David Barlow of the Gotland Society is really nice - he spent ages discussing the breed with me and couldn't have been more helpful. Rumours fly around about different breeds of sheep - for example as well as Hebrideans we also keep Soays, which have a reputation for jumping and being impossible to handle. When people ask us about that we just point to our Soays - they are the ones coming up to us and visitors, asking for treats and showing intelligent curiosity, definitely not jumping the fences. From my experience, sheep reflect the handling they receive, much as any other animal - treat them roughly or leave them running wild and they will be wild or wary; make it so that the other side of the fence appears more attractive than this side and they will jump to get to the other side; but if you treat them calmly and gently you will have manageable stock. Our Gotland and Gotland (Shetland) crosses were lovely, calm and dignified.
Sheep breed societies are amazing, a bit like ducks on the water - they can appear calm and organised on the surface but underneath they can be a frantic maelstrom of rivalry and pettyness, just like the ducks paddling feet. As long as the work gets done and the breed doesn't suffer, so be it. It seems to go in cycles and depends very much on just who is on any committee. Worse than Crufts sometimes
But don't let that put you off a breed - you can have as much or as little to do with any society as you want, and it could well be that when you get to know the members you will find that they are far friendlier than you first thought. They are just people, in all their glorious variety
Topic: Anyone keep Gotlands? (Read 3920 times)
