Sheep Treats and (At Last!) a Horse Sale

Now is the time of year when the sheep all get fed extra, to boost their vitality before breeding season.

Since the sheep didn't get their fair share of the pasture this year (due to the horses needing almost all of it), they are a little thinner than I would like them to be right now. So lately I've been giving them treats.

Whenever I go outside, I'll go bend down a leafy branch or two and the sheep will rush to devour the leaves in a mad feeding frenzy reminiscent of a pack of woolly piranhas. The maple tree in the back yard is their favorite, but they'll eat most anything leafy. Moriah, in particular, is fond of honeysuckle fronds.

They all go nuts for the big, bean-like seed pods from the row of locust trees by the driveway, but those are not quite ripe enough to start dropping off the trees yet.

Today, when we went to the feed store to get more sheep feed, we also picked up a couple of protein blocks, one for the ram paddock and one for the ewe paddock. No need to wonder if the sheep are going to like them: they were crowding around, nibbling on the edges of the block before I could even finish getting the wrapper off. I guess the blocks must smell really good!

Later today while I was doing the evening chores, Ken came out to tell me I had a phone call. It was a woman calling about our yearling colt Shane. Since he's priced fairly low, he does tend to get a few inquiries every now and then, but usually nobody really serious.

To my amazement, this woman went from asking a few basic questions straight to asking if she could send a deposit. She said she'd seen Shane's photo months ago in his for sale ad, and hadn't been able to stop thinking about him.

So, assuming all else goes as planned, it looks like we've FINALLY made a horse sale. I want Shane to do well in his new home, so I'll spend time working with him over the next couple of weeks, refreshing all the ground work he's already been taught, and exposing him to some new experiences, so that he'll be better prepared to deal with the big shock of leaving his birthplace for the first time and going away to a new home.

Of course, his sale price is so low that the money is not going to do more than pay for about 2 weeks worth of hay for the rest of the herd, but hey, at this point 2 weeks of hay is better than no hay at all!