Oxford Standard Of Excellence

Oxford Standard Of Excellence

General Appearance -

The Oxford has a bold, masculine head, well set on a strong neck, with poll well-covered with wool, and adorned by a top knot. The face, ears and legs are a uniform dark color. The ears are of medium length and covered with some wool. The shoulders are broad, with a broad chest, well forward. The Oxford is an excellent meat and wool producer. The wool is compact, free of any black fiber and of good staple length. The back is full and level, the ribs well sprung, the barrel deep, thick and long, with a straight underline.

The conformation of the Oxford is large, stylish and long-bodied with moderate depth. The Oxford shows heavy muscling qualities. Particular emphasis is placed on the length of hind saddle. It is heavy in the loin and carries heavy muscling throughout, especially through the rear quarters. The top is straight and the chest full.

The Oxford walks with a bold, alert movement with the head held high. The legs are strong in bone, short in pasterns and correctly placed. Again, it must be emphasized that the Oxford possesses a heavy loin with particular emphasis on the length, thickness and muscling of the hind saddle. When fully matured and in good condition, rams are to weigh over 250 pounds and ewes over 200 pounds.

Color Variation -

The typical Oxford brown has no suggestion of black about it. Shades of coloration range from steel gray to dark brown. The color of the face, ears and legs match.

Skin -

The skin is bright pink and healthy looking.

Fleece -

Over the entire body the fleece is compact, of uniform quality and with good staple length. Fleece of 3/8 to 1/4 blood is preferred. The fleece is white and carries sufficient yolk to keep it in good condition. An Oxford is expected to shear 10 to 12 pounds annually of quality fleece.

Neck -

The neck is well proportioned, free from wrinkles and smoothly blended into the shoulders.

Shoulders -

The shoulders are compact, well muscled, smooth and neatly laid in on top and level with the back. (Shoulders bred too wide can make the lambing process difficult; be mindful of this trait when breeding.)

Chest -

The chest is wide and deep showing good heart and lung capacity, but not to appear heavy front-ended.

Back -

The back is long, straight, wide and heavily muscled.

Ribs -

The ribs are well sprung with a wide loin.

Hips -

The hips are wide apart and smoothly laid in.

Hind Quarters -

The hind quarters are large, full and well muscled with particular emphasis on outside muscling.

Belly -

The barrel is deep, thick and long with a straight underline; the belly is covered with wool (allowed to be sheared when fitted if preferred by breeder).

Scrotum -

The scrotum is good sized, well hung and covered with wool. It carries two normal, well-developed testicles.

Head -

The head is of moderate length and width for the size of the body, balanced and carried well - masculine in the rams and feminine in the ewes.

Eyes -

The eyes are large, clear and fairly prominent.

Face -

The face is open with wool on each side of the face. The profile of the nose is straight, not roman. It is desired that the top of the nose carry white hairs.

Ears -

The ears are medium length, carried straight out with a cover of wool or hair that matches the color of the face and legs.

Legs -

The legs are straight, heavy boned and standing wide apart, but correctly placed. They are covered with white wool down to the knees, showing a wool covering below the knee/hock with color to match the face and ears.

Pasterns -

The pasterns are straight, strong and short with no sign of weakness.

Hoofs -

The hoofs are dark in color. The feet are sound.

Discriminations -

*Wool blindness *Wrinkles *Scurs *Colored fibers in fleece *Post legged *Sickle hocked *Slick ears *Long, pointed ears *Extremely coarse or loose wool

Disqualifications -

*Speckled face, ears or legs (white blotches) *Black or brown spots on skin *One or both testicles not descended *Inverted eyelids *Incisor teeth not meeting dental pad *Ears drooping or carried forward *Long, weak pasterns *Black face, ears, legs *Roman nose

Scale of Judging for Oxford Sheep

General Conformation - 65%; Breed Character & Structural Correctness - 25%; Wool - 10%