River Bourne Community Farm

Our Wilsthire Horn ewes have now been joined by the ram and will lamb in Mar 2012.
They are easily recognisable by their horns, which both the males and females have.

The Wiltshire Horn breed would been the main breed of sheep to be found on the Wiltshire Downs until the end of the eighteenth century. It is a very hardy breed, able to withstand life on the downs with very little in the way of protection. However, the fact that it loses its fleece each spring made it fall from favour at a time when the wool industry played a large part in the economy of the area.

Losing its fleece in the spring is an asset to the local birds who can be seen picking up small pieces of wool at nest building time. The Wilsthire Horns then regrow their fleece in the autumn.

Now that wool prices are low, the benefit of a self-shedding sheep, no dipping or shearing, have bought the breed back in to favour.

The breed was saved from extinction by a small group of enthusiastic breeders who formed the Wiltshire Horn Sheep Society in 1923.
For more information on the breed, visit their website.