In our Herd Book Volume I early U.S. breeder Mims Wilkinson, Jr. wrote, "It has been stated by some authorities that belted, or sheeted, cattle in England go back to the age of Charles II, although they are first mentioned in Scotland in the latter part of the 18th Century. The polled characteristic of Galloways sets them apart from every other breed, they being derived from the original British polled cattle of antiquity.
"Although it is impossible to affirm with certainty whether Belted Galloways were bred from cattle imported to Britain or native cattle, or a combination of the two, the logical conclusion is that they originated from a cross of Black Galloways with Dutch Belted. Though no documentary evidence is available to substantiate the assumption, the known prepotency of the Dutch cattle lends weight to this view, and the frequent traffickings between Scotland and the Low Countries in the 17th and 18th Centuries would provide opportunities for the importation of a few Dutch Belted cattle. The horns, the only essential difference, would disappear with the predominance of Galloway blood.
