greatwestern
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LAST EDITED ON Jun-15-11 AT 11:26PM (MST)[p]This is a very rare-for-region young Class III...the drop he has is phenomenal in a range that normally produces a high majority of rams with very tight to medium curls, though an anomalistic 10 year old Drooper measuring 186 was killed in this unit a few years ago. Notice how this dude's latest segments stay quite long even as they gain substantial mass
Also notice how large bodied Jr is in comparison to the 'normal' rams several years his elder. An example of an increasingly rare 'dispersal' phenotype in this long established population
At this stage, his horns look a lot like the kind of 'straight drop' rams depicted in many ancient aboriginal petroglyphs across the Southwest; a type that remains somewhat common in the Desert sheep of Utah, some of which retain this characteristic into old age...such rams don't curl much forward and up, esp. if broomed to any degree
This vestigal genetic does indeed show itself from time to time in this area, but it seems to take increasingly 'serendipitous' circumstances to bring a male lamb of this particular conformation into fruition...the right mother, the right stud, and good range conditions (most especially for the ewe) preceeding conception between them. And of course dudes like this need to be allowed to fully mature in order to achieve their maximum potential, both as breeders and as trophies
**sorry for edit---having a hell of a time uploading photos on this thing!
Also notice how large bodied Jr is in comparison to the 'normal' rams several years his elder. An example of an increasingly rare 'dispersal' phenotype in this long established population
At this stage, his horns look a lot like the kind of 'straight drop' rams depicted in many ancient aboriginal petroglyphs across the Southwest; a type that remains somewhat common in the Desert sheep of Utah, some of which retain this characteristic into old age...such rams don't curl much forward and up, esp. if broomed to any degree
This vestigal genetic does indeed show itself from time to time in this area, but it seems to take increasingly 'serendipitous' circumstances to bring a male lamb of this particular conformation into fruition...the right mother, the right stud, and good range conditions (most especially for the ewe) preceeding conception between them. And of course dudes like this need to be allowed to fully mature in order to achieve their maximum potential, both as breeders and as trophies
**sorry for edit---having a hell of a time uploading photos on this thing!
