On a cool December afternoon, I am welcomed by Lol Schintgen, one of the pioneers in the field of hornless Limousins. In the large courtyard of his Asselscheierhaff, he talks about this historic place where his family has been farming for many years and where alcohol was once distilled. But also the place where one of the first hornless Limousins from Canada, Lovies Polled Josephine, arrived in 2000. Today, nearly 25 years later, hornless breeding has seen enormous development and is hardly inferior in quality to horned Limousins.

Schintgen has been breeding hornless Limousins for nearly 25 years, from exploring the quality of hornless Limousins in Canada to breeding homozygous hornless cows that can keep up with the average of breeding cows in France. A short compilation of what drove him and others to take this step and what they had to endure to get here.

Discovery of Hornless Limousins in Canada.

In the 1970s, Limousins were exported from France to the world, including Canada and the United States. There, Limousins were crossed with local breeds, such as Angus, to improve meat characteristics. An additional effect was the birth of hornless animals with Limousin blood. Hornless animals were the desired norm in North America, which is why there was a market for hornless Limousins. The crossbred animals were bred, and thus, in the eighties, homozygous hornless Limousins were introduced, which were over 90% purebred ("purebred", "purebred").

To our knowledge, the first "purebred" hornless Limousin (purebred, 100% purebred) was discovered in 1987 at the ranch of Jack and Merle Derochie in Alberta. The heifer MH High Country Polled Wonder (named after it was discovered she was hornless) and her mother were then intensively used for breeding. The Derochie brothers also owned the Porcupine Hills transplant center, where the number of purebred hornless Limousins was significantly increased through embryo transfer. For example, they sold 120 pregnant cows to the American Limousin breeder Mel Hatley. He also bought Polled Wonder, her son Wrangler, and her mother for 250,000 Canadian dollars.

In the following years, a few hornless animals, such as the Canadian Legend HEW 139Y, were discovered on other ranches in Canada. They form the basis of hornless breeding in North America and Europe.

Inspired by the developments in Canada, breeders from Scandinavia, Germany, Ireland, Great Britain, Luxembourg, and France also had the first idea to cross European Limousins with Canadian hornless Limousins. The advantages of hornless animals are obvious, but is the quality of hornless animals sufficient? The breeding goal in Canada is more focused on ease of calving, ease of management, and early maturity. The animals are therefore less muscular, have a lot of rib curvature, and a less wide pelvis compared to French Limousins.

Obtaining the Right Genetics

In Germany and Scandinavia, there was mainly interest in hornless animals for breeding, but veterinary requirements made it difficult to introduce the genetics into Europe. From 1986 onwards, it was possible to import semen from certain bulls into Western Europe. First from purebred bulls such as LLLD Canada and Cashflow, others followed later. From 1994 to 2000, German breeders imported about a dozen hornless heifers (often purebred) into Germany. The
Luxembourg breeder Gust Biren imported three heifers, which arrived on the same plane with Lovies Polled Josephine. In practice, due to veterinary requirements, only animals from a part of Ontario could be imported into Europe. This greatly limited the choice.

While in Germany and Scandinavia, hornless animals were seen as a valuable addition, in France and Luxembourg, there was some reluctance. The hornless gene almost always comes from another breed (Angus or Shorthorn) and therefore, hornless animals are, in principle, not worthy of a studbook. There were also serious doubts about the quality of the animals and their ability to meet the French breed standard.

Nevertheless, Louis de Neuville and Jean Luc Kress understood very well that hornless breeding would continue to develop and that it was better to contribute to shaping this development. The goal was to preserve the characteristics of the French breed and that the Limousin could also adapt to all climates and markets. These arguments were shared in words and deeds by a small group of breeders (De Neuville, Domaine des Forges, D. Peyrot, Bossoutrout, Pantaleoni, and Schintgen), who asked Kress to buy good hornless heifers in Ontario.

The expectations were high, but Kress bought only one heifer. "There was only one good one for sale, and I bought it," he explained. Thus, on March 24, 2000, Lovies Polled Joséphine arrived at the Asselscheierhaff. She stayed there for some time before going to the farm of Louis De Neuville in France. She was flushed with the best French bulls Illustre RRE (milk) and Nenuphar (meat), and the embryos were distributed among the participants.

At the initiative of De Neuville and Kress, it was agreed with about forty breeders, including: Demont-De Neuville, Pantaleoni, Domaine des Forges, Besse, Schintgen, Benoit, Bourbouloux, Daniel Peyrot, etc. to take hornless breeding to a higher level. Thus, in 2002, the breeders' association "Excellence Génétique Limousine" was founded. It had three strategies to quickly obtain good hornless animals, and KBF took care of it for the group.

First, semen was imported from hornless bulls such as 1-Way Polled Paycheck, 1 Way Polled Jerry, and Polled Tristan. Additionally, in Germany and Scandinavia, good hornless bulls were examined that could be used for natural mating.

The most ambitious strategy was to buy Canadian cows for flushing and exporting the embryos to France. Due to veterinary requirements, it was not possible to import animals from all over Canada. By leaving the cows in Canada, it was possible to buy cows from all over Canada and thus buy better cows. It was also possible to use bulls whose semen was not allowed to be exported to Europe. During the summer of 2002, Kress bought four purebred cows in Ontario, Canada, on behalf of Excellence Genetique:

• Highland Jade 114J (Hornless Yukon x Hornless Gracey)
• C&S Evermore 583E (MH Whipstich x MH Spotted)
• F Dion polled Libellule (Kaup's Polled Havanna x Girls Night Out)
• Cedar Patch Nimbus

They were stabled and flushed at Top Meadow Farms. Embryos were also bought from C&S Finder Keepers 645F (MH Whipstich x Soules Queen 103X) with Kaup's Havanna and Cedar Patch Polled Grenadier, and from Black Ink Polled Megan with Cedar Patch Polled Grenadier. The embryos were distributed among the participants. The bull Silverbird and the heifer Mayka were also bought in Germany.
The first calves were born in 2004. At Schintgen's, 4 daughters of Illustre RRE VS and Josephine, and in 2005 Avermore (Evermore x HC Polled Heavy Weight) and Armonica (Highland Jade x TMF Polled Harmonica). Vincent Benoit was born with Avisée Ben (Evermore x TMF Polled Harmonica). She lived to be 16 years old without needing to be trimmed, and she always calved on her own. The first promising results of Excellent Genetique Limousine appeared in 2007 with the birth of calves from Ryde Uranos (who was bought in Denmark in 2005) and the "embryo calves" such as Avermore and Armonica. Fortunately, there was progress in the quality of the calves.

In 2009, three members of Excellent Genetique, GAEC Bourbouloux, Vincent Besse, and Scea Domaine de Caramigeas, bought a homozygous hornless bull in Germany, Tigris PP. He was used on the farms, and his mixed/lively offspring were convincing. Based on this, Tigris was widely deployed in France, Luxembourg, and other countries. He would gain a lot of influence on hornless breeding and would be qualified as RR (Recognized). Uranos gained lasting influence, especially through his son Clovis RR VS (bred by Broussaud). Other good bulls that were used by (members of) the group are: Silverbird, Hinz, Pegasus, Jost, and Lex.

In 2009, Eleonor Pp (by Silverbird) was born to Vincent Besse. She was the first hornless cow to win the adult female butchery quality prize in Brive (2012) among horned cows, and she had already won the young female honor prize at the SIMA in Paris. She is the grandmother of Neurone Pp RR VS, Schintgen's current stud bull.

With the first promising results, it had become clear that quality needed to improve, but also that there was certainly a perspective for breeding a good hornless Limousin. For KBF, this was the signal to broaden the group of breeders and to rename Excellence Genetique to GIE Polled Excellence in 2010.
The French studbook also set up a program. It first imported semen from the United States from Sky Force and Ridges 07y. And they bought hornless bulls bred in France and Luxembourg that would be used through AI, including Trotsky from Gust Biren. Around 2010, two of Trotsky's grandsons, Ciao Po and Cyan Po, became available through AI. In the following years, a small part of the new AI bulls were questioned, including the son of CN Mateo, Gueret Po, and the homozygote Jensuis PP.

For example, the Luxembourg studbook imported semen from Canada (e.g., Cashflow, 1 Way Polled Kana, Posthaven Polled Urban Cowboy), but it mainly adopted a proactive attitude towards its members by following the developments and stimulating the purchase of good bulls. After all, the demand for hornless bulls, especially from Germany, had increased.
In 2012, Gerry Ernst represented Convis/Luxembourg at the National Limousin Show in Denmark. On the way back, he stopped at Jan Bielefeld. Ernst knew he had bulls from a very good cow, CN Friedhild. She comes from the breeding of Cord Niemeier and was flushed with CN Mateo. Thus, one of the bulls, Maurice PP vom Eiderland, came to Luxembourg and was used by a group of Luxembourg breeders, including Duhr, Majerus, Hilgert, and Schintgen.
In addition to the collective initiatives, there were, of course, many breeders who worked individually with hornless bulls. One of them was the Luxembourg breeder Jean Kirsch, who bought embryos in Canada and later good animals in Germany.
In any case, buying genetics is one thing, breeding good animals with it is another. Breeding also involves considering the traits you prefer, the combinations you make, and what you select for.

Breeding Strategy

Hornless crossbreeding can be done in several ways; the question is, of course, what is the most effective and consistent way to achieve your breeding goal.
German and Scandinavian breeders used hornless dogs as much as possible. They wanted to get to a completely hornless herd as soon as possible. This is also the most practical in terms of breeding. As a result, they were less strict in their selection for quality. In general, it can be said that the animals had no horns but, according to French standards, sometimes insufficient quality. Often, the desired breed characteristics were lacking, such as good musculature, a good wide pelvis, and/or good milk production.

The famous German breeder Cord Niemeier did things differently; he followed his own path and criticized the breed and quality characteristics. In the early 1990s, he bought the homozygous hornless Cassie in Ontario. He crossed them with good horned French AI bulls such as Dauphin, Ionesco, Neuf, Remix, Nervien, and Urville. In 2008, CN Mateo was born, a homozygous hornless bull that would produce not only good offspring but also offspring with a good pelvis. When I visited his monumental farm in 2014, I saw reasonably good hornless daughters of CN Moskito and the young bull CN Rex. Niemeier said it had taken him twenty years to breed a good heterozygous hornless bull according to French standards, and it would probably take another twenty years before there were good homozygous animals. Tigris, Hinz, CN Mateo, and CN Rex are good bulls, but it is (still) more difficult to breed good homozygous cows. CN Rex was not for sale; he was going to use it himself. It is now known that CN Rex has a good IBOVAL and has produced many good products such as Orrex PP RR VS.

In France and Luxembourg, on the other hand, it was and is decided to combine hornless animals with horned animals and thus also to use horned bulls to some extent in addition to hornless bulls. They focus on breeding a high-quality hornless animal (heterozygous) and much less on breeding a completely hornless herd as quickly as possible. An additional advantage is that the variation is greater and therefore there is more to select from.

Schintgen also started using hornless bulls for natural mating in his farm. Of course, the best animals that were born from the embryos, such as Avermore, Armonica, and their offspring, such as Dos, Eram, Fumo, and Garco. He bought Digne Pey from D Peyrot and Echo P from Normand, and through Excellence Génétique, he used Bar le Duc (Libellule x Polled Havanna). With other breeders, he bought Farceur and Ecrin DNC, and good steps were taken with these bulls. Farceur became RR (recognized), and Ecrin DNC later proved to be a valuable bull that bred excellent cows, but he was sold too early.

Due to the widespread use of hornless bulls, many hornless calves were born, and as the quality improved, Schintgen was able to keep the best-bred hornless heifers for breeding. He also slowly increased the proportion of hornless bulls he used. From 2013 onwards, he only bought homozygous or heterozygous hornless bulls. Bulls such as Pirien PP, Julius Pp DNC, Marco Ben PS, and Miroir Pp. The bulls Maurice PP (co-owner), Lingot Pp, Moineau Pp, Ministre Pp (bred by Normand and a daughter of Unisson RRE VS), and Neurone Pp became RR (recognized). In 2016, his last horned bull Favori left. Schintgen was convinced that he could guarantee sufficient quality with heterozygous hornless bulls. According to Schintgen, this is due to the relatively large proportion of RR bulls, his participation in the GIE Polled Excellence, and the fact that Kress helps him in choosing the bulls.

The successful French breeder Vincent Benoit has been involved with Excellence Génétique from the beginning. He had two heifers from Evermore, particularly from Avisée Ben, he still has good offspring. Action Ben was born from the combination Libellule x G Force. In 2008, Declic Ben Pp (later repurchased by Bourbouloux, Besse, Caramigeas) was born, a grandson of 1 Way Polled Paycheck, with a very good heritage. He also bred Tigris Fiston Ben, a heterozygous hornless bull that was qualified RR. And others followed; recently, Pilote Ben PP was deployed as an AI bull (KBF).

From around 2015, Luxembourg also started using a larger proportion of hornless bulls, partly due to the demand for hornless breeding bulls from Germany. Breeders such as Duhr, Kirsch, Majerus, and Schintgen started seriously working with hornless animals. And this led to good results.
Kirsch used Leo Miro PP, Jodokus PP, and Maine P RR on his farm, and with them, he bred very good hornless bulls such as: JK Lorenzo PP RR VS, JK Leopard Pp RR VS, JK Miro PP, JK Mervin Ps, JK Puma PP (BBG KI). Lorenzo and Miro are both available as KI bulls through KBF.

Duhr, Majerus, Hilgert, and Schintgen were bred with Maurice PP, among others. He is currently the first supplier of qualified cows in Luxembourg and probably also of qualified bulls. Because his son DLG Lundi PP, from a Tiger daughter bred by Duhr, is the first homozygous hornless bull to be qualified RRE (recommended). Therefore, he was used by the French studbook as an AI bull. One of Maurice's daughters, Jenny LM, is the mother of Pilaf LM. Based on his breeding value, he was used by KBF as an AI bull. Pilaf LM PP is bred by Majerus.

Hornless Herd at a Good Level

The final step is to fully integrate hornless animals into the herd. In Germany and Scandinavia, there are several herds that are (almost) entirely hornless. Often, they have spent twenty to twenty-five years achieving this. For the companies themselves, the quality is sufficient to be good and suits their company and breeding goal. A next step could be to become completely homozygous hornless or to improve meat and production characteristics and preserve horns.
In 2023, Schintgen has a completely hornless herd. A third of his cows are homozygous hornless, and this proportion is even higher among the young cattle. He is probably one of the few, if not the only breeder participating in the French system and having a completely hornless herd. The genetic level of the herd is in the average of all farms participating in the French system. Over a period of more than twenty years, Schintgen's herd has become completely hornless without any deterioration in quality compared to other farms.

Since 2020, Vincent Besse has only been using hornless bulls, such as Junior Jos (by Jost), Lorenzo, and Idalgo. His herd is largely hornless, and despite this, it is a herd of high quality.

I think this is proof that other breeders can also switch to breeding hornless animals without loss of quality. Given the quality achieved in France and Luxembourg, the change is much easier. Above all, I would like to pay a big compliment to all Limousin breeders from all countries who have ventured into breeding hornless animals, because it is an unprecedented achievement to breed good quality hornless animals in such a short time

Alfred Jansen, December 2023.