Page 22 - NORDIC SAFARI CLUB CHAPTER NEWSLETTER 1st QUARTER 2021

SCI Measuring Metodes

In this artical seria. We will have a look at

the SCI measuring methodes

- Method 11 -

For wild sheep, aoudad and tur

I. LENGTH OF HORN

Measure the length of each horn on its outer curve. With most sheep, the line of measurement is on the
front surface of the horn fairly close to the frontal-orbital edge (or ridge), which is the one that begins on
the forehead. Measure from the lowest point at the base of the horn to the tip, following the hairlike grain
of the horn material.

Do not deviate from the direction of the grain; it must be followed carefully the full length of the
measurement. Keep the cable or tape tight; do not press it down into depressions.

With Cyprian mouflon, Armenian mouflon, blue sheep, aoudad, east Caucasian tur and many *mid-
Caucasian tur, the measurement differs from that of most sheep in that it incorporates the “three inch
rule” (Fig. 2) at the beginning, then pivots and follows the frontal-nuchal edge (or ridge) of the horn to the

tip. (The frontal-nuchal edge does not begin on the forehead, but near the center of the skull where the
horns are nearest each other.) To locate the pivot point, measure three inches (7.62 cm) from the base of
the frontal-nuchal edge toward the tip, and mark this point with a pencil. The actual measurement then
begins at the lowest point of the horn base on the forehead and goes in a direct line to the pivot point
(pencil mark), crossing the grain of the horn enroute, then pivots and follows the frontalnuchal edge to the
horn tip. Keep the cable or tape tight; do not press it down into depressions. The three-inch rule was
adopted in 1987. Before then, our instructions were not specific enough for these rather confusing horns,
and different measurers were interpreting them differently. The purpose of the three-inch rule is to ensure
that all these horns will be measured the same way.

If the horn tip is broken so that its far end is not on the line of measurement, it should be carded off; do
not measure across the flattened end of a broken horn tip.

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