Salving sheep - why did they do it?

Old Shep

Member
Livestock Farmer
I have been lucky enough to obtain copies of a diary written in the 1870's by a man who farmed the land which we now have. It's a really interesting read, but some things have me puzzled. In November/December each year he bought in some grease and some tar and made "sheep salve" which he proceeded to "salve" the sheep with. Does anyone have a clue what this is about? He farmed in the Pennines some horned sheep but don't know the exact breed. They also did a lot of hobbling sheep so I guess the walls and fences weren't up to much!
 
A mixture of tar 1/3rd to butter or fat 2/3rds applied to the sheeps skin to kill and deter skin parasites . was a slow process to apply by hand and men went around the farms doing this in the late autumn . Don't know about the hobbling ? Wonder if it was before the enclosure act to stop sheep wandering overnight ?
 
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Dry Rot

Member
Livestock Farmer
A mixture of tar 1/3rd to butter or fat 2/3rds applied to the sheeps skin to kill and deter skin parasites . was a slow process to apply by hand and men went around the farms doing this in the late autumn . Don't know about the hobbling ? Wonder if it was before the enclosure act to stop sheep wandering overnight ?

Contraception? It would be difficult for a ram to do it's job handicapped in that way. Around here (Scottish Highlands), apparently the rams would wear a skirt fot the same reason.
 
You can a modern leather version to put under the ram to stop serving plus all ewe hoggs were breaked to stop rams . 1870 in the penines may have been Lonk sheep bit early for Swaledales and Dalesbreds could maybe have been Pennistones (white faced woodlands now )
 

Old Shep

Member
Livestock Farmer
The waterproofing sounds likely knowing the weather here! I doubt it was contraception as he losed the tups a fortnight previous and if tar was involved the tup might be stuck permanently!

Other puzzling phrases are spang'd cows which I'm led to believe are roan markings like a shorthorn? And he gets either bull or wye calves, wye must be heifer.

Obviously back then as now it was hard to make a living with 40 acres, so he worked on the roads and was the local gravedigger.
 

Old Shep

Member
Livestock Farmer
A mixture of tar 1/3rd to butter or fat 2/3rds applied to the sheeps skin to kill and deter skin parasites . was a slow process to apply by hand and men went around the farms doing this in the late autumn . Don't know about the hobbling ? Wonder if it was before the enclosure act to stop sheep wandering overnight ?

Ah now I wonder if this salve deters lice and scab mites. I know he had scab because he had to go to the police and tell them!

Some of the dry stone walls were just being built but some were already up because he talks about walling up gaps. Perhaps sheep had for generations been used to being on moorland and hadn't quite got the hang of respecting walls and fences.
 
I remember reading an old book about farming in the Welsh borders where they were rubbing something similar into the sheep's wool and that was definitely for scab prevention/treatment. Took them a long time too! Ewe lambs had squares of sacking tied into the wool below their tails or the rams wore a leather 'apron'
 

reverand

Member
Location
East lancs hills
Hobbling is tying legs up, just enough to stop them jumping. Horned sheep would probably be country breds or lonks. Salving for parasite control.
I’ve just read an article about a chap who shepherded my farm, he died 100 years ago and aged 20 ish he had both his hands ripped off in an accident. He talked of washing sheep in spring, he looked after hundreds of sheep and some how lit a pipe
 

primmiemoo

Member
Location
Devon
If interested, there's a section about salving, and something called smitting at www.rentapeasant.co.uk . They come across as an informed bunch. I think they were involved in a programme with Ruth Goodman et al about mediaeval farming.

And there's a sheep manual from the 1830s by a man called William Youatt that mentions a similar salve as a proof against scab. It comes up in a gloogle.

Presuming the tar is a thick version of Stockholm tar? It would have been an extremely important and versatile treatment for man and beast before antibiotics.
 

Gator

Never Forgotten
Honorary Member
Location
Lancashire
Dad used to hobble sheep when he ran the open moor before, when he was a lad, as @reverand said mostly Lonks and Gritstones.
He used to talk talk about taking them to the river to wast them before clipping. Specksavers spring to mind:LOL:
Used tell me how they walked all the lambs and ewes 6/7 mile through streets to the market, couldnt imagain doing that today
 

Dry Rot

Member
Livestock Farmer
Sadly, a lot of this sort of stuff was not considered important enough to write about. Going back even further in time, not so many could read or write, let alone have the time or inclination to put it down on paper.

I started reading an old falconry book from the 16th century as that is something I am particularly interested in. Aparently, it was dictated by a 'hawk whisperer' to a scribe so he could write it down with one of his client's paying. It was so fascinating, I ended up putting the whole book into modern English, published it, and recovered my costs in three months.
 

Nithsdale

Member
Livestock Farmer
Sadly, a lot of this sort of stuff was not considered important enough to write about. Going back even further in time, not so many could read or write, let alone have the time or inclination to put it down on paper.



Makes you wonder what little things/jobs we do today will be forgotten/unknown about in another 100 years...


Even now not everything is written down, because we take doing it for granted. Maybe not the job itself, but the way it's done
 

Dry Rot

Member
Livestock Farmer
I was watching a program on TV last night about Lavenham (I think). At one time one of the richest wool towns in England because of the wool/weaving trade. Then the trade collapsed which left the town impoverished. Because of that, they didn't have the money to up grade the buildings. So now it has one of the richest collections of timber frame buildings in the country because they weren't "improved"!

It's a funny old world! Architecture preserved through failure!

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Lavenham/
 

Nithsdale

Member
Livestock Farmer
I was watching a program on TV last night about Lavenham (I think). At one time one of the richest wool towns in England because of the wool/weaving trade. Then the trade collapsed which left the town impoverished. Because of that, they didn't have the money to up grade the buildings. So now it has one of the richest collections of timber frame buildings in the country because they weren't "improved"!

It's a funny old world! Architecture preserved through failure!

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Lavenham/


Similar example of that is Wanlockhead and Leadhills. 2 small, very remote villages in the Lowther Hills. Found on the Mennock Pass, part of the Southern Upland Way.

Thrived and died on the back of the lead mining there. Nothing really has changed in over 120+ years
 

Y Fan Wen

Member
Location
N W Snowdonia
Dad used to hobble sheep when he ran the open moor before, when he was a lad, as @reverand said mostly Lonks and Gritstones.
He used to talk talk about taking them to the river to wast them before clipping. Specksavers spring to mind:LOL:
Used tell me how they walked all the lambs and ewes 6/7 mile through streets to the market, couldnt imagain doing that today
I have helped wash sheep before shearing. BWMB used to have different prices for washed and unwashed. After power clippers became universal, the practice died out. There are still many washing places in the uplands.
 

egbert

Member
Livestock Farmer
I was watching a program on TV last night about Lavenham (I think). At one time one of the richest wool towns in England because of the wool/weaving trade. Then the trade collapsed which left the town impoverished. Because of that, they didn't have the money to up grade the buildings. So now it has one of the richest collections of timber frame buildings in the country because they weren't "improved"!

It's a funny old world! Architecture preserved through failure!

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/Lavenham/
exactly so, the oak framed buildings are a sight to behold
 

egbert

Member
Livestock Farmer
Hobbling is tying legs up, just enough to stop them jumping. Horned sheep would probably be country breds or lonks. Salving for parasite control.
I’ve just read an article about a chap who shepherded my farm, he died 100 years ago and aged 20 ish he had both his hands ripped off in an accident. He talked of washing sheep in spring, he looked after hundreds of sheep and some how lit a pipe
got a few could do with hobbling now.....
 

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