[ladyK]

Hope some of you can shed some light on these questions about the horns of my Soays - I only got my 4 Soay (2 ewes, 1 wether, 1 ram) about 8 weeks ago so I'm very new to all this.

They all came from the same flock/breeder; all except the ram were home-bred by him, and are just over a year old. These 3 all have a bit of uneven growth in their horns, to various degrees. Not sure how to best describe it, at the point where the horn bends it looks broken, but it isn't - the horns are sound but the surface at that spot looks ragged/cracked. After that bit the horn growth is normal again up to the tip.
Would this be due to some mineral deficiency on the pasture where they grew up, during just a particular stage of growth - or pregnancy? Or could this be genetic?  (I note the ram who was bred somewhere else has smooth horns all around.)
Is there something I can do about it now?. It's not a problem, just a minor cosmetic smudge, but obviously an indication of something not having been quite right at some stage and I'd like to avoid this when I get into breeding myself.

One more question: is there a possibility that the inside of the horn could be somehow exposed through these 'cracks'? It didn't look like the cracks where exposing anything, but today I noticed a waxy white substance stuck in one of those cracks on one ewe. Could something be oozing out??
She is the very tame one, so I do get a close look everyday. It wasn't there yesterday, she is not bothered by it, she doesn't mind me poking it (but I didn't dare to really scrape it off in case it did go any deeper), no flies hovering. Maybe it's just something that got stuck in there, wouldn't be suprising as it is so ragged, just can't think of anything whitish and waxy growing on that field.

Very grateful for any suggestions!

[shygirl]

my hebridean had a "cracked horn" but it never bothered him,
i may be wrong here but id think the horns grow similar to horses feet so any ridges or changes in their diet (ie by harsh winter / lush summer grass) would show up in the appearance of the horn. and im sure you can count the age of the horned sheep by the annual growth rings on the horns. ie a 5 yr old ram would have 5 distinct sections in his horns.
i dont think you can do much for the cracks apart from ensuring their diet is good now and any further growth is healthy. any damaged horn could be cut off but it would not grow back and isnt necessary unless its for welfare reasons.
horn shape is heredity in my opinion, but they can also be bent or cut for welfare or show reasons.

- im sure someone will advise you better shortly.

[Fleecewife]

I've been thinking about this but don't have a definitive answer.  The cracks are probably caused by a nutritional or health problem round about weaning, or from fighting or, with a Soay, from smacking his head against a solid object, which seems to amuse them.  The ends of the horns may well come off, exposing the core and bleeding rather alarmingly for a short while (wrap cobwebs around to stop the bleeding).  This exposed core covers itself eventually but the horns remain short.
For the oozing stuff, that alarms me a bit, although it's always hard to get an accurate understanding from a description only.  We once had a Shetland tup, bought in, who developed a big crack in one horn, which started to bend.  I had asked a neighbour for help with the tups one day, and he grabbed the tup by that horn - which came away in his hand, to his absolute horror - his face was classic  .  I'm afraid I laughed and laughed because I knew it was damaged already and that it wouldn't have hurt the tup.  Anyway, once the end of the horn was off, we could see a whole lot of pus inside, so presumably something had got in through the crack to cause an infection.  The horns are rather too close to the brain for comfort, so that was rather alarming.  It didn't bother the tup except that he lost his place in the pecking (butting) order and went straight to the bottom.
 
We apply hoof oil/ paste (using an old toothbrush and a rag) to our tups horns every now and then over the winter especially, just to keep them from getting dry and cracked.

[kanisha]

could also just be that some are carrying the polled gene and what you are seeing is poor horn quality  as a result of scurs rather than horns

[ladyK]

Thank you all for your replies and taking the time to think about this.

The horns are all sound/solid and well formed as a whole, so I don't think it's an issue down to the polled gene.
Thanks for the hoof paste tip, FW, seems like a good idea to prevent drying out, will try that.

Not sure about that oozing spot, it appears to have dried out today, doesn't look white/waxy anymore but rather than a bit of rough horn inside the crack (if I saw it today I wouldn't have noticed anything unusual). It didn't look like pus, so I remain baffled. Guess I will keep a close watch in case she develops any other symptoms, but she seems perfectly fine so far.

I have tried to attach a (rather bad) photo, that shows how the 'crack' looks but I'm not even sure I'm doing this right.

[Fleecewife]

I could be talking through my posterior, but it looks as if, as long as there's no infection, maggots etc, you could repair that, by using superglue (which was developed for use on humans) and splinting.   Otherwise I think the end will come off, which will be a shame as that's basically a nice sturdy set of horns.
I wouldn't try to reshape it as that might make the situation worse, unless you're brave, but just preserve it in that position.

[ladyK]

Thanks, FW... that would be a real shame if it came off (the other horn looks the same
They both seem really sound though, at least at the moment, the 'crack' does not apear 'cracked' but rather grown that rugged way, if that makes any sense, and you can handle the horns quite roughly without them budging or bending in any way. I know it looks like it might break off any moment but nothing is actually unstuck so there isn't really anything to glue & splint. 

[TheCaptain]

that is proper random - never seen that before in any of my horned sheep.


Sorry to have been no use whatsoever to this discussion!


 

[langfauld easycare]

i had 120 soay ewes at one point . 10 came from a woman i knew and all had this when i seen the restof  her sheep they all had the same .i always thought it was a deficiency but it could have been in the breeding. these ones horns were always breaking especialy when they got older.   

[shygirl]

it looks like my hebridean rams horns tho his were curved so it didnt stick out so much. im sure he only had it one horn but he was a terrible butt- er. (is that a word?)

are the cracks are in the same place on both horns ? if so id bet money on a nutritional issue 6 months ago, maybe snow or harsh weather, or maybe needed worming and lost weight? the body puts energy into vital organs first, so horns would suffer..

[ladyK]

Thanks you all for your input - good to know someone has seen this before!

I would tend to agree that it must have been a deficiency at a certain moment in time. Indeed both horns are rugged at exactly the same spot - I have 2 more of the same age who grew up on the same pasture and they have it too, at exactly the same spot on both horns so that only confirms it (not as rugged but still visible).

Good, then I can assume it's not genetic, and I know that I can do something to avoid it when I get my own lambs next year 

[Foobar]

The superglue suggestion might be a good option if you are worried about it being fragile and breaking off further.
Once he is older and his horn is thicker you should be able to sand it down to get a smoother finish.