th Cavalry. His only duties were to be lead in the front of official parades occasionally. It is said he developed a fondness for beer in his later years, and was such a pet at the fort that he was often indulged in this habit.

Comanche lived to the age of 29, and when he died his body was mounted and put on display at the University of Kansas, where it stands to this day.

So everyone knows Silver was the Lone Ranger's horse, but what was the name of Tonto's horse? Tonto's horse was a paint named Scout.

The largest number of horses ever assembled for a US movie was the 8,000 horses that were used in the movie War and Peace.

From the middle ages to the 1930s, wealthy women were expected to ride side saddle because it was through improper for them to sit with their legs astride

How old was the oldest horse? So far, the oldest recorded horse on record was Old Billy who lived in England to a ripe old age of 62. Old Billy from Lancashire, England, was born in 1760 and died in 1822 at age 62. I repeated myself because I have a hard time believing it, even though its true.

A 42-year-old Australian brood mare was the oldest horse ever to give birth

The smallest pony ever recorded is called Sugar Dumpling. She weighed only 30 pounds and stood just 20 inches tall

The oldest pony on record died in France aged 54

The Palamino horse we know as the talking Mr. Ed was in fact an American Saddlebred.

Mr. Ed, the talking equine star of the 1960s television series, was a golden palomino. He learned an enormous amount of tricks for his role, including answering a telephone, opening doors, writing notes with a pencil, and unplugging a light. Apparently, Mr. Ed would occasionally have a fit of temper, as befitting his star status, and would stand stock still, wheezing and refusing to move.

After elephants, draught horses are the world’s strongest land animals

The world record for a horse galloping over a short, sprint distance is 55 mph.

The record for the highest jump made by a horse is held by a horse named Huaso who jumped 8 feet, 1 and 1/4 inches on February 5th, 1949 in Vina del Mar, Chile. He was ridden by Captain Alberto Larraguibel.

The record for the longest jump over water is held by a horse named Something who jumped 27 feet, 6 and 3/4 inches on April 25, 1975 in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was ridden by Andre Ferreira.

Depending on the sporting event, a horse’s mane can be worn in many ways, from naturally down to roached to various kinds of braids

Untrained young horses can be brought cheaply, even those with top bloodlines. Once a horse is trained, however, its price can easily triple

Riding a horse burns between 148 and 690 calories each hour, depending on the gait of the horse and the weight of the rider.

Some fox hunters ride horses called field hunters that are specially trained for the pursuit

Dressage is the art of training a horse to perform precise movements. It requires an equal amount of skill and concentration from horse and rider

When horses are teamed during riding sports, such as in a group of four, either of the two foremost horses is called the leader

There is an archaic British law which states that an Englishman may not sell a horse to a Scotsman

The Society of Horseman’s Word was a club in Scotland in the 1800s. Elder members were believed to have supernatural abilities to understand and control horses

The Battle of Komarow on August 31, 1920, was the last major cavalry battle

On April 7, 1933, the Clysedale horse became the Anheuser-Busch brewery symbol

A German horse, Meteor, won show-jumping medals at three consecutive Olympic Games, in 1952, 1956 and 1960 

It is illegal to open an umbrella near a horse in New York City

New Jersey’s state animal is the horse

Ribbons were once braided into horses’ tails to keep the animals safe from witches

The bows used on string instruments are often made from the tail hair of horses

In Canada, drinking before or while riding a horse is punishable as a DUI. A horse and carriage is classified in the same category as a car, while horseback riding is the same as bicycle riding.

In statues of a horse and rider, if the horse has both front legs in the air, the rider was killed in batle; if the horse has one leg raised, the rider died as a result of wounds received in battle; if all four legs are on the ground the rider died of natural causes

In Rosario, Argentina, horses are required to wear hats in warm weather

The national sport of Afghanistan is Buzkashi, a game in which riders on horseback attempt to capture a goat carcass

A zedonk is the offspring of a zebra and a donkey

Hippotherapy is the use of horses and horseback riding in physical, occupational, speech and psychological therapy

Hippophobia and equinophobia both refer to the fear of horses

Hippocrates translates to ‘horse master’

Horses like classical music.

The oldest pony ever recorded was named Teddy E. Bear. He lived to be 55 and was owned by Kathy Pennington of Virginia Beach, VA. He was still alive in 1998.

The tallest horse ever recorded was the English gelding Sampson (also known as Mammoth). He was born in 1946 and by the time he was four-years-old stood seven feet two inches tall.

The World's Largest Horse was a purebred Belgian stallion named Brooklyn Supreme. He stood 19.2hh (6'6") at his withers. He weighed over 3,200 pounds and is entered in the Guiness Book of World Records. He was foaled in 1928 and died in 1948. He lived in Iowa, USA.    

After reading all of this, you probably won't get fooled when folks ask you a question of two about horses.

But then again, be careful. Remember, what runs all around a paddock but doesn't move - is a fence.

The side of a horse has the most hair is in fact the outside.

And yes, just in case some wise guy asks what kind of horse can jump higher than a house? Remember to tell 'em that all kinds of horses do -- since houses can't jump!