Bulls are the most important part of a ranch's breeding program, since the bull is one half of the genetics of all the calves produced. A bull can have more offspring in single year than a cow can have in a lifetime. We pride ourselves on our bulls and have invested in what we think are the best sires available to produce the Spring Brook Type yak. At Spring Brook Ranch we breed for conformation and soundness rather than strictly for color types. We do, however, recognize the importance of color in today's market and try to have the best available in each color type.

It has continued to puzzle me that yak breeders in the US fail to recognize the importance of and to invest in quality bulls. Bulls tend to be an afterthought once the cows are selected and the budget is depleted. The usual result is that the breeder ends up with a bull that is not as good as the cow herd. The bull should be picked first and then the cow herd should be built around the bull. As a rule, the best and most expensive animal in the herd should be the bull. If that is the case then the calves will generally be better than the cow that produced them. This is called breeding up or improving the herd.

C020 Prince Allante
DOB 5/12/1994
Unknown Sire x D171 Queen Allante

Prince Allante is undoubtedly the most influential bull in North America. It is believed that his dam, Queen Allante, traces back to the Toronto Zoo stock. He was a Trim, even though he appears to be a gray nosed Black. This bull produced females with no peer. Prince Allante daughters form the core of the Spring Brook Ranch herd. We discovered early on that Prince Allante blood crossed with F199 Dreadlock was an outcross made in heaven.

F199 Dreadlock
DOB 5/21/1996
C057 Bill the Bull x C006 Wooly Bully

Dreadlock was an Imperial. He had a beautiful, blocky head and classic handlebar horn set. When used on Prince Allante daughters he would produce large, refined and wooly offspring. It is difficult to say too much about the influence on the US herd from the Prince Allante and Dreadlock combination.

L076 Escalade
DOB 4/15/2002
C020 Prince Allante x D029

Prince Allante's forte was in making top quality females rather than bulls, however he did produce a few top end bulls. This Prince Allante son was bred by Bill Martin. We use Escalade to put on wool, lots of it. We still follow the formula of Prince Allante blood, via Escalade, mixed with Dreadlock.

O103 Royal Gold Allante "Roy"
DOB 3/31/2005
C020 Prince Allante x L056 Lola

We are using this Prince Allante son on Royal and Trim cows to produce Royal calves. He is still young but has produced some promising offspring. He is carrying a full load of cows for the 2010 breeding season. In 2008 his dam, L056 Lola, won Pen Grand Champion, Pen First Place Cow and tied for People's Choice.

M049 Chewbacca
DOB 6/6/2003
F199 Dreadlock x H064

Chewy was bred by Spring Brook Ranch and is owned by Mike Swartz's Turkey Hill Ranch. He is an extreme wooly Trim with a beautiful head. He is one of the best bulls we have ever produced. Mike has paired him with good quality cows with excellent results. Chewy's dam, H064, is a Prince Allante daughter. He is a perfect example of the outcross vigor mix of Prince Allante and Dreadlock. We bred Chewy in 2009 to Royal cows in order to get some size, refinement and of course wool into that gene pool. From that pairing we are keeping one bull calf and one really wooly heifer calf. High Prairie Yaks of Elizabeth, Colorado bought all three Chewy royal heifers we had for sale.

P151 Big Ben
DOB 4/10/2006
F199 Dreadlock x H064

Big Ben is a full brother to Chewbacca. As you can see from the photo, he is an Imperial just like his daddy. When he was born I nicknamed him Little Dreadlock. At his last weigh-in he tipped the scales at 1,770 pounds. Ben has made some really fine extreme wooly Imperials that are just now coming of breeding age.

N024 Lurch
DOB 5/3/2004
F199 Dreadlock x J24 Jenny

He may not have a flattering name but this bull has made some of the best Royal cows we have. His dam, J24 Jenny, is a Royal Prince Allante daughter. He won Reserve Champion and First Place Bull Calf in 2005.

N025 Tad
DOB 5/24/2004
F199 Dreadlock x H063

Another Dreadlock over a Prince Allante daughter. Tad weighs 1,780 and is a Native Black. We use him on big cows to produce big steaks.

P062 Ozzie
DOB 4/22/2006
L076 Escalade x H063

Ozzie is out with cows for the first time this year. As a four year old he weighed 1,400 pounds. He has a great head and lots of wool. He is double Prince Allante, the sire and dam are half siblings. This is a common practice with cattle breeders but we don't do it very often because North American yaks come from such a small genetic base.