The Bells began Ewephoric in 1985, but they have owned sheep since 1965. Starting out with Suffolks, then branching out into other meat breeds, the duo settled upon Polled Dorset sheep in 1988. The Dorset breed is unlike many others with their out-of-season lambing and terrific dispositions. Ewephoric Polled Dorsets produced some of the finest Dorset Sheep in the country. They traveled extensively showing their show flocks in the early to late 1990's. Selling on a national level began in 1995. The Ewephoric Polled Dorset flock produced many breed champions in addition to National Champions through shows and sales across the country.
In 2003, the flock began its metamorphosis from the Polled Dorset to the Dorset Horn. Ewephoric Horned Dorsets include approximately 50 head of breeding females and various ages of adolescent sheep. The flock has in its stud battery some very noteworthy National Champion stud rams.
Gregg & Marlene moved from California to Texas in 2012, moving 120 head of Horned Dorsets with their lambs. The flock has downsized but still, offer breeding stock throughout the year.
Most importantly, we do not believe in offering to the public any individual that we could not use ourselves in our own flock. That being said, we are very picky about our breeding sale sheep and typically scrape off the top of the lamb crop and yearlings when we consign them to sales. We want your experience working with us to be a positive one. If we take good care of you, there is a very good chance you will return for more breeding stock in the future or perhaps tell a friend about us. Most of our clients come from repeat sales and word-of-mouth, so we have nothing to gain by misrepresenting our sheep. We will never promote inferior or left-over sheep. EWEPHORIC HAS AN EXCELLENT REPUTATION IN THE INDUSTRY. Ask our customers!
YES! All of our sheep carry a deep guarantee. We assure each sheep to be a breeder. See our policy for stud rams on the policy page. In the case of infertility, we will exchange or refund depending on the situation. Stud rams are much harder to exchange, but in case we do not have something available at that time, arrangements may be made for a "pick" from another upcoming lamb crop. We understand events can happen and we are very easy to work with. Ewephoric Horned Dorsets are as their registration paperwork specifies. We keep accurate breeding records and registration paperwork will always be precise. Ewephoric Horned Dorsets have lots of "R" in their genetics. We use only "RR" stud rams. (This is the symbol for the Scrapie double resistance gene.)
Each Ewephoric lamb will hold their lambs' teeth for a minimum of 12 months. Normally it can be more like 13-15 months in many cases. Is there ever a situation where one of our Horned Dorsets will not hold their lambs' teeth 12 months? Unfortunately, there are rare circumstances where ram lambs may break their teeth early; not because of over aging, but because of stress factors. Rams and ewes that are traveled, shown or stressed in a different environment may drop their lambs' teeth early. This statement does not just cover us; it is a situation that can happen to any breeder's sheep. If teeth issues take place with one of your purchases from us or another breeder, please give them the benefit of the doubt before thinking the worst about the breeder misrepresenting their animal. We have yet to have this happen with one of our Horned Dorsets, but stresses may have a reaction on your new purchase. Your Horned Dorset from Ewephoric! will be guaranteed healthy and ready for you to take to your ranch whether or not you buy privately or through a sale. (If you have questions regarding a ram's fertility when moving him from our state to yours, please feel free to ask questions. Environment and travel may affect your ram's or ewe's ability to breed or conceive that first year after purchase. See our POLICIES PAGE.)
In addition to the Horned Dorsets, Marlene designs many items depicting sheep and elements from her widely acclaimed photography. Ewephoric occasionally offers a full-color catalog of their gift line, but because items may change regularly, a catalog is not always available. Most all of the products featured on this website are original artistic designs by Marlene including but not limited to, gallery wrap art/photography, prints, drawings, and paintings.
Ewephoric Studio works opened to capture Marlene's love of nature. Signed-by-the-artist prints are featured on the website for sale to the public. Marlene is also an accomplished author. Marlene is currently shopping her new novel, STOLEN OBSESSION for representation. To sign up for updates on her author website visit: www.marlenembell.com or go to the Facebook page: fb.me/marlenembell.