Mundi: No it doesn't, and it's even for the worse because of scurs and small horns growing in all directions.
Gary: I'd like to refer here to an excellent article on horning authored by Liz Harker of the Back Forty Sheep Camp in an interview with Emma Eythorsdottir of the Agricultural Research Institue in Reykjavik. The title of the article is: "Horn Inheritance in Icelandic Sheep: An Interview with Emma Eythorsdottir." It was in the Isbona newsletter Volume 5 No. 4 Fall 2001. It can be accessed by visiting the Isbona website and clicking on "Isbona Newsletter Feature Articles" It reads as follows:
Liz H: "You mentioned polled flocks. In Iceland, do farmers try to keep the horned and polled phenotypes seperate as best they can?"
Emma E: "Types 2,3,4 are all heterozygous Pp- the appearance of horns is different between males and femals and there is great variation within this group. Icelandic famers are reluctant to breed horned and polled together because of this. The flocks that come out of such interbreeding become very heterogenous in appearance and some of the phenotypes do need repeated cutting or trimming of horns. Many farmers find it practical to mate their ewelambs from a horned flock to a polled sire to avoid lambing difficulties. The lambs would all go to slaughter and the ewes would be mated to a horned sire in their second year."
Gary: It would seem to me that Ms. Eythorsdottir's statement here reflects the collective wisdom of generations of experience, as well as the results of years of research at the Institute. I would take it as a reliable indicator that horned/polled crossing creates too many problems and too few benefits to be worth putting in the effort it would take to overcome all the difficulties. And what do you do with all the offspring of your "experiments?" Hopefully not sell them to the unsuspecting!!
Mundi: Yes, Emma has put the wisdom of generations, as you say, into a few descriptive sentences.
Gary: Is it possible that problems from improper breeding practices may skip a generation or two, and pop up at some future time as an animal worthy to be culled?
Mundi: It sounds likely to me.
Gary: True or False. You have 36 horned AI rams and only 18 in the 2 semen stations because the Icelanders are selecting for leanness and heavy muscling, which is found to a greater extent in the horned animals.
Mundi: No, it's because we have more horned sheep than polled, but why is that? I can't give you an answer on that except some farmers like horned sheep and some like polled. Remember that most of us don't use horned rams on polled ewes or polled rams on horned ewes, so we keep both on hand in the semen collection facilities.
Gary: Thank-you so much Mundi for your insight and your interest. I'm sure it will prove to be very helpful to many breeders here. hope to see you at Reinbeck this October!
Mundi: Yes, hopefully I can attend Reinbeck next October. I certaintly felt at home when I came there in 2001 because of your great hospitality and kindness. It really is a pleasure working for Southram communicating with icelandic sheep breeders in North America. Finally, I hope we can increase our cooperation in the future for greater improvement and development of the Icelandic sheep in America.
Gary: Yes, let us indeed work towards that!
Admittedly, I push the limits with my own agenda, attempting to go far beyond just having a well-rounded, generally good animal. I see so much in this breed and I want to explore the depths of its potential. The sheep on the finest farms we visited in Iceland while attending the vaginal AI seminar have been highly developed over quite a number of generations, and are sleek, well-muscled, and mostly horned individuals. If there were an undue amount of difficult births and other problems caused by the overdevelopment of their musculature, it would have been made obvious by now. I trust the Icelanders and their ability to do things well and avoid problems. They are not dabbling in, or playing at being "sheep farmers." This is a very large and important chunk of their economy, and is fundamental to their well-being. By necessity, the developments the Icelanders guide their sheep through must be productive and functional. The Icelanders actions are studied and deliberate, and when the Icelanders are careful to avoid certian practices like mixing horned with polled, we should take note.
For those concerned mainly with wool and milk production, these issues may not seem overly important, but for meat purposes, or for those who simply have as a goal the development of a good all-around sheep, someone's prior unwise breeding choice can show up in some future breeding you do, causing you the heartache of having to cull out surprises and possibly buy some new breeding stock,
