Exmoor Horn sheepnot just for Exmoor!

Helen Babbs meets the the hardy hill breed with excellent fleece

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When David Butt moved to his smallholding near Dunkery Beacon on Exmoor, his house-warming present arrived on the hoof! “My brother gave us three pedigree Exmoor Horn ewes, to ‘get us started’,” David explains. Twelve years later, the flock of three has increased to forty-two, and rises to over sixty with the lambs each spring.

“We like to support the local breed,” says David, “particularly by showing them. We did twelve of the major shows last year, as far north as Yorkshire. At the South-west shows, they have specific Exmoor Horn classes, but elsewhere they go in ‘Hill & Heath’ or ‘Native breed’ and do well. It all helps to market the breed and make people aware of them.”

AT HOME IN THE HILLS

Like Herdwicks in the Lake District, Exmoor Horn sheep have grazed the hills and moorlands of Exmoor for centuries. The breed is well documented back to the early 1800s, but archaeological excavations have found the bones and horns of similar sheep in Roman-era sites on Exmoor too. “They’re very much the native sheep for the moors,” says David, “and are still kept as commercial flocks across Exmoor and the surrounding North Devon area.” Exmoor Horn numbers are high compared to many similar native British sheep, but the breed is counted as “geographically vulnerable”, as the majority of the pedigree flocks are found in one small region.

A STURDY, SMILING SHEEP