Hi Pedwardine
About reducing sheep numbers: this is what we had to do last year. Our numbers had crept up and up but my health had gone down and down, and my OH has had a major health prob for several years. We realised life was all about working with the sheep, no let-up. Parting with a large chunk of our breeding flock was very difficult but we sold our animals privately to people we trust, and we hear about them from time to time.
The relief of having fewer sheep is enormous. With the smallish numbers we have, inputs and gains about balance eachother out, whatever the actual numbers involved, so the only winners are us, with a more relaxed atmosphere around the place now the pressure is off. If we decide at a later date that we can manage more sheep again, well we can breed up our numbers or buy in new stock. We kept some from each bloodline so it should be possible for us to build back up again. Choosing who goes and who stays is difficult, but once you've made the decision there's nothing but relief.
An excellent side effect of reduced numbers is that the sheeps health has improved noticeably
I just thought I would let you know that reducing our numbers has worked for us so it could be what you are needing to do
