Exmoor Horn Sheep

The Exmoor Horn sheep of today are direct descendants of the horned sheep that roamed Exmoor for centuries. The Exmoor Horn can be found in the uplands areas of South West England. They have a white face with close forelock and black nostrils. They have white wolled legs and both the male and female have horns. They have a good fleece of medium length wool that has a unique and invaluable felting property. Used for hosiery, knitting yarns, tweeds and felts. The Exmoor Horn ewes are excellent mothers and very good milkers, producing a quality upland lamb. The draft ewes, when taken to better ground produce a higher lambing percentage.

Exmoor Horn Sheep

The Exmoor Horn is classified as a true hill breed and is correctly described as a dual-purpose upland sheep.
It is a very hardy breed, thriving on grass. The ewes are valued for their ability to produce finished lambs of the highest quality and are also excellent mothers and good milkers. Although a hill breed, the Exmoor Horn is a docile sheep, easy to handle and contain.

The Exmoor Horn produces a grass-finished lamb both pure and crossbred. The meat is of the highest eating quality having excellent flavour and texture. The lambs can be finished on upland pasture and will also respond very well when bought down to lowland grassland.

The Exmoor Horn has always been prized for its mutton, which is considered to eat extremely well. The renaissance in the market for mutton signals a very positive step for the breed.

Unusually for a hill breed, the Exmoor Horn produces a very fine quality fleece which is of excellent pure colour, good staple length and of very good quality with a micron count of 36.7

The resulting half-bred when the Exmoor Horn ewe is crossed with a Blue Faced Leicester ram is considered to be one of the best mules produced in Britain. The Exmoor Horn ram is also an excellent terminal sire on a wide variety of crosses, passing on its attributes of docility and the ability to produce finished lamb from low input grass based systems.

Exmoors can be fairly descrived as dual purpose sheep. Being an excellent grass sheep, they are very hardy and cheaply maintained, and are therefore an ideal breed to keep pure on the highest moors. They are quite rightly classified as a hill breed. They are among the most prolific of all hill breeds, being excellent mothers and very good milkers, producing a quality upland lamb.

Sheepdog trial

The Exmoor Horn sheep of today are direct descendants of the horned sheep that roamed Exmoor for centuries. Exmoors can be fairly descrived as dual purpose sheep. Being an excellent grass sheep, they are very hardy and cheaply maintained, and are therefore an ideal breed to keep pure on the highest moors. They are quite rightly classified as a hill breed.

The Exmoor Horn is an excellent crossing ewe. A large percentage of the flock are crossed to breed a halfbred ewe that is much in demand by lowland sheep producers looking for a prolific ewe capable of providing prime lamb for the modern market. The majority of these halfbred ewes are Exmoor Mules, sired by the Blue Faced Leicester. This cross is considered to be one of the finest halfbred ewes produced in this country.

The Border Leicester has also been used on the Exmoor Horn for many years with great success.

Draft ewes, purebred and crossbred lambs, are sold at various Exmoor markets throughout the Autumn.

Sheep
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For further details of the breed, and for the sales and dates, please contact the Secretary:

Mrs Yvonne Webber
Exmoor Horn Sheep Breeders' Society
Holtom & Thomas
The Elms Office
Bishops Tawton
Barnstaple
Devon EX32 OEJ
Tel: 01271 326900 / Fax: 01271 326692

The Exmoor Horn is a white faced, horned breed of sheep. It was developed on Exmoor, but is a descendant of sheep that had roamed on the moors for several hundred years.

Research by the Exmoor National Park has found that numbers have gradually declined: it estimates that in 1947 over 27% of sheep in the Somerset part of Exmoor were pure bred Exmoor Horns. As the number of sheep in the region has increased, so the percentage has dropped, and today breeding Exmoor Horn ewes represent only about 10% of the total on Exmoor.

The National Park reports that there are about 19,000 registered breeding ewes today, of which around 15,000 are on Exmoor. Small numbers are also found on neighbouring Dartmoor.

Exmoors are a hardy breed, so well suited to the high moors. They are ‘dual purpose’ - bred not just for their wool, but also for the fact that they are prolific sheep and good mothers, producing quality lamb.

Exmoor Horn Sheep

The Exmoor Horn sheep of today are direct descendants of the horned sheep that roamed Exmoor for centuries. The Exmoor Horn can be found in the uplands areas of South West England. They have a white face with close forelock and black nostrils. They have white wolled legs and both the male and female have horns. They have a good fleece of medium length wool that has a unique and invaluable felting property. Used for hosiery, knitting yarns, tweeds and felts. The Exmoor Horn ewes are excellent mothers and very good milkers, producing a quality upland lamb. The draft ewes, when taken to better ground produce a higher lambing percentage.

Exmoors can be fairly descrived as dual purpose sheep. Being an excellent grass sheep, they are very hardy and cheaply maintained, and are therefore an ideal breed to keep pure on the highest moors. They are quite rightly classified as a hill breed. They are among the most prolific of all hill breeds, being excellent mothers and very good milkers, producing a quality upland lamb.

Sheepdog trial

The Exmoor Horn sheep of today are direct descendants of the horned sheep that roamed Exmoor for centuries. Exmoors can be fairly descrived as dual purpose sheep. Being an excellent grass sheep, they are very hardy and cheaply maintained, and are therefore an ideal breed to keep pure on the highest moors. They are quite rightly classified as a hill breed.

The Exmoor Horn is an excellent crossing ewe. A large percentage of the flock are crossed to breed a halfbred ewe that is much in demand by lowland sheep producers looking for a prolific ewe capable of providing prime lamb for the modern market. The majority of these halfbred ewes are Exmoor Mules, sired by the Blue Faced Leicester. This cross is considered to be one of the finest halfbred ewes produced in this country.

The Border Leicester has also been used on the Exmoor Horn for many years with great success.

Draft ewes, purebred and crossbred lambs, are sold at various Exmoor markets throughout the Autumn.

For further details of the breed, and for the sales and dates, please contact the Secretary:

Mrs Yvonne Webber
Exmoor Horn Sheep Breeders' Society
Holtom & Thomas
The Elms Office
Bishops Tawton
Barnstaple
Devon EX32 OEJ
Tel: 01271 326900 / Fax: 01271 326692

The Exmoor Horn is a white faced, horned breed of sheep. It was developed on Exmoor, but is a descendant of sheep that had roamed on the moors for several hundred years.

Research by the Exmoor National Park has found that numbers have gradually declined: it estimates that in 1947 over 27% of sheep in the Somerset part of Exmoor were pure bred Exmoor Horns. As the number of sheep in the region has increased, so the percentage has dropped, and today breeding Exmoor Horn ewes represent only about 10% of the total on Exmoor.

The National Park reports that there are about 19,000 registered breeding ewes today, of which around 15,000 are on Exmoor. Small numbers are also found on neighbouring Dartmoor.

Exmoors are a hardy breed, so well suited to the high moors. They are ‘dual purpose’ - bred not just for their wool, but also for the fact that they are prolific sheep and good mothers, producing quality lamb.

Exmoor Horn Sheep

In late October/November rams are put in to mate with the ewes so that they will lamb round about April when the worst of
the winter weather will be over. Mating is called ‘tupping’. There is one ram to 40 or 50 ewes and each ram has a coloured patch or raddle on its chest to mark the ewes when they mate. The colour of the raddle is changed each week so that the farmer will know which ewes will lamb in each week.

Traditionally ewes and rams are kept out through the winter and are generally fed hay and silage from mid January depending on the weather and the amount of grazing available. Some farmers now keep their sheep in huge sheds during the winter instead of putting them out. In the six weeks up to lambing the ewes will be fed special concentrated food which will be increased over the period up to lambing.

Some traditional farmers still lamb their ewes outside although lambs can be lost from exposure and predators like foxes. Where buildings are available ewes are brought inside shortly before lambing and once they have lambed the ewe and lamb are put into individual mothering pens for up to 24 hours, to ensure bonding. They are then put into larger pens with other ewes and lambs before being turned out into the fields of fast growing spring grass.

Lambing and the weeks following are the shepherd’s busiest time. Once in the fields the ewes and lambs have to be checked several times a day to pick out any sickly or delicate lambs and make sure no lambs have been separated from their mothers. Some farmers provide their lambs with little jackets (lamb macs) to help keep them warm and dry. About 65% of the ewes will have a single lamb, the rest of the flock will have twins and occasionally triplets. Each lamb is marked at birth, generally by a coloured number, so that it can be identified with its mother who is also marked.

On the spring grass the ewes naturally produce plenty of milk and the lambs grow very quickly. The ewes and lambs are moved around the farm onto clean grass every three weeks. This breaks up the life cycle of the parasitic worm which is one of the worst killers of young lambs. After six weeks lambs are wormed regularly to make sure that their growth is not checked by this parasite. They are also given a 7 in 1 injection to protect them against various diseases.

Ewes are ‘dagged’ to remove all the mucky wool around their bottoms in the spring! Shearing (removing the sheep’s heavy wool coat or fleece) takes place in early June. This is followed by ‘dipping’ the sheep in a special solution to prevent flies from laying eggs on the fleece and the sheep being eaten alive by maggots. (Dipping is no longer compulsory but most farmers think it’s essential).

Silage (pickled grass!), for feeding beef cattle, and hay are made during June and July. The precise timing depends on the weather. After this the lambs will be weaned from their mothers. By the end of August the first of the lambs will be ‘fat’; they will weigh 18-20 kilos (dead weight) and be ready for the butcher. Many will be sold direct to the wholesaler. Fat lambs will
continue to be sold throughout the Autumn with the lighter lambs being kept as ‘stores’. These will be fattened over the
winter to be sold after Christmas and in the spring. Once the lambs are weaned the ewes are left out to graze in fields
or on the open moor until tupping begins again in late autumn.

2005 saw sees the Exmoor Horn Breeder's Society celebrating its 100th year.

Today's Exmoor Horn sheep are direct descendants of the horned sheep that have roamed the hills and moors of Exmoor for centuries. Like the wild Exmoor Pony, Exmoor Horn sheep are an integral part of the landscape and history of Exmoor.

The Exmoor Horn is a hardy upland dual-purpose breed that was as much prized for the excellent quality of its wool as for the succulent and flayoursome eating quality of its meat.

Numbers, however, gradually declined as more intensive farming practices were introduced in the post war years. Research by the Exmoor National Park Authority shows that in 1947 over 27% of sheep in the Somerset part of Exmoor were pure bred Exmoor Horns. This had dropped to arouridT 10% in 2005 as the overall number of sheep in the area has increased.

There are some 19,000 registered Exmoor Horn breeding ewes today, of which around 15,000 live on Exmoor.

Changes in European support funding for areas such as Exmoor may well result in reduced number of farmed livestock being kept. Consumers are also much more aware and concerned about the origin and production methods used in the food they eat
The hardy Exmoor Horn is ideally suited to low input upland farming systems and sheep kept in this way, in the natural Exmoor environment, also produce meat products that are both healthy and wholesome.

Though a traditional upland breed, when crossed with the Blue Faced Leicester, the resultant "Exmoor Mule" is considered to be one of the finest half-bred ewes in the country.

The Exmoor Mule is a highly prolific ewe, producing fast growing good conformation lambs, whilst retaining many of the strong maternal and hardiness characteristics of its pure bred counterpart

The Exmoor Horn Breeder's Society aim to use its much appreciated grant funding to promote the breed to the widest possible audience to ensure the long-term future of this important element of Exmoor heritage.

For more information contact Secretary Alison Bulled Tel:01271 882860, email: exmoorhornbreeders@yahoo.co.uk

Though ancient in origin, the Exmoor Horn, which has existed since time immemorial in the west of England, is well adapted to modern requirements. The Exmoor can be described as a dual purpose breed to keep pure on the higher moorland; in fact, they are classified as a hill breed. The Exmoor Horn is an excellent crossing ewe. The Bluefaced Leicester cross produces the Exmoor Mule which is docile and prolific in lowland areas. The Exmoor is white faced, with horns, cherry colored skin, and a white fleece of medium length and good quality.

Breed categories: hill, dual purpose

Exmoor Horn Ram

General information:
International breed name: Exmoor Horn
Local breed name: Exmoor Horn
Breed status: acknowleged
Group of similar breeds: Main group Mountain group; Subgroup British Hill group
Main location: Exmoor and Dartmoor
Breed society: Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, R. 421 (West Block), Whitehall Place (West), London SW1A 2HH, United Kingdom, Fax: +44-171-2708713, Email: mike.roper@defra-gsi.gov.uk

Origin and development:
Autochthon local breed which was developed further
Herdbook established: 1906

Population numbers:

External characteristics:
Coat colour: Unicoloured white

Skin colour: cherry
Typical number of horns (males, females): 2, 2
Usual hair and/or wool classification: medium/crossbred wool
Adult animals (males/females): Withers height: 77 / 65 cm; Live weight: 73 / 50 kg;

Additional characteristics:
Main use: (1) meat, (2) wool
Special abilities/adaptations: extensive upland grazing

Typical management conditions:
Type: stationary; Housing: up to 2 months; Feeding: grazing and fodder

Performance comparison:
Relative performances compared in country with standard breed Scottish Blackface is

Status and cause of endangerment:
Effective population size : 1,266
Rate of inbreeding per generation: 0.04%
Status of endangerment: Not endangered
In addition the following specific condition(s) should be observed:

Calculated number of females (NFN): 3,300

The descendants of the Exmoor Horn have been on Exmoor since time immemorial. In his report on the Agriculture of Devon in 1808, Charles Vancouver wrote:

"The Common Exmoor Sheep are the breed most generally preferred in the open and more exposed parts of Exmoor. This preference arises from their extra-ordinary hardiness, and the activity with which they continue working in search of food. The wethers of this breed at two and a half or three years old are fattened to their frame, and make delicious mutton."

He continues to remark on the quality of the wool:

"A horned animal, with moderately long staple of wool, before the cloth fled from this country into Yorkshire, was much used by the clothiers of North Molton and South Molton, Dunster, and Wivesliscombe."

The qualities of the Exmoor Horn valued in 1808 are just as relevant now at the beginning of the 21st Century.
Indeed, the significant changes to British farming policy, bought about in equal part by the mid-term review of the CAP and the outbreak of Foot & Mouth in 2001, have made those timeless qualities of the Exmoor Horn Sheep more relevant and important than at anytime in the past 50 years.

The breed has always been prized for the quality of its wool, being one of the very few hill breeds to produce a fleece of such fine quality. Whilst the global market for wool has seen a decline in prices over several decades, marketing initiatives for regional wool products are becoming more influential as farmers seek to market added value products direct. In this marketplace, the Exmoor Horn is well placed to see the quality of its fleece once again becoming a valuable asset to keepers of the breed.

Exmoor Horn Sheep

The Exmoor Horn Sheep Breeders' Society, formed in 1906, celebrates its Centenary year in 2006. In the 1908 Flock Book, the Report for the Year states:
"The Exmoor Horn Sheep Breeders' Society has now been in existence two years. During this period 25,000 pure Exmoor Horn Sheep have been inspected and branded with the Society's trade mark (an anchor). There are now 132 members. In addition most of the gentlemen of the Exmoor Districts . . . have joined the Society as vice-Presidents.
On August 20lh, 1907, the first Registered Sale and Show was held at Winsford, Somerset, when 1,200 ewes were sold by auction, at an average price per head of 42 Shillings."
The last Flock Book of 2005 shows returns for 82 flocks and there are approximately 19,000 registered ewes. Membership is again growing with several new members establishing pedigree flocks.

Like the Exmoor Pony, the Exmoor Horn helped to create and maintain the Exmoor landscape we all know and love.
Its ability to produce premium quality finished lamb from the grass of Exmoor has always been an attribute valued by farmers. However, the influence of the Exmoor Horn on its native landscape goes much further than its role in livestock farming.

Exmoor Horn Sheep

Its ability to graze Exmoor is an important factor in maintaining the open moorland whilst maintaining indigenous heathers.

The Exmoor Horn fits well into any setting where the conservation value of the land is a priority. They are ideal grazers of marginal and wildlife-rich grassland. As such they have an important role to play in a changing agricultural environment, which is now placing an increasing emphasis on conservation management of farmland.
They are indeed a "dual purpose" sheep, providing an effective management solution for conservation grassland, whilst at the same time delivering profitable returns from lamb.



See also: Exmoor Mule Sheep

Exmoor Horn Sheep

www.exmoor.org.uk/exmoorhorn.htm

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