Since ancient times, the wool of Spanish sheep breeds was considered one of the best in Europe. The Spaniards were practically monopolists in this area until the Russian breeder Ivan Antonovich Mertsalov intervened. In the mid-19th century, he bred a new breed of sheep whose wool surpassed the Spanish in quality. But let's start from the beginning.

Ivan Antonovich was born into a noble family in the village of Pankovka, located in what is now the Donetsk region. After serving in the army, he returned to his native village in 1825 and decided to engage in sheep farming. This came after he noticed that visiting Germans were making significant profits from selling wool. Mertsalov tried to learn their secrets of sheep farming, but the foreign farmers were unwilling to share their knowledge. Ultimately, he had to do everything himself.

Fortunately, inspiration came quickly. Ivan Antonovich noticed that Spanish sheep had wool that, due to the connection of rut and resinous fat, had excellent thermal conductivity and was pleasant to the touch. However, Spanish sheep poorly adapted to Russian climatic conditions and required careful maintenance. After conducting serious breeding work with local breeds, Mertsalov developed a new breed, the Russian Infando. These animals produced up to 5 kilograms of wool and easily endured Russian frosts. Ivan Antonovich himself described the new breed as follows: "Given the harshness of the climate, the number of herds, and the expanse of our steppes, over time these sheep should acquire a new type in our homeland, fine-wool Russian."

Moreover, maintaining Mertsalov's sheep was significantly cheaper than Spanish ones. For a thousand heads, only one cart of hay and one cart of straw were needed per day. Subsequently, the experience of the Russian breeder spread to other farms, and soon the wool from our sheep began to be exported and started to outcompete rivals in Europe. Thus, Ivan Mertsalov, a self-taught sheep farmer, became one of the founders of domestic animal husbandry science.