 In 1986, a breeder, Robert Mock, began a search for the sheep with bloodlines that conformed to the original Southdowns.After a four-year search, two small flocks totaling 26 sheep were located; however, this group was not able to provide a sustainable gene pool.Mock continued his extensive search, and by 1990, he was able to find a total of 350 of the Southdown sheep that had the original bloodlines, and many of them still carried their original Southdown registration papers recognized by the UK.