A young handler has collected several awards for his rare breed British Saddleback pigs in his first full season on the show circuit. Bridgette Baker meets him and his herd.
On Christmas morning 2018, after asking his parents for two pigs for Christmas, Seb Carr woke up to four pigs complete with an ark and trough. Now, at 12 years-old, he has nicknamed his herd Sebs Saddlebacks and his family have expanded their smallholding in Dorset as the herd has grown. They now have two boars, five sows, two gilts and the offspring to care for.
Seb and his mother Lissy share the highs and lows of pig keeping on Instagram and Facebook and, with his contagious enthusiasm for his animals, Seb has appeared on BBC Countryfile and spoken on the radio about his high welfare practices, inspiring everyone he meets.
But it is showing that he has really fallen in love with. His show-team stars are two gilts Daffodil and Rose.
For a show pig, you want no white above their hocks, an even underline of domino teats - preferably 12-14, and no wonky teats, says Seb. And their shape needs to be nice and stocky, no dippy backs.
Daffodil was tapped out for Supreme Show Champion Pig at the Mid-Somerset Show, and at the Sherborne Rare Breeds Survival Trust show. She has qualified for national level competition, and Rose also clinched reserve qualifier for the Autumn Malvern Show, where the Saddleback Breeders Club is hosting its championships. After the disappointment of not being able to show his stock for two years due to Covid restrictions, Seb is very proud to be able to showcase his beautiful pigs.
Daffodils sire is Berwyn, Sebs beloved boar that he sold in spring 2022 to a lovely breeding home in Exmoor. Berwyn is also the sire of Sebs two eight-month-old showing pigs, Buster and Dolly, who competed successfully with Daffodil and Rose at the Royal Bath & West Show.
I had never shown at the Bath and West before, so we did well for our first outing there, he says.
Buster is one of the most amazing pigs ever. He resembles Berwyn in every way. He has a lovely temperament and loves cuddles.
Success in the showring
Buster achieved first in the January-born boar class at the Mid-Somerset Show. It is nice showing boars as you have something that not many other people may have, says Seb.
Although Buster will be sold at the end of the show season, Seb is content about the young boars next chapter. He will live a nice life in the New Forest, rooting around and being happy.
The new boar, Vinnie, from the Viscount bloodline, has produced four litters since he joined the herd in Spring 2021. Seb has a keen interest in breeding choices and what attributes will be passed onto the next generation from different bloodlines. Some of the mixes are quite interesting, he says.
He knows breeding selective characteristics into a herd is not only good for showing, but for demonstrating responsible breeding practices, with the show ring the place to represent the breed.
Vinnie has a nice lozenge shape and good upright pasterns, which means he helps keep these characteristics in his offspring, says Seb. Berwyn was shorter and chunkier so by crossing his daughters with Vinnie, I am getting even nicer shaped piglets.
Preparing for a show is time-consuming, but Sebs pigs always sparkle for the ring. We wash the pigs the day before a show. I use Fairy washing up liquid and a bucket of water, says Seb. I scrub them down with the sponge, then brush; it can be a pain to clean the trotters as they are covered in mud.
Before we go into the ring, I put baby oil on them, so they are nice and shiny, but only on the black markings, as it does not really work on the white. Lastly, I give them a final brush to take any straw off from the pens, and they are ready for the ring."
Starting out in farming
But as a youngster who has found a passion for the industry, what is his advice for anyone looking to get into showing themselves?
Do not get down if anything goes wrong, he says. Make sure your pigs are in the right mindset as well as yourself, otherwise the pig may be a bit naughty.
Showing all day can be very tiring and a lot of socialising with the public is involved.
Seb has an old head on young shoulders, and we are very proud of him and the way he interacts with the public, the breeders and judges, says Lissy.
Managing to juggle the pigs with school is another aspect, but typically he or one of his parents will cover pig duties in the morning, then he will complete the chores after school. His father, Nick, who is an engineer, has built smart pig housing with welfare in mind - arks, farrowing sheds with electricity, cameras, and heat lamps, and pens with moving gates to allow ease of movement. Lissy has recently moved from a full-time agricultural teaching role to part time hours to have more time to assist Seb in husbandry work.
They feed the pigs a milled mix of barley, wheat, soya, peas, and maize, with molasses, vitamins, and minerals added, produced at a local farm. Seb, under the supervision of his parents, also cultivates crops for his outdoor pig pens. I try to plant a nice mix that contains turnips, kale, Italian ryegrass - all the things that pigs like, he says. The pigs root it all up and eat it - they really like it.
The stock go to a local abattoir and butcher - he only finishes a few pigs for his family and some loyal customers, but also sells many weaners to other pig keepers for finishing.
And having recently lost a very rare sow Pansy, of the rare Fidra bloodline which only has 14 registered sows in existence - he is passionate about conserving this line. He has trained her six orphaned piglets to feed on milk in trays every four hours between 6am and 11pm and is hopeful about two gilts meeting show standard and producing their own offspring in the future.
But in the future, Seb hopes to keep his herd numbers the same but expand his reach through showing a list which is probably only set to keep on going.
I have tonnes of shows I want to go to, firstly the Royal Welsh, then Great Yorkshire, Cornwall and Devon, he says.
