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Saturday, April 15, 2017

Just Another Crazy Day On The Farm

A year or so ago I found an antique goat cart on eBay.  The plan was to teach Ewen McTeagle or maybe Baaxter how to pull it, but last summer was so hot that it never happened.  I didn't want to wait too long this spring to try it out and in the meantime I picked a different sheep.

I've always thought there was something special about Andy.  He was constantly in trouble over at Final Frontier Farm, but it was like he was on a mission.  We'll never know what that mission was, but by late summer he'd made enough of an impression on me that I brought him home.  

I put Graham's collar on him last year and occasionally led him around the barn lot in the evenings, but nothing more.  He continued to get into trouble on our farm, but usually in ways that made you realize he was a sheep of above average intelligence.  A quick learner.


He was a little afraid of the harness at first, no surprise.  Valerie and I both held a lead to be safe and he settled into it pretty quickly.


We walked around outside.


Auntie Reg brought the cart around while Andy got a good look at it...and decided Reg was doing a fine job pulling it ;-D.


And then we walked around behind it so he could get used to the noise of the metal wheels on gravel.


And then we realized that we were missing 20!


I love this picture.  I'd normally not be wearing a pink shirt but I'd been over at the airport taking pictures in the morning and that's one of my airport shirts.  Great catch by photographer neighbor Jennifer!


We were all smiles here...until the cart came around behind him and he panicked and I couldn't keep hold.  We caught up with him in the barn, got him settled down, put the harness back on and regrouped.  At this point I wasn't sure this was going to work.

I realized though that not only were we asking him to do something scary, but we were doing it in a place he'd never been before.  Since he's familiar with the barn aisle, we figured out a way to work in there.


At first we just got him used to the look of the cart behind him.  Then the sound of it moving. Then the sound of it following him as he moved.  He figured everything out in no time!


We even set the cart shafts into the harness loops so he could feel the weight of the cart and then asked him to walk up and down the aisleway with Reg and Valerie holding the cart into place. We didn't want to clip him in on his first day in case something scared him.  We also lifted the cart off of him to turn around at each end.


I have seldom been as impressed with an animal as I was of Andy this afternoon.  Obviously having really good help made a big difference, but still...this could easily have not been a successful venture. For him to have been so willing to give it a try...well, there's always been something about Andy...

Here is a short video:




23 comments:

Michelle said...

How cool is that!?!

Lisa W said...

Good job, Andy! And everybody else ... especially Reg, we now know that she is a very talented cart puller!

Reneelynn said...

incredible!! and sooooo cute!!

I need orange said...

What a brave and clever boy! Good on ya, Andy!

(ps -- what, no Cheerios??? ;-) )

thecrazysheeplady said...

Valerie had her pockets stuffed with vanilla wafers :-D.

Cheryl West said...

What a good fellow and wonderful support crew. Bravo!
A very Happy Easter to all on the farm.

Lori Skoog said...

You guys did everything just right! That's why the magnificent Andy did such a beautiful job. Patience! Hey Auntie Reg! Nice to see you. And Sara, you look great! I envy your pink blossoms.

Ruth said...

That is so brilliant! Well done Andy, such a clever boy! And the cart is very cute.:)

Gloria said...

Yay Andy! who woulda thought.....a sheep pulling a cart.

Linda said...

I loved every photo, every step of the way! YAY for Andy! (And it looks like you have lots weight! I hope you haven't been ill.)

Happy Easter!!!

Anchor Cottage said...

Beautiful photo of you under the tree, it seems the photographer captured your inner soul for all to love.

Shelley said...

You look like a sixteen year old girl in your 'favorite' photo! This was such a great post! Well done Andy.

Grey Horse Matters said...

What a smart guy. Nice going Andy you're a star! Great antique cart too.

Camryn said...

I foresee parades in the future

Billie said...

Hello, I'm curious. When you shave the sheep, will they sunburn or be cold? I love your blog!

Claire MW said...

Wow, way to go Andy! What a clever sheep!

Michelle said...

Go Andy, go! Awww...what a wonderful thing. I loved the video.

Alice said...

Glad to see that there were treats for his efforts. I second the observation that you look slimmer. Happy blessed Easter!

Far Side of Fifty said...

Yeah Andy! That is double Cherrios work!! :)

Dicky Bird said...

Good Job Andy!

MeridianJacobs said...

I love this. It wants to make me keep my eyes open for a cart and harness. But who in my flock would be Andy?

sophy0075 said...

That was great! Way to go, Andy! You deserve lots of crunchies.

Auntie Reg deserves crunchies too! She pulled the cart outside without even being hitched up to it!

I'm waiting for Comby and/ or one of the Adventure Chickens to take a ride...

Sandra said...

That looks like fun :)

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