In an interview, the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova was asked ‘What were you trying to say in that dance?’ She replied “If I could have said it, I shouldn’t have had to dance it.”
There is perhaps more going on in the left side of the brain than we sometimes give it credit for. Some things about breeding livestock have no logic and can’t be described.
There is a man from Arkansas called Gearld Fry, who has studied the works of Dr Jan Bonsma from South Africa. From Bonsma’s work and a lifetime of studying cattle, he has developed his own linear measurement system – with emphasis on girths, lengths and widths, body proportions and ratios. He claims that cattle of the right proportion are high in reproduction and meat production, and low in maintenance.
Unfortunately I didn’t know about Gearld Fry at the start of my trip. Kit Pharo had been using some of his measurements, however. It wasn’t until I looked at cattle with Kit, that I could see what it was about. The cattle he is looking for are exactly what my father and grandfathers have taught me about ‘type’ and ‘balance’.
I think Gearld Fry has tried to put measurements to the things that some stockmen know, but can’t ‘say’. Although they can ‘breed’ them, in an ‘Anna Pavlova’ sort of a way.
The 3 cows shown to the left, I think, typify what Gearld Fry's measurements are trying to identify. The 2 red cows are similar age cows (about 10 years old), and I believe the black one is a bit younger. The top cow is a Red Angus at Pharo Cattle Company, Colorado about a month after calving. Next is at the Turihaua herd of Hamish Williams in New Zealand, mid summer, running with the bull. Bottom cow is a Luing at home at Incheoch, Scotland - pictured in autumn, ready to wean. All 3 are deep bodied but wedge shaped both ways - that is deep heart, but more girth around her hip and flank than around her heart. They are slender necked and wide hipped. Not hugely long cows, but long necked and long hook-pin relative to overall length. Hard to explain, but easy to like. |