Dorset Horn Sheep

The Dorset Horn is one of Britain's oldest breeds although its origins are a mystery.  There are two lines of thinking.  The first is that it was developed by crossbreeding Spanish Merinos with our native horned Welsh sheep whilst others believe it came from centuries of selection within the native sheep of southern England.  Either way, they are spread across a large area of England and Wales and have also been exported around the world.  A polled version has been developed by two different methods in Australia and the US and I have blogged about this separately here.

Dorset Horn ram

Dorset Horn ewes

The Dorset Horn has been documented from the seventeenth century and is highly prolific and can breed all year round, being the only British breed that does not have a seasonal estrus cycle, but a recurring estrus cycle.  They regularly produce twins and triplets are not uncommon either.  It can be bred earlier in the year than other breeds to produce lambs in time for the Christmas meat market or it can be bred more intensively to produce lambs three times over a two year period.  Either way gives financial advantages to the farmer.

In the 1980's there were more than 100,000 registered breeding ewes in the UK. At the time of writing the Dorset Horn in is the Rare Breeds Survival Trust category 5: Minority (1500-3000) registered breeding ewes.  That is a massive drop in numbers and most likely down to downturn in intensive farming practices to one that is more restorative and maybe also down to a preference for other breeds that have been introduced. They are usually found in the south west of England but there are specialist flocks throughout the UK. 

The Dorset Horn is a medium sized sheep with a white face and characteristic pink nostrils.  They are horned in both sexes with the ewe having smaller horns that just grow out and slightly curved whilst the rams have exceptional horns that grow out and curled. 

They produce a medium size fleece that is very thick and weighs 2-4kg with a staple length of 2.5-6inch (6.5-12.5cm).  The fleece is very white with an organised, regular and fine crimp pattern in both fibre and lock and it feels firm with good body.  Micron counts are 26 to 33 so finer fleece can be used for next-to-skin items with coarser fleeces more suited to household textiles.  

The fleece can be combed or carded, depending on the length of the fibres but can also be spun from the lock if you prefer.  The longer length fleece with more open crimp pattern are easier to spin than those that are shorter with more Down-like qualities, which may require more experience to control.  You can spin either woollen style or worsted style, it really is quite a versatile fleece.  It will take dye very clearly.

I have found reference to the fact that there are some coloured Dorsets that have black fleece but it doesn't state whether these are polled or horned and are most likely from being cross bred at some point and so are probably not true Dorsets.  

I have bought this breed in as pre-prepared fibre in a box containing 50g each of four British Breeds and I had also got another smaller 25g sample from a similar pack purchase from elsewhere.

Because to two samples are very slightly different shades what I did was to split the larger sample into two across the length to make two shorter lengths and the smaller sample I split along the length to make two thinner long lengths and paired one of each with each other twice.  The lengths weren't quite the same so I had to stretch the smaller amount out a little bit to match the other length and then pre-draft the two together before spinning to even out the colour and any difference in texture/softness.

My finished yarn is nice and is similar in feel to the Polled Dorset although there is a slight difference in colour, this one is a slightly more pinky-beige tone of white.  Holding them in my hands side by side and in good natural daylight you can see a very slight tonal difference and I have already written a post about the differences between different "white" fleece.  I have 73g/151m of sport weight yarn.  My knitted piece for the project took 26g/54m so I have some left to do whatever with.

Border Leicester Sheep

The Border Leicester was developed in the later half of the 18th century, around about the late 1760's when two Scottish brothers, George and Matthew Cully acquired some improved Leicesters (the now extinct "Dishley Leicesters" and progenitor of the Leicester Longwool) from Robert Bakewell, and they cross-bred them with South Country Cheviot's (also known as Border Cheviots).  

The Border Leicester sheep was very popular across the UK during the mid-19th century and at the time of writing, is in the Rare Breeds Survival Trust category 5: Minority (1500-3000) registered breeding ewes.  They are found throughout the UK but mostly in Northern England, the Scottish lowlands and across the Borders.

The Border Leicester is a large sheep with a white head and legs, roman nose with black nostrils and prominent erect ears. The head and legs are free from wool and both sexes are polled.

They produce a good size fleece of 3-5kg that is white and demi-lustrous but there has been known to be fleece that weigh up to 9kg and obviously this is dependent on the size of the sheep and the time between shearings.  The staples are 4-10 inches (10-25cm) long depending on whether they are sheared once or twice a year but they are often sheared twice a year.  The locks are individually distinct but not as wavy as the Leicester Longwool but the tips do end in curl and they do have lustre. 

The fineness of the fleece seems to depend on where in the world the Border Leicesters live.  The UK have the finest fleece, New Zealand have the coarsest and Australia take the middle with the US seemingly covering the entire range.  

There are some coloured Border Leicesters and these are finer than their white counterparts, which is unusual because most of the coloured fibres in many breeds are usually coarser than the white fibres.  Genetically they have a lot of potential to produce coloured offspring but in the UK breed description any coloured fibres are seen as a fault, New Zealand and Australia do not have any specifications because "white" would be taken for granted but in the US the breed association offers registration for natural-coloured animals.

This fleece can be spun from teased locks, picked, flicked or combed. Spin smooth and sleek to produce a buffed-looking gleam or use for texture in an arty-novelty kind of spin

Yarns spun from Border Leicester fleece are good for textiles such as pillows and if you're lucky to live in the UK, like me, and have a fine fleece you can make sweaters, hats, mittens, socks and more.  

I have bought this breed in as 230g of pre-prepared fibre from someone who keeps the breed of sheep as a slaughter-free flock in North Yorkshire and has the fleece processed at a local wool mill and sells it themselves.

My finished yarn is of medium quality to the touch of the hand and feels soft enough for next-to-skin but also feels sturdy enough to stand up to a good amount of wear.  My spinning gave me 2 skeins totalling 229g/522m. My knitted piece for the project took 27g/63m so I have a good amount left to do whatever with.

Wensleydale Sheep

Wensleydale Sheep can be traced back to one individual sheep, a ram lamb born in 1839 in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, that was a cross between an old-type Teeswater ewe (prior to that breeds improvement) and a new Leicester ram (the improved Leicester Longwool as bred by Robert Bakewell).  This new ram had a blue head and blue ears, which is a recessive trait of the Leicester Longwool, and the ram was named Bluecap by its owners.  Bluecap turned out to be very potent and was leased to other farmers to breed from, mostly to breed with Teeswaters.  He passed his blue-headed trait on to his offspring and by the 1870's these unique sheep were recognised as a separate breed.

The Wensleydale sheep, at the time of writing, is in the Rare Breeds Survival Trust category 4: At Risk (900-1500) registered breeding ewes. They are usually found in pedigree flocks throughout the UK.

They are a large, hardy English Longwool build sheep with a distinctive blue head, ears and legs.  Both sexes polled.

They produce a large size fleece that is kemp free and weighs 3.5kg-9kg, although most likely 4.5-6.8kg. It has long, lustrous, shiny, curly ringlets that hang independently from each other and is among the most sought after wool in the UK.  The wool is uniform throughout the fleece and doesn't felt well. The staples are 7-12 inches (18-30.5cm) long.  Most of the sheep are white but grey and black can also be found and these fleece are beautiful and very expensive due to their rarity. 

The locks can be spun or woven as locks to give texture or used unspun to make a fleece rug, as can any of the English Longwool breeds with long enough staples.  The locks can be flicked open for spinning and combing works very well but will need really long strokes and when you diz off the combs you need a combination of firmness, widely spaced hands and patience.  When spinning keep your hands far enough apart to draft the very long fibres.  Can also be used as dolls hair.  When dyeing the exceptional lustre produces clear, bright colours.

Yarns spun from Wensleydale fleece work well as weaving yarns and are unusually fine for a Longwool breed.  They lean more towards tapestry and upholstery rather than rugs due to their fineness.  Gives good drape and stitch definition to knitting and crochet.  

I have bought this breed in as pre-prepared fibre in a box containing 50g each of four British Breeds.

My finished yarn is of medium quality to the touch of the hand and is quite soft and supple for a Longwool breed but you can feel the slight prickliness of it.  I have 53g/91m of sport weight yarn.  My knitted piece for the project took 36g/62m so I have a small amount left to do whatever with.

Dalesbred Sheep

The Dalesbred sheep was developed in the 20th century by crossing Swaledales and Scottish Blackface breeds.

The Dalesbred sheep, at the time of writing, is in the Rare Breeds Survival Trust category 6: "Other UK Native Breeds" (over 3000) registered breeding ewes.   They are usually found in the Pennines across Lancashire and Yorkshire and 95% of the breed is confined to that relatively small area of the UK which poses a risk to the breed should there ever be another outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease.  They are well known in the English Lake District, along with Swaledale, Rough Fell and Herdwick breeds of sheep and are noted for their ability to thrive in exposed locations.  Individual sheep tend to be hefted to a specific part of the mountain or fell and will remain there, often where they were born, without the need for fencing.

The Dalesbred has a blackface that is free from wool and has distinctive white marks above and to each side of the nostrils and a grey nose.  The legs are black and white and free from wool. Both sexes have horns, with the rams having spiral horns and ewes having much smaller horns.  

They produce a medium sized dual coated fleece of 1.5-3kg with a staple that is 5-8 inches (12.5-20.75cm) that contains hair that protects them from the rain and an undercoat that is softer and keeps them warm.  The fleece should be white but often contains black and grey fibres too.   

This fleece can be spun from teased locks, it can be carded but this is not easy with this fleece or it can be combed. Combing will separate the longer, coarser, hairy fibres from the shorter, finer, softer undercoat but it might not do this cleanly due to overlapping lengths of both types of fibres.   Should take dye well.

Yarns spun from Dalesbred fleece are definitely suited to household items, rugs and upholstery and not for any kind of clothing except maybe a lined jacket.  

I have bought this breed in as a 100g bag of pre-washed fleece that just needs to be prepared and spun.  My sample is a mix of both white and the darker fibres but this could make an interesting yarn.

Combing left me with just 48g of hand combed top in an array of interesting shades as I removed as much of the coarse hair as I could whilst still leaving me enough to knit the sampler.  The darker fibres were much shorter than the lighter fibres so that when I dizzed this off my combs the lighter fibres came off first and the darkest fibres last so that each hand combed nest was a kind of "mini-gradient" in itself.  I decided that it would be pointless to try and blend this into one shade using my blending hackle and instead chose to spin creatively.

I divided the nests into two piles and spun the first single by spinning each nest from lightest to darkest fibres and then when I spun the second single I reversed it and spun each nest from darkest to lightest.  I figured that this way, when I plied them together, the colours would kind of barber-pole throughout the yarn and this would give the yarn a more overall even shade rather than have defined light and dark stripes or patches.

My finished yarn is of medium quality to the touch of the hand and actually feels softer than the Exmoor Horn I just spun but you can feel the prickly hair and I do like the colour which is a pale beige-y pale grey. I have 48g/87m of sport weight yarn.  My knitted piece for the project took 27g/49m so I have some left to do whatever with.  It has knitted up a little bit stripey and its not an even colour all over, but I am not surprised in all honesty.

Exmoor Horn Sheep

There is not a whole lot of information to be found anywhere about the origins of this breed other than that it was developed in the 19th century and is a direct descendent of an early horned sheep found in the area hundreds of years earlier.  So it sounds as though the original was improved on by cross breeding but there's no mention of what bloodlines were introduced. I guess no one alive today knows, if it was never written down or any writings have been lost then the only way to find out would be with DNA testing, which has been happening with some breeds.

Top: Ewe
Bottom: Ram

The Exmoor Horn sheep, at the time of writing, is in the Rare Breeds Survival Trust category 6: "Other UK Native Breeds" (over 3000) registered breeding ewes. 

They are found on Exmoor National Park, who report that some 15,000 or so of the 19,000 or so registered breeding ewes can be found on their park with small numbers of them to be found on neighbouring Dartmoor National Park.

The Exmoor Horn is a medium build sheep with ewes weighing around 50kg and rams 73kg. Both sexes are horned, with the rams growing spiral horns.  They have white faces and legs and produce a good sized white fleece of 2-3kg and a staple length of 3-5 inches (7.5-12.5cm).  There may or may not be some kemp, it will vary from fleece to fleece, but any kemp will be white. 

This fleece can be spun from teased locks, it can be carded or combed.  It may feel wiry and a bit on the crisp side, crunchy and bouncy but for a hill breed it is fairly soft.

Yarns spun from Exmoor Horn fleece are definitely suited to household items and upholstery and not for any kind of next-to-skin clothing.  

I have bought this breed in as a 100g bag of pre-washed fleece that just needed combing and spinning.

It looks to me to be on the coarse side of things before I even start. I got 59g of hand combed top from what I bought.

My finished yarn is bouncy but also crisp and crunchy to the touch of the hand and only slightly prickly against my neck.  My knitted piece for the project took 23g/53m so I have some left to do whatever with.

Norfolk Horn Sheep

The Norfolk Horn is one of Britain's oldest sheep breeds, dating back to at least the 13th Century, and was developed in East Anglia from an old Saxon black-faced sheep that were small, feral and deer-like. It does well in dry, cold conditions and will forage on sparse vegetation and thrives without loosing condition.  It is known to walk long distances to find grazing so can be used to maintain large sites.  They were used in the foldcourse rotation system of farming, grazing on the stubble of harvested cereal crops and fertilizing and improving the soil with their manure as they grazed, which then produced better crops in following years.  They were historically concentrated to the heathland areas of the Breckland, North West Norfolk and the Suffolk coastal region.

Top: Norfolk Horn Ewes
Botton: Norfolk Horn Ram

Prior to the late 18th century, little attention was paid to pedigree breeding or improving livestock by selective breeding.  When attention began to be paid to such matters the breed was not held in high regard and other breeds were introduced to the area, such as the Southdown.  Some flocks were replaced by the Southdown whilst others chose to cross-breed the Southdown and the Norfolk Horn to improve the breed and this ultimately led to the development of the Suffolk, which is a very successful and important breed today and the Norfolk's involvement in creating this new breed would ultimately lead to its own demise and near extinction.

The numbers of Norfolk Horns declined throughout the 19th century until there were only about 300 left in existence.  One man saved the breed from extinction.  Mr J D Sayer kept a flock from 1895 and built it up and in 1919 his was the only known flock of Norfolk Horns left in existence.  This would obviously have genetic and inbreeding consequences.  He maintained this flock for 30 years until 1947 when the remaining 13 sheep were sent to the Cambridge Animal Research Station for them to study the inheritance of Cryptorchidism, a characteristic sign of inbreeding and is the term used for undescended testicles, a condition which decreases fertility. By the end of the 1960's only 14 seriously inbred individuals existed and the last pure breed ram died in 1971.  

This situation was the catalyst for the formation of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and careful back-crossing using a Suffolk ram (genetically a descendant of the original Norfolk Horn) began and ensured the recreation of the Norfolk breed to be as genetically close as possible to the original breed. Continuation of careful breeding resulted in an increase in numbers and a wider gene pool but still fewer than 300 by 1994 and there is still a risk of inbreeding. 

The numbers have increased since 1994 but they are still rare and are found mostly in an around East Anglia with other flocks dispersed across the UK, which helps if there should ever be another outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease.  The Norfolk Horn sheep, at the time of writing, is in the Rare Breeds Survival Trust category 4: At Risk (900-1500) registered breeding ewes.  

They are a medium sized sheep with a long body, black face and long black legs and ears. Mature ewes weigh about 70kg and rams about 90-95kg. Both sexes have horns, the ewes have smaller horns than the rams, who have large spiral horns.

They produce a fleece that is short stapled and white in the adult, although lambs are often darker or mottled.  A small amount of black fibres or black spots is permissible in the adult fleece.  The staple length is between 3 and 4 inches long (7-10cm long) and can be anything from 1.75 to 2.25 kilos in weight. The fine fleeces were used in the Middle Ages for the East Anglian worsted industry upon which most of the regions wealth was based.

This fleece can be spun from teased locks or it can be carded or combed. It's a versatile fleece to work with.  If you dye this fleece it gives clean colours.

Yarns spun from Norfolk Horn fleece are durable but relatively soft and can be used to make hats, mittens, sweaters, socks, blankets and similar items.  

I have bought this breed in as 100g of pre-washed fleece ready for me to prepare for spinning and then spin.

There were a few small clumps of black fibres which I removed and then I combed the rest and I got 56g of hand combed top.  There are still a large number of black fibres in the hand combed nest, some contain a lot more than others.  I removed as many of these as I could using a pair of tweezers to clean them up before, during and after spinning.

My finished yarn is of medium quality to the touch of the hand and is a lot like the downs breeds and other similar breeds.  When next to some of the other "white" yarns, it leans more towards a pale pink/beige tone whilst others lean towards the pale creamy/yellow tone.  Very few head directly towards pure white.  My knitted piece for the project took 21g/55m so I have some left to do whatever with.

Hampshire Down Sheep

The Hampshire Down sheep was developed more than 150 years ago, so around about the 1860's, from a three-way cross when Southdown rams were crossed with the local native Wiltshire Horn (a hair sheep that still exists but I'm not blogging about this one because it doesn't produce wool) and Berkshire Nott (now extinct) and both of these breeds had white faces and horns.   In fact the improved Southdown was cross bred with other native breeds in the downland counties and the improved Southdown bloodlines runs through all other Downs breeds, making the Southdown the grand ancestor of all of the other Downs breeds: Dorset Down, Hampshire Down, Oxford, Shropshire and Suffolk.

The Hampshire Down sheep, at the time of writing, is in the Rare Breeds Survival Trust category 6: "Other UK Native Breeds" (over 3000) registered breeding ewes and they are found all over the UK, Scotland and Northern Ireland

The Hampshire Down has a rich dark brown or black head, face, ears and legs with wool on the top of the head and around the eyes.  Both sexes are polled (hornless). 

They produce a good size fleece that is 2-4.5kg in weight with a staple length of 2-4 inches (5-10cm).  The fleece is dense with short blocky staples that may be hard to distinguish from one another.  There is no hair or kemp in the fleece from this breed. The fleece should be white and free from dark fibres, although there are a few coloured Hampshires being bred.

Shorter fleeces can be carded, longer ones will want to be flicked or combed.  Keep the draft light and open and the twist moderate to maintain the loft and springy character of the wool.  The wool is "chalky" but does take dye nicely but the colours won't be lustrous but neither will they be flat.  Has enough crimp to be nicely elastic and it doesn't felt very well.  

Yarns spun from Hampshire fleece are great for socks, mittens, hats, sweaters and the finer fleeces will be great for next-to-skin items.

I have bought this breed in as 100g of pre-washed fleece so all I have to do is comb it and spin it.

After combing I am left with 49g of lovely handcombed top.

My finished yarn is of medium quality to the touch of the hand and is quite creamy and it is not as bouncy as the Dorset Down or the Oxford Down.  I have 49g/156m of sport weight yarn.  My knitted piece for the project took 20g/64m so I have some left to do whatever with.

Dorset Down Sheep

The Dorset Down sheep was started to be developed from the 1840's when Southdown rams were crossed with the local native Wiltshire Horn ewes (a hair sheep that still exists but I'm not blogging about this one because it doesn't produce wool) and Berkshire Nott ewes (now extinct).  After several generations the improved rams were crossed with Hampshire Down ewes and then continued to add more Southdown and Hampshire over the next several generations of sheep until they achieved a breed that was similar to the Southdown but better suited to the wetter climate of Dorset. The breed was stabilised by the late 1800's.  In fact the improved Southdown was cross bred with other native breeds in the downland counties and the improved Southdown bloodlines runs through all other Downs breeds, making the Southdown the grand ancestor of all of the other Downs breeds: Dorset Down, Hampshire Down, Oxford, Shropshire and Suffolk.

The Dorset Down sheep, at the time of writing, is in the Rare Breeds Survival Trust category 5: Minority (1500-3000) registered breeding ewes and they are found mainly in the South West of England

The Dorset Down is a medium sized sheep with ewes weighing about 70kg and rams weighing about 110kg and has a rich dark brown or black head, face, ears and legs with wool on the top of the head and around the eyes.  Both sexes are polled (hornless). 

They produce a good size fleece that is 2-3kg in weight with a staple length of 2-3 inches (5-8cm).  The fleece is dense with short blocky staples that may be hard to distinguish from one another.  There is no hair or kemp in the fleece from this breed. The fleece should be white and free from dark fibres.

Shorter fleeces can be carded, longer ones will want to be flicked or combed.  Keep the draft light and open and the twist moderate to maintain the loft and springy character of the wool.  The wool is "chalky" but does take dye nicely but the colours won't be lustrous but neither will they be flat.  Has enough crimp to be nicely elastic and it doesn't felt very well.  

Yarns spun from Dorset Down fleece are great for socks, mittens, hats, sweaters and the finer fleeces will be great for next-to-skin items.

I have bought this breed in as 100g of pre-washed fleece so all I have to do is comb it and spin it.

After combing I am left with 60g of lovely hand combed top.

My finished yarn is of medium quality to the touch of the hand and is quite creamy and it has good bounce.  I have 60g/152m of sport weight yarn.  My knitted piece for the project took 17g/43m so I have some left to do whatever with.