Start of the organization of breeding activities
Pigs, horses and cattle herd books were used to be organized at regional level. Owners of potential breeding males brought their animals to shows where they were judged on appearance. Owners of female animals could see them there and decide from which male they wanted offspring.
The pig breeders were the first to stop showing their boars in public in the late 1960’s, followed by the dairy cattle breeders and their bulls in the 1970’s. Main reasons were to prevent at these shows the spread of infectious diseases. And the awareness arose that production figures are more important for the profitability of farming than appearance. For the export of animals, semen and embryos to other countries, it is important that you can prove that animals and donors have never been in contact with infectious pathogens. Nowadays, stallions are still gathered at shows and at riding horse competitions. All horses entering shows and/or competitions are vaccinated. In horses each breed has its own herd book. There are some exceptions, especially in sport horse breeding, where it is not so much the breed purity, but more the type of horse that is leading. The Dutch warmblood association (KWPN), for example, has developed from a herd book registry of originally Dutch horses to a registry of horses bred in the Netherlands. It is aimed at breeding highly successful sport horses. This herd book is open and market driven, rather than focussing on pure breeding. Use of stallions from other countries is allowed, provided they have been approved of by the KWPN.