An update to the last post, started by Matt McCollum about the decline of the foundation of our breed, the dwarf. In case you missed it, it was titled…
Are short leg(Chondro+) registered Dexters in decline? And should we be asking why before it’s too late?
It took a bit to gather all the information and get it all in one spreadsheet, so that we could identify all the duplicates and triplicates. As many people register with one, two or even three registries.
Results are not a shock. Dwarf is definitely on a decline and it happened steeply after someone started a breeder group Facebook page and decided to publish a lot of unproven and untrue things about the dwarf, carrier or chondroplasia postive dexters. All three terms are used interchangeably. You will note the most were registered in 2017 and his group started in July of 2016.
These results are only the tested and registered animals. There are sure to be many that have not been tested or not registered as testing for the gene is not compulsory.
Much of the rhetoric, that has been posted about the dwarf is hearsay and can be traced back to one rather opinionated person. Please do yourself a favor, visit a farm with these wee creatures and understand why so many of us adore them. Less inputs, more milk, more beef and usually the favorites of the herds.
Sweet Caroline was out. Walking free through acres and acres of fields freshly sewn or just sprouted crops. It wasn’t that I couldn’t see her, as I could. The area is flat and wide open. Of course, when you are trying to pen a heifer, that doesn’t help at all.
I felt helpless. My truck was still attached to my trailer. My first thought was to take car and follow her in an effort to push her to a farm near by who happened to have a corral. I was offered to borrow a car of the owner of the farm so that we wouldn’t lose her by taking time to remove the trailer from the truck.
Myself and the sister-in-law of the person who was buying Sweet Caroline jumped in the car and attempted to follow her. It wasn’t hard. She was easily seen. It became more of a game of finding a fence and a corral to get push her towards it. Following the country roads and keeping an eye on Sweet Caroline, we found ourselves near a farm that was fenced and cattle in the pasture. We pulled into the farm and knocked on the door.
A very nice gentleman answered and after explaining the situation, he volunteered to assist. He knew of the local farmers, who had corrals, cattle, and who did not. The idea was to put a halter on her, if possible, and then walk her to a fenced area. If she wouldn’t take a halter, and she is not haltered trained, the plan was to push her to the fenced area.
Great plan, right? Sounds easy, right? It wasn’t. Did I mention it was over 90 and humid? Not ideal conditions for Sweet Caroline or me.
Sweet Caroline was proving to be a lot smarter than I originally gave her credit. We could get close to her, pet her, but she would not take a halter. She learned, quickly, that we were pushing her so she took the approach of walking towards us, and then going in the direction where we previously came. I know you are laughing. I was not.
She followed us to a small farm. The house appeared abandoned as was the cattle barn. Unfortunately there was not an area that was fenced. The cattle ban was wide open. More like a lean to than a barn. A large one at that. She walked into the barn. I suppose it was shade. Spirits were lifted but there was no where to contain her.
Our volunteer farmer had called in a favor and another farmer joined us with his 4 wheeler. I had more hope. We had her against the wall when I started to walk towards the car. I wanted to get the trailer.
I didn’t get 50 yards, when the inevitable happened. She ran right towards the farmers and the sister-in-law and back into the fields. She wasn’t charging them and certainly wasn’t trying to hurt them, but she sure wasn’t worried if they got in the way.
Then an error was committed. As I went back to get the truck and trailer, they followed her. And pushed her. 4 wheeler was right next to her. Following. She kept walking until she came upon a large wooded area. She disappeared in the thick woods and brush. While the effort was valiant, the only thing that was retrieved in the woods that day were scratches and ticks. My iWatch showed that I walked 12 miles that day. At that point, I felt I had no choice. Exhausted and growing dark, I went home. I got home at 1:30AM.
Facebook was active. People were looking. People were talking and spreading the word. The Sheriff had been notified and a report filed. In that little town, Sweet Caroline was somewhat of a celebrity. It was Thursday. I waited for a call. It never came.
On Friday, I was becoming desperate to doing something. Anything. On a whim, I called the County Animal Shelter. A lady answered. I mentioned I lost a heifer. She immediately knew who I was and said it was all over Facebook. Many were anxiously awaiting an update.
I asked for options. She said that there was a drone operator in Illinois who runs a business looking for lost animals. A drone? Would he help with a cow? I called. He answered. My luck was about to change.
Next week, Part 3. Sweet Caroline has been found. How in the heck am I going to catch her? Call in the cowboys.
A little bit about the author. I own and operate a small farm called “Our Yellowstone LLC” in Illinois. I couldn’t do it alone, but will keep my wife’s name out of it to protect her innocence.
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A portrait model of a shorthorn Dexter bull in obsidian set with cabochon ruby eyes. Among the breeds of cattle kept by King Edward VII at Sandringham were pedigree shorthorns, red polls, Jerseys and Irish Dexters.
Breeds like Miniature Highlands, Miniature Herefords, and Dexters didn’t just pop up overnight. Their histories are as varied as their appearances, with some, like the Dexter, dating back centuries, and others, like the Mini Hereford, emerging through decades of selective breeding. As land prices rise and the demand for sustainable, manageable livestock grows, miniature cattle have carved out a meaningful niche in the farming world.
Dexter beef is a breed of cattle that is known for its quality and taste. It is commonly known in foodie circles that Dexter beef is some of the tastiest around and really good to eat.
For those who have been following my articles, I have been documenting my experiences with Dexter cattle. I did what my Dad always said to do, which is when you don’t know where to start, start at the beginning.
This month’s article I thought it best to jump to present day. I wanted to tell the story of Sweet Caroline. There is nothing that embodies the title of my articles than her story.
Sweet Caroline is a yearling heifer out of my beloved cow, Willow. She is Willow’s first born and I tend towards names with “Sweet” in them for her calves. You have heard it a million times from cattle owners, but Sweet Caroline is literally the first cow/heifer to meet me when I enter the pasture.
She is the loudest heifer I have ever had. Every morning I come out of our stables (they are attached to our home) and yell, “Good morning everyone!” I also sing a little ditty that I made up. Just being open. I love my animals. Sweet Caroline, without fail, will moo/call loudly in response. I shake my head and smile when I hear it. Every day.
Our Yellowstone LLC is in the business of breeding and selling cattle. I am the type of owner that hates to see them go, but understands that it is a business. Sweet Caroline was put for sale and a deposit was received almost immediately. I was excited for her to be going to her new home. The buyer was a first time cattle owner and was also purchasing another heifer from a Dexter cattle owner in Iowa. The plan was to meet the new owner in Iowa, so that the new owner could pick up both heifers. The location of the farm in Iowa is roughly 6 hours away from my home in Illinois.
The date was picked and my wife and I loaded up Sweet Caroline early on a Wednesday morning. We used a strategy that we have used many times in the past. We put Sweet Caroline in a stable overnight. The trailer was backed up to the stable area and the door opened. Sweet Caroline had not been in a trailer in the past, was alone, and did get agitated. After some gentle prodding, she did get into the trailer, but did seem intent on getting out. She wasn’t kicking or hitting the sides of the trailer, but had the look of fear. The wide eyes are a dead giveaway.
Did I sense something? There is something there but I can’t quite put my finger on it. There is something off. I know my cattle. Admittedly, I hesitated for a moment, but made the decision to begin her journey. It is a decision that I would go back to over and over the next few days.
No matter how long the trip, I always have hay, grain and plenty of water in the trailer for the cattle. This case was no exception. I stopped every 2 hours and checked on her. At one point, Sweet Caroline, was laying down and appeared calm. This made me feel better.
I arrived almost simultaneously with the new owner at the farm in Iowa. I noted right away that my plans to back my trailer up to hers and allow Sweet Caroline to walk in would not work. Her trailer was not a stock trailer and it was much smaller than mine.
I won’t get into all of it, because frankly, it doesn’t matter at all, but a decision was made to put Sweet Caroline into a corral with the other heifer so that they both may be loaded later. It didn’t go well.
I backed my trailer up the corral door. I opened my trailer door and Sweet Caroline immediately exited. I closed the trailer door and walked to the truck to move the trailer up so the corral door was accessible.
Upon walking back to the the corral, Sweet Caroline was running around the corral looking for an exit. When she didn’t see one, she put her head under the lower railing on the corral wall, lifted up, and went under the corral. She was out.
“Is there a fence?”, I asked. “No. There are no fences.”
I watched as one of my beloved cattle walked/ran, through wide open fields. You can’t imagine what was going through my mind. None of it was good. Heartache, fear, worry. Six hours from home, I lost my Sweet Caroline. For those who don’t know me, and for those who may not know me well, I will tell you this. I won’t give up. Ever.
Next month the story continues. Bring in the drone!
A little bit about the author. I own and operate a small farm called “Our Yellowstone LLC” in Illinois. I couldn’t do it alone, but will keep my wife’s name out of it to protect her innocence.
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This article written in 18 September 1989 from Reading Evening Post lets us know that much of the confusion on judging dual-purpose Dexters has been around for a long time. Dexters are a dual-purpose breed, so both dairy and beef traits are supposed to be considered equally, therefor a well-balanced Dexter in both traits would be most apt to win a show if a judge were to judge accordingly. The common problem is that when judges consider a Dexter, they will look at it with their beef or dairy perspective and have a hard time balancing the two as many judges are most accustomed to judging one or the other. The only thing that keeps judges in line with a breed is having an accurate standard to breed by and a scale of points to score by. No judge should be asked such a difficult task of judging a breed without the standard of the breed as it sets him up to only fall back on his personal area of expertise which may be dairy or beef.
This article gives a quote by a Miss King, it says “preparation for shows really took place the whole year long, but she did not believe in doing too much to her cattle before they were shown.” She went onto say “If my herd is not good enough to win off its own back, then I shouldn’t win”. The value in this statement is that one must properly care for their livestock all year round if you expect them to win a show, but good quality cattle look great even when just standing unprepared in a pasture.
It is interesting to note that this Jay king would have been the woman who owned the Saltaire herd. The Saltaire herd produced one of the most well-known bulls in all of history due to his major impact on the breed by spreading polled genetics far and wide. He was born about 1 year after this article on Sep 29th 1990. Here is a photo out of the 1989 DexterCattle Society Herd book of a Saltaire Bridie both bred and owned by Jay King.
Saltaire Breeding Record for 1989
Here is a breeding record for the Saltaire herd in 1989 from the Dexter Cattle Society Herd Book. It is interesting to note that only 15 out of 27 calves were living calves. People often wonder if Chondro carriers were much more prevalent in days past and the answer is yes, they were. We cannot go back and genetically test them to prove their chondro status, but the notes of bulldog calves shows that a large majority of Dexters were chondro carriers, and the pictures tend demonstrate this by their phenotype. For reasons like this, no one could ever deny that the chondro dwarf Dexter had a major role in the History of Dexter cattle.
This Article was written by Danielle of Bryn Mawr. If you wish to reshare this article, please contact the writer first. This article was written to share facts and let the reader use those facts for their own education.
With the recent passing of Helen Jane Paynter breeder of the Knotting herd on Friday the 27th March 2026 I felt inspired to share some information on Jane as every dexter breeders’ life may have a good story to tell. Jane will in no wise disappoint you in her interesting character and attention to detail. I find her devotion to the breed and her ability to focus on small matters inspiring, hopefully likewise inspiring to the next generation of Dexter breeders.
Besides the fact that Jane’s Knotting Herd became extremely well known and won many Championships, there is a story behind the breeder of those Dexters that helped form her herd to be what it was. Knotting was named after a Bedforshire village where her family had lived at the start of the World War. She moved to Devon in 1972 and started her Dexter Knotting herd.
She built up a herd of milk recorded Dexters while many other breeders were not recording. She was meticulous in her selection for good udders along with other important traits, some even small matters that others may overlook. She had an eye for conformation and the breed standard. This is evident in her placement on the linear assessment board during the time of the World Dexter Congress. But it’s the stories that have been shared with me by older long-term breeders that bring home the point and fully paint out her character. I was told by multiple breeders that she was firm on many points but also very generous in sharing her knowledge when helping others to establish a new herd. She was encouraging and helped mentor people new to Dexters, helping them select breeding stock.
Jane also had a very unique way of naming her Dexters that helped anyone who was reading the name of the Dexter to know the line it was out of. She used small bits and pieces of their name in naming the offspring, making for interesting sounding names very unique to her herd. You will notice some of them in the names of the Dexters pictured in this article. Below I will show an example shared from Ted Neal’s book “The life and Times of Dexters”. There is a whole section in the book just devoted to the Knotting herd.
Jane’s Eye for Details
When I had asked about her exacting eye for details this story was shared with me. “Once at the show and sale at Stoneleigh a heifer misbehaved in the ring and ended up turning herself upside down in front of Judge Jane. This gave a full view of a white patch in forward of the navel, maybe about 2 inches across. I think a lot of judges would just have moved her to the back of the line, but Jane unceremoniously ordered her back to the pens. The owner was affronted. When the judging was all over Jane came to the pens and tried to make her peace with the lady but it was too late!”. This is a common response we see when someone looks to follow the rules and keep the standard. Many people will not care for such attention to details, but Jane’s herd was built by these details and because of it she prospered. The name of her Knotting herd will long be remembered.
The Royal Show in 1981 with Jane Paynter and Knotting Little Ladyrudale
May 1986 Leicester Daily Mercury “Top of the Class, for second time”
May 7 1985 Leicester Mercury “Big comeback for a small cow” Same aricle included picture of Little Ladyrush of Knotting
Lucifer of Knotting born Mar 17, 1985. He was grandson to Knotting Little Ladyrush.
Knotting Rasindajup Aug 2, 1985 Photo taken 1990.
Saturn of Knotting born Sep 9, 1984
June 15 1991 Rare breeds go on show at Armagh
There are a lot of Interesting stories that were passed on to me of Jane Paynter and I very much enjoyed my time while taking a short jaunt back into the past, that was not so long ago. A big thank you for evryone who took the time to talk with me and may her family find peace in her passing. I would give credit to those who contributed their time but so many said no credit was needed to give as they were just glad to share the memories.
A cattle egret eating small snake. These little white birds are considered good luck and for cattle farmers they are helpful in keeping parasites off our cows. “Cattle egrets are popular birds with cattle ranchers for their perceived role as a biocontrol of cattle parasites such as ticks and flies.[25] A study in Australia found that cattle egrets reduced the number of flies that bothered cattle by pecking them directly off the skin.[71] It was the benefit to stock that prompted ranchers and the Hawaiian Board of Agriculture and Forestry to release the western cattle egret in Hawaii.” Wikipedia. Unfortunately, they are preyed on by crested caracaras who will chase them to the ground and kill them. We have seen many crested caracaras on the ranch.
This article mentions some interesting information about Dexters.
The owner of these Dexters mentions having pastures that were rough and neglected with no accommodation for heavy cattle, so Dexters were the most suitable cattle for the location.
She received young 2-3 year old heifers who had been out doors their whole lives and therefor needed no buildings to shelter them, and throve well, having plenty to range, on the rough pastures. In frosty weather they were given a little hay, but they have no concentrated food of any sort, except a handful of oats now and then from Mrs. Hoare’s coats pockets. (I personally can relate to this comment on Dexters just getting a treat here or there but not needing a concentrated feed regimen)
Though they were wild they became pets in short time except for one shy heifer.
Five of the heifers were bought in calf but two of them were Aberdeen Angus crossbreeds. Miss Hoare had a first intended to sell these for veal, as she had at first only intended to keep store stock, but when the little curly-coated (pure Dexters historically were known to have fine and silky hair) babies arrived she was so charmed she decided to keep them instead. In the picture of the four calves, the cross- bred one may easily be distinguished by the absence of horns and the peaked forehead. 5.Perhaps the prettiest of the cows is Daisy, whose portrait is given above. She is an Irish bred one, long and low, with a very stylish head and horn. The most perfectly shaped of all is Brindle, as her name implies, she is not a fashionable color (Did not meet the breed standard), otherwise she would be good enough to win in very good company, but her calf is black as coal.
This picture is very interesting for quite a few reasons.
First Dexters though many were black in the early days compared today this bull Bantam was red.
Second and most interesting point to note, this bull was bred by the Prince of Wales at Sandringham in 1896. This location is situated in Sandringham, Norfolk, England. Dexters had a very early start of popularity in England being bred by some very noteworthy people. In 1862 Sandringham Estate was under 8,000 acres were as today the acreage is closer to 20,000 acres. If you look at the second picture you will see that in 1914 Dexters were still being breed at Sandringham by the King. The first bull Bantam has a good broad form for a Dexter of his day but when you compare him to the form of the Dexter bull that the King had in the photograph in 1914 you will see he has a broad back end as well as his front. I do wish this photo was better, but I think you can still make out the bull’s form. While improving on beef traits one must always remember to improve dairy traits equally too so as not to diminish dairy traits in favor of beef. When both traits are in harmony you get a great dual-purpose Dexter.
Breed Standards define breeds so that people know what unique traits the breed possess. Dexters were known to have extremely fine quality beef, it turns out that the original genetics Dexters process may actually help them to have finer quality beef because they have “skin that should be soft and mellow, and handle well, not too thin, hair fine, plentiful and silky”. Consider this quote from the first screen shot “This cow has a very soft supple skin with short sleek shiny, silky hair. She has a well developed gland system. Note the wrinkles in the skin. The softer the hide the closer the wrinkles are.” This well describes Dexters, they have both good overall butterfat and fine textured meat, and they are wearing the signs, if properly bred on their backs. Another good reason to not deviate away from the original Dexter breed standard.
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