Herefords.US
Well-known member
vontrapp1":1xsw9dro said:This thread has gone on for some time. But I am new to this forum and despite age and the fact that the conversation has moved on I would like to return to the original question and chime in.
Let me first say I think everyone has the right to raise whatever breed or type of cattle they want. Everyone is entitled to hold whatever opinion they hold so if you like what you have then great. However I think the question to which is better Horned or Polled Herefords and the age old issue of the animosity for breeders of the two breeds comes down to intelectual dishonesty. It is possible for any breed of cattle in the show ring to appear to be excellent in fit and form. Function is proven through years of trial out on the range, ranch or farm. When you are a breeder of a breed that you truely love you owe it to your breed to try and breed the best animals you have. Additionally if you believe in your breed there comes a point in time when the breed has to stand on its own and does not need to be blended with any other genetics to improve it. If the belief is that simply breeding the horns off an animal is a true improvement in beef quality then fine you have now modified the genetic makeup of the breed and you move on from there. However the Hereford breed was horned from the start and at the point of time when the polled breed came into being the breed was already 100 years old or more. Every living then on earth has a specific genetic code. And there is pretty much infinite number of ways these genes can line up sometime the genes align in a way that is beneficial and sometimes not so good. When it comes to domesticated animals it is in the interest of the breeder or farmer whatever that they breed not only true but predictably uniform for all the desirable traits that they are after. If you have been breeding true for 100 years and you suddenly on a wild whim decide to insert some new genetics into you breed or herd you are have basically taken a step back genetically. That is where the intelectual dishonesty comes in. People believe that the two breeds are the same but they are not. They are related but not the same. However, with the merger of the two associations it has allowed the free interbreeding of the two breeds and still allowing registration. This means for the pure horned breeders there is no a fly in the oinment in many of todays herds. One those genes are in you herd you will never get them out. You can slowly breed for purity but you will never get it out it will always be there. People need to be honest with themselves and understand that. The truth of the matter is there are very few true "breeders" out there that understand this. There are far fewer breeders that won't sell there breed up river for a short term gain.
Best regards to all.
Interesting perspective - and not unlike some that I've heard from long time horned Hereford breeders. And I know a few Polled Hereford breeders who feel the exact same way about THEIR breed -and think there shouldn't be any scurs - much less horns - present. Listening to some in each camp, you wonder how they managed to get the two associations together.
The HOLE in your argument is that Polled Hereford cattle were ALWAYS eligible to be registered in the American Hereford Assn - even before the recent merger. I've got old issues of Hereford Journals from throughout the 20th century that contain ads for Polled Herefords that were registered with the AHA.
No doubt, breed purity is a BIG DEAL to a lot(most??) of Hereford breeders!
But any logical thinker should KNOW that the breed's purity has been compromised in the past - and some of those "less than pure" Hereford animals have had their genes distributed pretty widely into the registered Hereford population, both horned and polled. So there's been "a fly in the ointment" for quite a while longer than the two associations have been merged together! Perhaps it is intellectual dishonesty - if you want to deny that as "fact"!
I don't think it is intellectual dishonesty, but pragmatism, to just accept that fact - then move forward with whatever kind of breeding program you choose to pursue. I bought the foundation cattle for my present herd in 2002 - not much I can do about what happened prior to that. I can only take my cattle and "build" from there.
A respected long time horned Hereford breeder told me a few years ago that the Hereford breed is STILL the "purest" breed of all. And he's probably right!
Now, if you ABSOLUTELY demand "pure" Herefords, you probably need to go to see Jim Lents in Oklahoma - because that possibly could be the only place left where you might find some! :tiphat:
George