• 18 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Parts of a Sheep

A sheep from the side, with the part names a livestock judging chart uses.

Parts of a Sheep

Name Date

Tap any part to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Poll
  2. Face
  3. Muzzle
  4. Top of shoulder
  5. Back
  6. Loin
  7. Rump
  8. Dock
  9. Shoulder
  10. Ribs
  11. Leg of lamb
  12. Breast
  13. Fore flank
  14. Belly
  15. Hind flank
  16. Knee
  17. Hock
  18. Pastern

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the parts of a goat

All 18 parts on the diagram

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Head 3

  1. Poll The poll is the top of the head, between the ears. A sheep with no horns is called polled.
  2. Face The face runs from the eyes down to the muzzle.
  3. Muzzle Some charts label the nose and the mouth here instead.

Top line 5

  1. Top of shoulder The first part of the top line, just behind the neck.
  2. Back Judging charts also call the back the rack. It lies between the top of the shoulder and the loin.
  3. Loin Comes after the back and before the rump along the top line.
  4. Rump The rump runs from the loin back to the dock.
  5. Dock The dock is the tail. Shortening a lamb's tail is called docking.

Side 3

  1. Shoulder Lies below the top of the shoulder, in front of the ribs.
  2. Ribs The ribs lie below the back. One chart marks the last rib, where the ribs end and the flank begins.
  3. Leg of lamb The charts name this part as the cut of meat is named. It lies below the rump.

Underside 4

  1. Breast At the very front of the underside, ahead of the front legs.
  2. Fore flank Fore means front: the fore flank is the flank at the front.
  3. Belly The belly is the middle of the underline.
  4. Hind flank Some charts call this the rear flank.

Legs 3

  1. Knee On a sheep chart the knee is on the front leg only.
  2. Hock The hock is the joint of the hind leg that points backward.
  3. Pastern Every leg has a pastern, just above the hoof.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 on labeled charts of a sheep, a name kept only where two of these use it: (1) a Kansas vocational agriculture curriculum, transparency master Parts of a Sheep, scanned page read at https://archive.org/details/micro_IA41153527_0220 (poll, face, top of shoulder, back or rack, loin, rump, dock, shoulder, ribs, leg of lamb, breast, fore flank, rear flank, belly, knee, hock, pastern); (2) a North Dakota animal science unit, Parts of a Sheep, courtesy of Vocational Instructional Services, Texas A&M University, scanned page read at https://archive.org/details/micro_IA41153606_0743 (poll, face, muzzle, top of shoulder, back or rack, loin, rump, dock, shoulder, ribs, leg of lamb, breast, fore flank, hind flank, knee, hock, pastern); (3) an Illinois vocational agriculture core curriculum, answer key to Identify Parts of a Sheep, https://archive.org/details/micro_IA41153523_0024 (muzzle, face, poll, shoulder-top, back, ribs, loins, rump, dock, breast); (4) a livestock judging textbook, Judging Livestock, Figure 4-1 Parts of a sheep, passages read through the Internet Archive full-text search, https://archive.org/details/judginglivestock0000yout (face, top of shoulder, breast, rump, dock, hind flank, belly). Other facts: Wikipedia, Sheep and Glossary of sheep husbandry, text only, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheep (polled, docking, ewe, ram, wether, lamb). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no chart traced. Licence: own work

How it works

These are the names used to describe a sheep at a show or in an agriculture class. Most are areas of the body with no line around them, so the drawing marks each with a number.

Read the full guide

Head, top line, side, underside, legs

Numbers 1 to 3 are on the head: the poll on top, the face and the muzzle. Numbers 4 to 8 run along the top line from front to rear: top of shoulder, back, loin, rump and dock, the tail. Numbers 9 to 11 are on the side: the shoulder, the ribs and the leg of lamb. Numbers 12 to 15 run along the underside: the breast, the fore flank, the belly and the hind flank. Numbers 16 to 18 are on the legs: the knee in front, the hock behind and the pastern above a hoof.

  • Fore means front and hind means rear. The fore flank is behind the front leg; the hind flank is in front of the hind leg.
  • Back, then loin, then rump: the top line is named in that order from the shoulder to the tail.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a sheep?

On the head, the poll, face and muzzle. Along the top, the top of shoulder, back, loin, rump and dock. On the side, the shoulder, ribs and leg. Underneath, the breast, flanks and belly. On the legs, the knee, hock and pastern.

What is the dock on a sheep?

The dock is the sheep's tail. On many farm sheep the tail was shortened soon after birth, which is called docking, so the dock is short. A sheep's tail hangs down, even when it is short.

Where is the poll on a sheep?

The poll is the top of the head, between the ears. A sheep that has no horns is called polled, and many breeds are naturally polled.

What is the difference between the back and the loin?

Both are parts of the top line. The back, which charts also call the rack, comes first, behind the top of the shoulder. The loin comes next, between the back and the rump.

What are male and female sheep called?

An adult female is a ewe and an adult male is a ram. A young sheep is a lamb. A male that has been neutered is called a wether.

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