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GENERAL | HISTORY | BREED CHARACTERISTICS | CROSS BREEDING | FUTURE HISTORY History of the Wiltshire Horn - parent breed of the Wiltipoll It has been said that the Wiltshire Horn was derived from Mediterranean sheep breeds such as those of Corsica and Sardinia and were brought to Britain by the Ancient Romans as the original British meat sheep. However in its modern form the Wiltshire Horn may have come about indirectly from those original sheep via some of the Welsh Mountain breeds. In turn, it has played a part in the origin of breeds such as the Dorset Horn and Southdown. In the 18th century it was said to have been the most numerous sheep in Britain, with total numbers perhaps in the millions. It was used to convert the poor Downs pastures into manure for fertiliser (the sheep being penned each night) and for meat, the long legged hardy breed being able to cover great distances. After the 18th century, changes to farming practices in the region and the introduction of new breeds with either more wool (Merino) or fatter lambs (Southdowns) led to it's decline. By the early 20th century it was becoming rare and a British Society was formed in 1923 to ensure its survival in a pure form. Development of the Wiltipoll Breed The Wiltshire Horn was brought to Australia in 1952 by the Crossthwaite family but with high wool prices and demand for fatter lambs it did not thrive. The breed was nearly extinct by 1970 when it was rescued by the Harwood family, who bought two rams and fifteen ewes in 1969 and took them to the family property at Lillydale, Victoria. In 1972, Greg and Margie Toll established a flock of Wiltshire Horns at Gunbower, Victoria, which is still flourishing today. In 1978, Noel and Prue Bonnin,
David and Dilys Craven and Bob Burston bought pure-bred
Wiltshire Horn rams and 1st cross ewes (Border Leister/
Wiltshire Horn) and transported them to the Hindmarsh Valley,
SA. In 1994, Annie and John Hughes of Kars Station, Broken Hill,
NSW, purchased ewes and rams from the above breeders and
proceeded to breed selectively for polledness. The Association established requirements for registration of Wiltipoll sheep; ie. that the sheep must have no less than 96.87% Wiltshire Horn blood, it must be polled and must totally shed its fleece annually. To achieve the required percentage of Wiltshire Horn blood, a ewe of a polled breed must be first crossed with a pure bred Wiltshire Horn ram and then back -crossed successively for four generations. The absence of horn in the Wiltipoll breed has resulted in rams being less aggressive and easier to handle. There is less risk of accident in the paddock, such as rams being caught in fences or locked together and less bruising of carcases.
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