Halter Breaking Honey the lamb
Growing up I have always loved animals. We had black and yellow labs my entire childhood for hunting and family dogs. I wasn’t involved in 4-H or FFA during my growing up, but always admired those programs. We are excited for our three children to belong to these organizations in the near future.
Our county fair in MN was one of my favorite places to attend during summer months. A big turn out during the month of August, along with our wonderful PRCA rodeo in June. Many wonderful memories of Buffalo, MN and the Wright County Fair. I always loved seeing the horses, cows and sheep walk by, the ribbons and the showmanship. The lifelong memories and friendships that must have been made being involved in those organizations!
Living on our ranch, I decided I wanted to give my curiosity some insight. I wanted to start halter breaking one of our sheep. Halter breaking is something I have never done before. It is something I have only watched in amazement, thinking about all the work, trust and bonding that went into being able to lead an animal around. One of our bottle lambs, “Honey” seemed like a great fit to give halter breaking a try.
Let me refresh your memory. She and her brothers were the first set of triplets we had born this year. The fourth lamb born this season. She was the littlest of the three and needed help warming up! I snuggled her in our entry way for hours. Our only girl bottle lamb, she holds a soft spot for me from the very beginning! Let me explain.
I am a triplet, the oldest by two minutes; the smallest at birth. Although one of all girls and the first one born via c-section. We were 11 weeks early and very tiny at birth. I weighed 2 lbs 4 oz. Honey was closer to 6 lbs which is still small for a lamb. The goal for Honey is to be an interactive sheep, leading her, brushing, maybe even bringing her to schools or nursing homes. I would love for her to be an educational sheep since my background was originally in education.
Some may ask, “what’s the point? Why are you doing that?” Halter breaking allows Honey to be more familiar with me and others she may come in contact with. Allowing them to be able to pet and love on her as a way of therapy or sensory output. Being around our sheep is a calming release for me, I can only imagine it would be for others as well. In the end, if I can reach one person or teach them something they didn’t know beforehand, my job is a success.
