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Volume 5, Number 1 Winter 2001
Editor, Kathy Hayes
Multi-Horned Icelandic Sheep
Dr. Olafur Dyrmundsson
The Farmers Association of Iceland
In the summer issue of the newsletter (Vol. 4, No. 3, p 8, 9) Shawn Carlson wrote an
interesting article on multi-horned Icelandic sheep. There are speculations on their
origin and their possible effect on piebald Jacob sheep in the United Kingdom.
It is well established that multiple horned sheep are found in some other breeds too,
normally 4-horned, but 6-horned in exceptional cases. According to M.L. Ryder, the author
of the very comprehensive book “Sheep and Man” (Duckworth, U.K. 1983, ISBN 07156
16552) such sheep are found in India and Cyprus and either of them may have influence the
Jacob breed which is believed to have been transported from Spain into the UK. On the
British Isles, the Jacob breed has possibly been influenced by crossing with Manx Loghtan,
4-horned, brown or piebald sheep from the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea, and/or black,
4-horned, short-tailed Hebridean sheep originating from an ancient Hebridean breed which
according to Ryder was extinct by 1900.
I think it is very unlikely that there is any relationship between Icelandic sheep and
Jacob sheep. I have not come across any evidence of exports of breeding sheep from Iceland
to the British Isles before 1979. Icelandic sheep exported to Scotland and North of
England in the late 19th century were wethers for slaughter. A relationship between the
Jacob breed and the Manx Loghtan and the Hebridean breeds is much more likely as indicated
by Ryder. These two breeds have the same ancient origin as the Icelandic breed, belonging
to the North European short-tailed group of sheep breeds and I wonder if it is certain
that the brown, multi-horned ram depicted on page 9 in the article by Shawn Carlson is
Icelandic. Could it possibly be Manx Loghtan which I have noted to have great resemblance
with brown, 4-horned Icelandic rams? Is it certain that the French naturalist quoted in
the article painted this picture in Iceland, or was it possibly painted on the Isle of
Man, in the Hebrides or elsewhere on the British Isles?
I may add that from my point of view, we have the duty to preserve rare genetic
characteristics such as 4-hornedness in sheep. Fortunately, quite a few are still found in
Iceland. A few individuals, mainly colored, are found in some flocks, and I know one
farmer who has been concentrating on the breeding of 4-horned sheep for nearly 50 years.
Most of them are brown-piebald. There was a 4-horned ram in the AI services several years
ago and it may be timely to offer such possibilities in the near future. Thus semen could
be made available to breeders of Icelandic sheep in North America.
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