I’d been looking forward to the Highland Farm visit all day, and it truly lived up to my expectations. Neil, the shepherd, stepped out with his shepherd’s hook in hand, one of his collies trotting faithfully beside him. We weren’t sure how Mason would react around the animals since he’s always been nervous about them, but he handled it wonderfully. 😀 Neil called his collies from across the fence, the gate opened, and we all followed him into the field. Off in the distance, we could see the sheep — tiny white dots scattered across another pasture. Then Neil let out a whistle and a shout, and one of the dogs sprinted off. Before long, he returned with a full herd of sheep running behind him. It was incredible to watch.
Neil impressed everyone with his training of the collies.
Neil took one of the sheep and demonstrated how he could hypnotize it. He used a red whistle with a small punched-out circle and slowly swung it over the sheep’s woolly eye. Amazingly, the sheep relaxed completely and went limp in his arms. He then showed us how they check growth by examining the teeth. The incisors reveal whether the animal is still a lamb or considered mutton — lambs still have their baby teeth.
Cheers to a faboulous day on the farm.
