January 22, 2000
Disabilities come in as many varieties and degrees of severity as there are people in the world. For me, it comes in the form of osteo-arthritis, diagnosed when I was 28 years of age; fibromyalgia, diagnosed when I was 39, and Graves Disease, which hit me like a bomb when I got to my 47th year. I've learned to "live with" the first two and am coping, as best I can, through the peculiarities of the latter. It's not uncommon for my physician to ask me about pain level, asking if #1 were literally no pain and #10 being severe pain, what my average day could be considered. For me, being at about a 7 would be an average day during waking hours and somewhere around a 5 when I'm trying to sleep
Kathy's case, she deals with nerve damage resulting from a fractured neck in 1993, at age 44, and was diagnosed with fibromyalgia two years ago, at age 49. Coping with the pain has been more difficult for her, since she hasn't dealt with it that long, and I think the hardest aspect of her condition is the incredible sleep disruption that often comes with this particular syndrome.
Having lived with the constant ache of arthritis, coupled with the unproductive pain of fibromyalgia, for most of my adult life, I've learned techniques to "work around" the pain. Unfortunately, I'm one of those people whose chemical make-up makes it rather difficult to use prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs and will only resort of the taking of aspirin when other techniques fail. Although I learned a certain amount of stoicism from my mother, who died at age 48 (my 18th year) after a 12 year battle with invasive cancer, I also learned at an early age that mental imagery can do wonders when dealing with pain. If I can keep the pain from overwhelming my "mind," it doesn't get a foothold in overwhelming my body! There are, however, days when that fails. But, whether or not I'm feeling as though a Mack truck has parked on me or not, there are critters to be cared for, fed and watered, and managed.
Being dedicated shepherds, we knew that raising "plain old common" sheep wasn't going to work for us. We needed something that was low maintenance, didn't require a lot of handling throughout the year, and was capable of lambing "out of season." Little that fit that bill could be found in SD when we first though of it and it was by complete accident that I came across Blackbelly Barbados when on a horse related trip to Southern TX in 1994. At first, I thought they were just "cute," and might be fun to have around, so made arrangements to acquire four ewes and a ram. For the next couple of years, following their arrival, all we did was enjoy them and were delighted when they delivered lambs (a preponderance of ewe lambs) every seven or eight months for the next three years!
When we moved from the South central part of the state to the Northeastern quadrant, we had a few ram lambs that we decided to have butchered. It was then that the state meat inspector "found" us and quickly notified us that we were in possession of "captive, non-domestic animals" that fell under regulation of the State Animal Industry Board. For the next two years, we argued that our Blackbellies WERE domestic sheep and although taking any state agency to task can be frustratingly futile, we did finally prove our case and were released from the regulatory compliances (registering every animal, documenting any losses or gains, and of course, paying the state agency to be able to keep our sheep!) What a sense of accomplishment and relief it was to be considered "just" sheep producers!!
Our Blackbellies have all the characteristics that we were looking for; low maintenance, no shearing or docking tails, disease and parasite resistant, and prolific throughout the year. Their smaller frame was easier to handle, and although they have a fine tuned flight response and can jump like a deer when they have a mind to, we've learned that attitude makes all the difference. Attitude? Yep, attitude! Just as with our foals, we do our best to "imprint" lambs from birth and although the unique nature of Blackbellies won't allow that to be transferred to other people easily, our ewes have learned to trust us. It's so much easier to work with an animal that isn't afraid of the handling. They might not like it, but will tolerate it if it doesn't last long! Having a couple of bottle raised, older cross-bred ewes with them also helped. We have also learned that the lambs from wool breed rams are more quickly imprinted than the straight Blackbelly lambs. Perhaps the centuries of domestication comes within the genetic package… it's something we hope to research over the next few years.
Being true hair sheep, Blackbelly Barbados have different nutritional requirements than the wool breed sheep. We have six wool breed sheep in our flock… three Montadale ewes and one ram, a Suffolk/Hampshire cross ewe, and a Suffolk/Hamp/Polypay cross ewe. Those six require at least one pound of grain per day on a maintenance diet whereas the Blackbelly ewes require about one half pound of grain per day on maintenance. The nature of the Blackbelly also allows it to leave feed once it's "full." I have purposely over-fed Blackbelly ewes, only to have them eat their near one half pound and then leave. If I tried that with any of my "woolies," they would eat until they exploded! This lower grain requirement has meant that instead of carrying over 50 pounds of grain to our flock of nearly 50 head, it's more like 25 pounds, which is much easier on our battered joints. Of course, I long ago quite carrying 5 gallon buckets of anything, grain or water since it's far to heavy and wreaks havoc for my shoulders and back. Having sheep who require less grain has been a blessing!
Moving "small" (it's hard to think of something that can weight 120 pounds as small!) square bales, a furniture dolly works wonders, too! I've seen in recent equine equipment catalogs that this trend must be viable since there are now manufactured carts suited for this type of portage.
It is much the same, since we are also dedicated horsewomen, with our horses. The more time we spend with them, the more responsive they become to what we ask of them. Haltering foals and teaching them to lead, even when they are comfortably imprinted, can be an ordeal for them and for us. Teaching them to stand tied for the first time can be an awful ordeal, even under the best of circumstances. I've found that a bungee cord (at least ½ inch thickness) and a solid wall works wonders and has eliminated any risk of injury to both the foal and myself. The first time the foal "sits" back (pulls) on the bungee, it's 18 inches will give to nearly 3 feet, but the pressure doesn't release until the foal starts to step forward. In many cases, this process only happens once! Foals quickly learn to "give" to the pressure and will learn not only to be tied without fussing, but will learn to move forward, toward the pull. Arranging the "tie" at slightly above eye level also keeps the foal from throwing their full weight into the backward pull and having a solid wall with nothing protruding adds to the safety factor. I've used this with older horses that would throw a fit at being tied solid (not my own, I might add! They know better!!) and the results have been the same.
Contending with our types of disabilities has been instrumental in developing our motto of "Don't Tell Us We Can't!" It's that attitude that keeps us moving forward with what we're doing both with our sheep and our horses. Yes, it does take us more time to get chores done every day, but in taking that time, we have generated "relationship" with our animals. Our quadruped family as attuned to us and often know when we aren't quite up to par. Although it sounds anthropomorphic to say that we've been comforted by a ewe or a mare (sorry, guys, but estrogen has it's own community!), but it happens quite often in our barn! It's a giving, nurturing feeling that just can't be explained, and can often ease the ache.
Attitude is about everything when it comes to staying rooted to the rural way of life. Of course there are adjustments to be made when physical conditions warrant drastic change in how things are accomplished, but it's the accomplishment, not the method that really counts!
Until the Muse strikes again, we wish you peace!
Linda
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