[Anke]

Definitely re-usable drenching syringe - you can use for all sorts from wormer to flukicide, to bloat remedy etc etc. With an added needle set-up also good for injecting Calciject... but I digress, you may not want to breed.

Orange buckets here for rattling food.

some sturdy water buckets (larger than average size, the ones you get in building merchants are better) for water troughs in field, unless you have already a setup in-situ.

A halter rope, so you can securely tie a sheep up when needing to dag/clip on your own.

[bloomer]

The worming gun and vaccination guns I got are by far the best things ever in terms of benefit to sheep vs cost, that was with 22 to do though...

Oh and baler twine is a rare commodity if hay turns up in round bales, the net just isn't as useful...

Mine are bribed with oatcakes... But this is reasonable in Scotland :-D

I don't drink but occasionally my sheep have left me questioning that decision...

[mab]

I must admit the injecting gun I got this year is so much easier than injecting with syringes, and now I have 21 sheep I was thinking of getting a drench gun when I next drench, but I tend to start things with basic equipment and upgrade as I go along - makes for a less intimidating startup bill.

[Herdygirl]

Hurdles... plenty.. no matter how many you have you will always need one or two more .  They can be used for pens, raceways, cornering the little so and so's.  Mending the hole in the fence that wasn't there yesterday and the one that will appear tomorrow.
We have many colours of buckets here... yellow does appear to bring them running quicker.
Big pockets to put the digestives/nuts/apples etc.
The ability to catch in mid-air jumping sheep.

[pgkevet]

You all forgot the essential: a Wynn. He's one of the sheep farmers that's a weekend regular down t'pub... a couple of years ago I put my hands in my pocket for a round and asked if they knew a shearer. They asked how many hundred i had. Once they'd stopped laughing about my 6 sheep Wynn offered to pop round and do them and wouldn't take money.. and brought his lad to help catch them (I herd them between gates on the bridge over the stream). He's let me pick up frozen colostrum from him early one Sunday morning and he was happy to shear them again this year. This year he let me give him a  bottle of whisky. And he's on a promise for next year.
Everyone needs a Wynn

Oh, and you can't have enough buckets. I go to B&Q about 2-3 times a year and always get another three of their bright orange ones - you can always drill holes in the bottom and use them as flower pots..

[Bionic]

Definitely re-usable drenching syringe - you can use for all sorts from wormer to flukicide, to bloat remedy etc etc. With an added needle set-up also good for injecting Calciject... but I digress, you may not want to breed.

Orange buckets here for rattling food.

some sturdy water buckets (larger than average size, the ones you get in building merchants are better) for water troughs in field, unless you have already a setup in-situ.

A halter rope, so you can securely tie a sheep up when needing to dag/clip on your own.

I have a reusable drencher syringe too. I think its great and not too expensive.
As for the halter, we use bailer twine (yes it really is essential stuff  ). Get 3 bits of twine and plait it. Then you have a sturdy 'rope' usable for most things. We put ours round a post and put the girls heads in it (Tim Tyne suggests using a car fan belt but we didn't have one of those so improvised)

[Marches Farmer]

A hookover hayrack if you get deep snow.  A good set of waterproofs and one of those stylish waterproof trapper hats with earflaps and a peak, and warm, waterproof boots - Muck Boots, Bekina Pur, etc.

[SallyintNorth]

warm, waterproof boots - Muck Boots, Bekina Pur, etc.

Or any boots with great grip ^{(^)} and some knitted woollen welly slippers


^{(^)} I use use Dunlop Purofort - excellent grip, light as a feather and last really well.

[Me]

And a cuddly toy

[devonlady]

First thing...sturdy fencing (which I don't have!)
A good pair of binoculars for scanning the neighbours fields for runaway sheep.
As said, a large amount of digestive biscuits
A good pair of lungs to shout "Sheeeeep sheeeeeep"
And definitely a YELLOW bucket

[Foobar]

BLUE buckets (the unbreakable sort - ideally these: http://www.bucketsltp.co.uk/LT_Range.html)

Patience. 

[heyhay1984]

Oh dear- I have a pink scoop, no bucket (4 primitive sheep, feed is purely for politeness!). Best get shopping.

I also recommend a flock of about 10 teenagers to walk the sheep into the corner you want to pen them into- you can shout at them when you feel like shouting at the sheep! (I am kidding- my classes are very good little shepherds)

[pharnorth]

Oh poor Tamsjute its a great thread of responses but whether it helps you prioritise I am not so sure.  I got my first 5 sheep last year and found the first things I used were a few hurdles, feed trough, wheeled hay feeder, buckets, syringe for worming, foot shears that I also use for dagging. For lambing, Tim Tyne's book and a ' lambing kit'. Probably over the top on the lambing stuff but I was paranoid about not being prepared. And a scary book on Lambing Techniques on the basis the more you scare yourself the less likely it is to happen.

[nutterly_uts]

Very useful 

Agree yellow buckets as then they will match my eglu/s (and maybe beehaus)  I know you can get wood things cheaper but I luuurve me my yellow eglus 

[jward]

Plastic feed bag for rattling here.