Hairy MacLairy gets a Pedicure

Yesterday was fine and warm with only slightly windy winds.  It was a calm steady productive afternoon, I was passing  through the Corridor Paddock where Daisy and Hairy MacLairy were dosing, I took a shot of Hairy and Queenie then I noticing Hairy’s hoof stuck out like as he relaxed, so putting the camera on its fencepost, I  went over and crouched down to have a look.  Sheep who do not get to walk the trails of big paddocks all day often have hoof problems. Their nails grow too long but as you can imagine the nail grows downward in a horseshoe shape, so as it grows they kind of begin to walk on heels, then this heel begins to curl inward and fold under, trapping dirt and stones and .. well you get the picture, it becomes uncomfortable and is a hotbed of  moisture and infection. Sheep!  So we catch the sheep and trim the hooves two or three times a year.  Hairy MacLairy has very fast growing hooves.

Hairy is almost 300 pounds. Way more than twice my weight.  And now he has a full heavy fleece. So it was with a little apprehension, I crouched down beside him to take the chance of inspecting a hoof without having to catch him.  Feeling even braver I actually picked up and turned the foot while he was sitting there.

It did need a trim. Hoping to take advantage of his sleepy state, I went for my hoof trimming tools, then sat down beside Hairy, picked up his hoof and began to cut and trim. The nail is hard, it takes a bit of doing.  I use heavy tin snips. Much to my surprise the big sheep burped, raised some cud and sat gently chewing, not moving a muscle, even closing his eyes as I trimmed and cleaned the hoof.

Emboldened, and being careful not to make any sudden moves, talking and singing the whole time, I reached under him and pulled another hoof out a bit. Amazingly, he adjusted his big body so I could reach, though I was on the ground with my face practically in his belly, and so I cleaned and trimmed two more hooves.  It takes some time. I must have been scraping and trimming a little at a time for about 5  – 10 minutes.   Time was moving slowly. And he let me.  He never moved.

Are you going to roll over for me? I asked him. We have one more to go. He turned his great shaggy head and looked at me, his pupils slim black slits. How do I look to you I wondered, am I stretched longways in your eyes?  He offered his ears for a scratch.

Well, three out of four was not bad, considering we did not have to grab him and hold him and deal with the kicking and fury at being harnessed that I have to put up with usually.  I would get John to help me hold him later on and finish.

So I put my tools away. Retrieved my fork and went back to work.

About 5 minutes later I was pushing the wheelbarrow back to the barn and there he was again, but he had got up TURNED AROUND and was sat back down in the exact same place, but in reverse with the untrimmed hoof stuck out.  Eyes open. Chewing. Watching me. Now, he is a sheep. He did not do this on purpose.  This was just pure luck. Wasn’t it?

I left the wheelbarrow where it was, swiftly retrieved the pedicure tools and sitting down on the warm damp spring ground again, leaning into his big warm belly again, I trimmed the last hoof.

With all this talk about sheep Daisy would like to remind you that she is also getting nice and round and her calf is due in May.   Don’t take your eye off the ball she says and remember you have more than one ball in the air Miss C.  

Look what the barn has released into the world. I forgot to ask John its details for you. But I do know it is a Challenger. Two cars came out this weekend to make room for the pig pen. It does not look like much to me but evidently it is special.

For once we got a clear shot of almost the whole barn.  Sometimes I forget that you need some long shots too.

Good morning. It is cloudy, windy and there is still a little rain about.  But it will be warm again. Good grass growing weather!

Today I am going to take this computer into the wee geek fellows in the Big Town. It is just too slow.  It needs help.  I cannot bear its crashing and freezing any longer.  Especially when I sit down to visit you all.  Now,  it may not be fixed today, I may not be able to post tomorrow, maybe even the next day.  Mama looks kind of settled but these things can change on a whim (we sure know that now) so if anything exciting happens I shall attempt to send you a post from my phone.  Otherwise I will be on radio silence for the next few days. I will miss you.

Have a great morning.

celi

ps The very nice little geeky fellow said the laptop repair will be about two days,  so I shall endeavour to pop a few daily photos on my Kitchen’s Garden Facebook page from my fancy pancy phone in the meantime.  Just to tide us over and keep you up to date.  Soon. Soon. c