Breed Data - Exmoor Horn Sheep Breeders' Society

FLOCK STATISTICS

From time to time, when there has been the threat of disease; change of government policy; academic interest; background information needed for a grant application; or fluctuating concern for minority native breeds, it has been necessary to substantiate the numerical abundance and geographical distribution of Exmoor Horns. To this end, using returns made in the annually published EHSBS Flock Book, an extensive analysis of raw data from 1906 to 2020 enabled the creation of two graphs.

Both graphs show the year along the x-axis.

EHSBS-flock-size

In the first graph, the LH y-axis (blue dots) shows total flock size, and the RH y-axis (yellow dots) shows average number per member.

EHSBS-membership-location

In the second graph, the LH y-axis (green line) shows total number of active members and the RH y-axis shows the numbers of Dartmoor members in yellow vertical lines, and those from “away” in blue vertical lines.

For consistency in collating the raw data that formed the basis of the graph entries, the following criteria apply:

an active member of the EHSBS is one who is fully paid up and makes a flock return for that year
the number of sheep is taken from the number of breeding ewes, thus does not include shearling ewes or rams
“away” members are from outside the Greater Exmoor or Dartmoor areas.

The reason for excluding those who have not made a return is that in years when returns are low (e.g. 34% missing in 2002) the average flock size would have been disproportionally skewed.

GENETICS INFORMATION

EHSBS GRP (Genetic Resources Plan)

Rationale

When the government launched its National Scrapie Plan in the eary 2000s in an effort to remove this incurable disease from the national flock, eight members volunteered 11 rams which were going to slaughter anyway, from which 1,452 semen straws were collected. No names, records or photos were kept. These samples were kept in case scrapie susceptible rams turned out to be resistant in a future disease threat. In 2009 the government withdrew funding for this archive, and conservation was then taken over jointly by the NSA and RBST.

In 2021 the Society decided to augment this undocumented archive with properly recorded samples covering as wide an array of bloodlines as possible, and to ensure the breed’s survival in the event of a catastrophic disease outbreak such as Foot and Mouth in 2001. When funding became available under the FiPL grant scheme, the Society made an application for a ground-breaking Genetic Resources Plan. Significant research went into developing the strategy which would collect both embryos and semen. Torch Vets in South Molton, a veterinary practice with the necessary expertise and ability, and who could also (with certain restrictions) cope with non-Maedi Visna sheep, helped formulate the plan.

FiPL Funding

Project number EX093 was given the go-ahead just before Christmas 2022 for a two year period ending in March 2024. Its objective was to collect semen samples from 8 rams and embryos from 1 ewe for a budget of £4,875, not including a donation of £400 from the Exmoor Society.

Initially, we had been advised against using show rams for semen collection (too much hot weather being detrimental to their sperm count), so collection was scheduled for immediately after tupping. Unsurprisingly, January 2023 did not yield good results, in either quality or quantity, due mainly to the stress induced by taking rams straight off the moor to an unfamiliar indoor environment and being handled by strangers. When repeated in December 2023 with different rams in year 2 of the project, it became obvious that show rams, who were more habituated to unfamiliar people, places and events, and who worked earlier in the year, might produce better results. Thus another (final) application, EX165, allowed us to collect more successful samples, closer to the optimum of 15 needed to regenerate a breed.

In comparison, collection of embryos from ewes did not face the same hurdles of their being difficult to handle, neither at the stage of preparation for harvesting, which required great diligence with regard to the administration of drugs, nor during the operation itself which was on October 18th 2023. Council had decided to loan GRP £1,000 (as a safety net) so that two ewes with proven track records could be involved rather than one. In due course this money was almost fully returned.

Collaborators

EHSBS is grateful to the team at Torch for their huge support in this pioneering (for us as a native breed) project – Mike Glover for his long experience in ovine genetics, vet Guto Wynne, vet Emily and the veterinary technicians Gemma and Hazel.

Thanks are also due to those members of the Society who participated, which meant being willing to get their stock to Horsepond on time despite jobs at home, and taking them back at the end of the week even if was to isolation because of movement restrictions. These were – David Butt (rams and a ewe), Brian Dallyn (ewe), David Ridd (ram), Sam Tarr (ram), Julian Branfield (rams), Dick Tucker (rams), Ricky Atkins (ram), Lindy Head (teaser ewes).

In summary, 12 rams (using 6 teaser ewes) and 2 ewes donated samples. 664 good semen samples were collected from 6 rams, and 31 embryos from the 2 ewes, all within budget.

Link with HSBA

At the end of the project in 2025, despite extensive consultation with both NSA and RBST, no permanent home could be found for the germplasm so painstakingly gathered, neither could the Society afford to maintain its own the liquid nitrogen flask indefinitely. EHSBS was immensely relieved and thankful that Amanda Carson MRCVS, past secretary of the Herdwick Sheep Breeders’ Association, and Will Rawling, chair of HSBA were able to offer us space in their much larger nitrogen tank, enabling the germplasm to be dry-shipped to Cumbria in January. Thus two hill breeds will be in long-term storage together.

The EHSBS liquid N flask (original cost £980) was then redundant, so was held in safe local cryostore until a purchaser could be found. It realised £200 in mid 2025, and together with a donation of £250 from EHSBS funds, was sent to HSBA, since their annual maintenance cost is around £750, and they had not asked us for any financial contribution.

Pledges made by our government at international meetings in 2022 concerning the conservation of native breeds of all types of livestock have yet to be implemented, or even properly formulated.