Long Wool Sheep

There are many breeds of long wool sheep. Longwool Sheep produce some of the best wool for hand spinning into yarn. Wool from longwool sheep is generally very strong and durable. It is popular with knitters and weavers alike. Hand spinners adore many long wools for their strength, lustre, and sffinity for dye. Many dolls have locks from long wool sheep. Long wool breeds of sheep are best suited for life in a cool environment where high rainfall creates abundant forage.

Wensleydale Sheep

Distinguished by their deep blue faces and ears, Wensleydale sheep are a rare breed. Wensleydales are sought after for their long curly fleeces. They grow up to 20 pounds of lustrous wool, so much in a year that it can almost reach the ground. Wensleydale wool is free from kemp (the coarse weak scratchy fibers that make some wools itchy). It is also quite strong and easy to spin and similar to mohair. This makes wensleydale wool the most desired and valuable longwool in the world. It is a hand spinners delight. Wensleydale sheep are a very large breed. Slow to mature, they can reach 300 pounds. Although they are large, their calm demeanor and polled heads make them manageable. Wensleydale sheep have the highest genetic resistance to scrapie of all recognized breed in the UK. Only the most resistant lines are allowed into the US. Wensleydales have very few lambing problems and have strong mothering instincts. First developed in the early 19th century in North Yorkshire, Wensleydale sheep have only been in the US since late 1999 and are still rare world-wide.

Teeswater Sheep

Similar in wool quality and original purpose to Wensleydale sheep, the Teeswaters are used primarily as a wool-improving-sire bred to hill ewes of Britian. Teeswater sheep are easily distinguished from the Wensleydales by their white and black faces. The American Teeswater Sheep Association has similar standards to the North American Wensleydale Sheep Association as to breeding and registration standards. Both breed associations have set up very strict standards that ensure quality for years to come.

Teeswater sheep are quite new to North America and still very rare here. Wensleydale sheep have been here for a decade now, but they too are rare on this continent.

Commited to Excellence:

Long Wool Ranch is commited to the highest standards of organic farming and selection of breeding stock. We only breed the ewes that possess the most desireable qualities of each breed. This ensures that our wensleydale and teeswater sheep are of the highest quality possible. As we do not have a 96% or higher (96 percent and higher animals are considered pure breed) Ram of either breed, we breed our ewes by artificial insemination using 100% pure semen imported from Britian. This is an expensive process, but the cost is worth it. We will soon have a flock of very high percentage blood that display the most desireable traits of each breed. We only sell the best wool produced by our sheep.