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Border Cheviots
Borders are an alert breed, with characteristic "rabbit ears" that point straight up in the air. Cheviots are one of the smaller commercial breeds, weighing between 130 and 200 pounds at maturity. This manageable size makes them incredibly efficient grass to lamb converters. Cheviots are a popular choice among herding dog trainers because they stay "fresh" longer than other breeds when being worked frequently by stock dogs.
Cheviot ewes experience few lambing problems, the lambs are vigorous, and ewes are fiercely protective and attentive mothers. Wet conditions are intolerable to many breeds of sheep and cause scald (a condition of the feet caused by terminally wet conditions - similar to athlete's foot). The Cheviots however, have hard black hooves and a heritage of suffering through wet conditions without developing lameness.
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The Cheviot
breed is one of the oldest in the world. When the Spanish Armada set sail to
conquer England they carried sheep in the hull of the ship for meat rations.
When one ship wrecked on the shores of England some of these ration sheep swam
to shore - hence the legend that the Cheviot is from up "out of the sea". These
few sheep spread out and thrived in the Cheviot Hills, in the Border Region
between England and Scotland. The breed's history here in America is equally
rich, the first Cheviots being imported to Canada and New York in the
1840's by Scottish immigrants. The Cheviot, because of its many desirable traits
has been the foundation of many of Scotland's hardiest breeds. 
The Cheviot has
a medium fine fleece and a generous staple length (4 to 5 inches) which made it
the foundation fiber of the world renowned Scotch Tweed industry. Cheviots are
shorn once a year, usually in the spring before lambing and yield an average of
8 pounds per head.