Since time immemorial, sheep have been domesticated by man. And scientists, by the way, did not manage to unequivocally answer the question of who their ancestor was. Indeed, for many centuries, these articulate artiodactyls underwent selection changes.
And it depended on the purpose for which particular sheep were raised - after all, they always gave a person wool, skin, meat, fat and milk. In addition, among some peoples they were also pack animals. Therefore, in order to clarify whether a sheep has horns, it is necessary to first of all sort out what breed it is about.
A bit about the possible ancestors of sheep
By structure, the mouflon, which now lives in the mountainous regions of Corsica and Sardinia, as well as in Asia, is closest to all modern wild canids. Most often it is he who is called the ancestor of domestic sheep.
European mouflon has a smooth shiny red-brown hair. Males of this species are armed with luxurious thick curved horns, while lighter and smaller females do not have them. Only in some lambs can horns be found, and even then very small in size.
Asian mouflons are somewhat larger. The horns of male rams in length and mass can be very different. And whether the female sheep has horns depends on the case. Although more often they are decorated with them - small, flattened and slightly curved.
Mouflons easily crossbreeds with different breeds of domestic sheep and can be used to improve their quality. So, for example, academician M.F. Ivanov used wild sheep to breed a new breed - a mountain merino with excellent coat, capable of grazing in the mountains for a whole year.
Which sheep have the most horns?
Due to the fact that sheep are raised in a wide variety of weather conditions and for different needs, a large number of breeds have been bred over the long history of their domestication - there are more than 600 of them in the world. Only by looking at them can we clarify whether the sheep have horns, and if so, how much?
The oldest breed is the Jacob sheep (or Jacob). By the way, it was already almost extinct by the 70s of the last century, but thanks to the efforts of enthusiasts, the breed was restored.
The Jacob’s sheep's fleece has large spots, and its head is decorated with 2 pairs of luxurious horns. Yes Yes exactly! One pair most often grows up and reaches a length of 60 cm, and the other curls down. True, not all representatives of this breed of horns are so impressive - there are individuals in which they are small, and there are two-horned sheep.
The Manx sheep also boasts multi-hornedness, and differs from the one described above by the absence of spots and a uniform brown color. Interestingly, these artiodactyls sometimes grow even 3 pairs of horns!
Look if the sheep has horns - the photo will clearly show you this!
The horns of sheep have a different look and shape
The horns of the Wiltshire sheep are especially beautiful (you can see their photos here). They have a double curl, which gives the animal a very spectacular look.
The little-known Hungarian breed of ratska’s horns have flat straight lines and spin with a corkscrew.
But whether there are horns in a Wensleydale sheep, most often depends on sex - in males the horns are curled in a spiral, but in females they are not at all.
By the way, this cloven-hoofed creature, amazing in its appearance, has a long thin coat that grows in the form of “dreadlocks”, which gives them a very funny look! For a year this fleece grows by 36-45 cm, and at one time this breed was created specifically for the manufacture of female hairpieces, as well as court and theatrical wigs.
There are also hornless sheep breeds
One of the breeds, which you can not ask about whether a sheep has horns, is a dorper. These sheep are hornless - that is, hornless. They were bred in 1930 in South Africa.
Breeders needed animals that could survive in arid weather conditions and at the same time have excellent meat qualities. The goals they have achieved. Large representatives of these unpretentious sheep in food reach 140 kg of weight.
Hornless breeds include the English Rouge sheep, which were named so because of the pink color of their muzzles, not covered with wool. They were initially bred specifically for the production of the famous Camembert cheese, but now their meat is in demand.
The Santa Cruz breed, especially common in North America, has no horns and sheep. They are most often white in color, and the coat is straight and especially long at the neck and withers, which makes it seem that a meek sheep has an almost lion's mane.
And for the appearance of the sheep Nejd horns would be superfluous. Decorated with a straight, long and silky coat, deprived of undercoat, the decorative sheep are very similar to the Afghan hounds. Their hair resembles human hair in structure. By the way, nejda is one of the most expensive sheep breeds.
