Spring Training has begun in earnest.

I am in the process of getting those cute little cria to tow the line and walk like the pretty little creatures they are. You know, my arm candy.

Actually, halter training is a must for herd management. It makes everything run more smoothly and safely on the farm. We have a couple of older girls, or shall I say more mature, that are not halter trained. Any time we need to halter and move them it is a challenge for me and a huge stress for them and that is when they are healthy, forget about what is does to them if they are ill.

Sheering is a great example of when you really wish all of your animals would walk on a lead for you. It is stressful all around. I am stressed, the animals are stressed, and farmer Jeff is stressed- not sure why? but he is.

If the animals have a serious medical problem that I or my local vet can't handle here on the farm, it requires either a trip to mainland with the animal- expensive but not too hard if you can handle you animal, or an all expense paid trip for the vet to come here from the mainland. No ferry for her, she flies and charges by the hour.

Taking the animal to the vet instead of the other way around is much more economical. Having an animal that is familiar with how the lead works makes travel easier and safer.

Besides it is fun to have a big animal to walk with you! Talk about arm candy.