Herdwick TUP.

At the Borrowdale Shepherds’ Meet on Sunday I came across this splendidly horned Herdwick Tup. In the local vernacular all male sheep are known as tups, hence the mating season is ‘Tupping Time’.

One of the useful facts I learned is that all Herdwick tups have horns whilst the ladies don’t; sometimes the horn can turn to grow into the face at which point it will be trimmed to prevent damage. Trimming is considered good sheep management and does not detract from the value of the beast.

24 September 2014