Shorthorn

The Shorthorn, Durham or Durham Shorthorn is or was a British breed of cattle. It originated in the counties of Durham and Yorkshire in north-eastern England and was already present in that area in the sixteenth century. In the United Kingdom it has developed into four separate recognised breeds: the Beef Shorthorn, the Dairy Shorthorn, the Northern Dairy Shorthorn and the Whitebred Shorthorn. In Australia seven shorthorn breeds are recognised: the Australian Shorthorn, the Beef Shorthorn, the Dairy Shorthorn, the Illawarra Shorthorn, the Poll Shorthorn, the Durham and the Weebollabolla Shorthorn. Others are the Japanese Shorthorn of Japan and the Milking Shorthorn of the United States.

Shorthorns 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.