Pedigree Wiltshire Horn Sheep

About the Wiltshire Horn breed

Much has been written about the Wiltshire Horn. Here is a summary of what we see as the key points, from our extensive research of a number of resources, from books to internet sites.

It is believed that the Wiltshire Horn was brought to the UK by the Romans as they recognised them as a breed that is able to live and thrive happily in most terrains and climates. They have also played a part in the origin of a number of other breeds, although the Wiltshire Horn itself is a full blood breed, not the product of cross breeding. Large numbers have been exported to Australia and New Zealand, where they are prized for their meat.

The breed is one of very few which self sheds its winter fleece in the spring, revealing a light covering of hair for the summer. This unique ability prevents major problems such as fly strike, negates the need for manual shearing and crutching and as a result reduces costs, husbandry time and chemical use, which must be a good thing. It is also much more comfortable for the sheep who are probably best placed to decide when to shed their wool. They shed approximately 1 Kg of wool, the fibres being approx 2cm in length. In some countries this is collected and used for all sorts of applications, we prefer to leave it for the birds who love to use it to build their nests.

Wiltshire’s are an attractive breed with both sexes having horns. They are a very hardy, intelligent and self-sufficient breed with naturally high fertility in the ewes. Twins and triplets are the norm and lambing problems are very rare. Unlike any other breed lambs are born with the appropriate covering for the time of year, either wool in winter or hair in summer. Ewes will live as long as 14 years and can breed to around 10 or 11 years old. The rams are very sort after as terminal sires and for meat.

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