sheep

when

  these sheep are described as “woolless” that doesn’t mean that they’re bald. it actually means that they don’t grow the sort of thick, picture-book fleece that we normally think of a sheep having. instead they grow a short, coarse, hairy coat, which never seems to get more than about 3 cms long. each summer when “normal” sheep start to grow new wool and needing shearing, the woolless breeds simply shed their old coat and start a new one. the coat that comes off is not much use for anything, although our local songbirds will take a little to line their nests if the moult happens early enough. the rest just seems to vanish.
as there’s no wool, these are truly single purpose meat sheep. but just as they don’t do the accepted thing over wool, unsurprisingly they don’t toe the line over their conformation either. a typical chunky meat sheep like a Suffolk or a Texel stands four square with a leg at each corner, rather like an animated coffee table. in contrast our sheep tend to be tall, wedge shaped, and, we think, rather elegant sheep with long legs and necks, roman noses, and of course both sexes carry horns.

wiltshire horn sheep

  were originally kept in large numbers to range extensively over their native downs, each flock being herded together at night in sheep folds (temporary enclosures) so that their dung could be easily collected for use as a fertilizer. of course once, this traditional form of agriculture was eroded by the arrival of more powerful ploughs and the availability of artificial fertilizer, then the absence of the valuable wool became an economic drawback. fortunately the breed was supported by enough people to ensure its survival and it has made an impressive comeback since the 2001 Foot & Mouth outbreak. it is now defined as “Mainstream” by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and has been widely exported to hotter countries where its lack of fleece is a real advantage.