Mel doesn't bother the sheep but the ewes are pretty aggressive at times. The dogs can in with the here until the first week in November.
We brought the adults in this morning and separated the ram and the wether from the rest. While we were running them through the chute to separate the 4 ewes that are sold and loaded them up and delivered them, We set up the foot baths in the chute and let them stay in that for a bit. We walked the girls out to a paddock next to where the ewe lambs are and I'll let them all mix together this afternoon.
I will do that. On a scale of 1-10, most days any pain barely gets past a two and other days there is so little that I don't notice it. I'm exercising more like I used to before it started hurting and the stretches the PT folks showed me all seem to helping also.
Teresa is so proud of herself that she is walking around smiling. After we delivered the sheep earlier today she asked me to leave the trailer hooked up so she could practice backing it up. She actually picked it up pretty fast and even got the trailer backed into our loading area which is not easy to do. There is only about 10 feet of room to maneuver when you start backing and the trailer has to wind up at almost a 30-40 degree angle to the truck to get the trailer lined up right.
I have a regular sized 2 horse straight load, and a 4'x4' work trailer that holds all my long handled tools, my backpack sprayers, and all the liquid deer sprays and other chems.
I would way rather back my horse trailer than my work trailer. That little short one can jackknife itself in a matter of inches, and can only be backed by craning around backwards and watching it through the rear window. If you can see it in the side mirrors you're already in trouble. Plus any irregularities in the ground like ruts, dips or humps and it follows the path of least resistance.
Good for Teresa. Backing a trailer is an art that some just never get comfortable with. When I learned to drive, back in the stone age..., my dad blocked off the inside mirror so I had to learn to use the side mirrors on the truck. Great lesson for learning to back the trailer as I depend on those mirrors. Yeah, it is soooo easy to get in trouble with a short trailer.... same as the implements on the back of the tractor.... seems like in 5 feet the whole rake or tedder does a 180 and gets you in trouble. I used to be really good with the horse trailer that was a pull behind, but don't have much practice with one now. It's all the gooseneck cattle trailers and they are 20 and 24 feet long. They also respond differently than the "bumper hitch" pull behind type.
I can back up any trailer, any where, no matter how short or long it is - as long as nobody is watching me, lol! Put somebody out there as a witness and all bets are off.
I suck at backing a trailer. BJ can put it in narrow spaces, he is really good. So I don't really mind bragging on how good he backs a trailer up to the loading/unloading chute........