— The Openherd Team
Poppy and Zane the Jacob lambs
Sheep, Navajo-Churro, Ewe Lamb (female) | Grey-and-Tan
Hosanna is a single polled ewe lamb out of Chief and Hazel. She is full sister to twins SHF Sierra and SHF Shilah. She was born grey-and-tan, but she seems to have turned... silver? Hosey is an escape artist. She can squeeze through a six-inch opening like a cat! She does this so often that it's routine for me to open the sheep gate and let her run by me to go back in. She always has been adventurous and active. She still has those tendencies in addition to the skittish Navajo-Churro genes.Navajo-Churros were first brought to the New World by Spanish conquistadors, making them the first sheep here. Over time, multiple native American tribes raided and traded for them, but the Navajos made the most use of them. They were nearly eradicated by the U.S. government in an attempt to subdue the Navajos, but some surviving sheep hid among the southwestern canyons. Some were also brought west during the Gold Rush.During the Great Depression, one third of all livestock were slaughtered by the U.S. government, nearly eradicating the breed again. It wasn't until the 1970s that some of the sheep scattered in the southwest canyons were developed into the Navajo-Churros we raise today.If you ever wondered why they can be flighty, I believe that is the answer: they're descended from two hundred years of sheep that survived by hiding in canyons.While I try to give ours Navajo and Spanish names to honor their heritage, Hosanna was born on Palm Sunday, so I decided to honor that with her name.
Updated 10/2/2023