someone told me that herefords orignated from shorthorns but i really dont think this is true. but i wanted to do some research on it and there was no site that said this was so.
I had heard that before. Don't know for sure. Here is some interesting reading about the early days in the United States with Herefords and Shorthorns being mixed. http://www.herefordamerica.com/history.html
according to
Trow-Smith, Robert (1959), A History of British Livestock Husbandry 1700–1900, Routledge and Kegan Paul, pp 100–103. - yes there is Shorthorn influence in Hereford cattle
well the lady saying this said that herefords used to be called shorthorns, i guess that better clarifys my question. herefords have never been called shorthorns have they?
As I recall from what I've read, I think Shorthorns were the first breed to be recognized and recorded in Great Britain. As the Hereford and Angus breeds were developing later, some of their earliest stock were already recognized as Shorthorns. The color patterns weren't the defining factor in the original stock of any of the breeds, it was selected for later on as breeders worked on developing seperate identities for the breeds.
Shorthorn records go as far back as 1790 in England. Pedigree records trace Shorthorns in North America as early as 1825. I know that many breeds came to be due to crossing with Shorthorns- Maine Anjou resulted from a cross between Mancelle cattle and Shorthorns. I've also always wanted to see something in writing describing which breeds Shorthorns helped found, as like most of you have mentioned it's mostly "I heard ___ breed was developed from Shorthorns". Besides the book DL posted any other interesting books to look for?