Priscilla the Dorper ewe is uncommonly friendly for her kind. Many years ago she had an accident while being loaded into a livestock trailer. She smacked her front right hoof on a metal part of the trailer and lost most of her right toe. It took about six months of wrapping, salves and therapy for it to heal and during that time she bonded pretty well to me. Now, nine years later, that toe grows out funny and needs special attention at hoof-trimming time.
This video was going to be more about the mare Cowgirl and how burrs need to be hand-picked out of her mane. Cowgirl loves her dirt baths and therefore every day she runs in to the barn with a new load of stickers in her mane. We have a proper shredder/groomer but it pulls out too much hair. So most of the time I pick burrs by hand. At any rate, the subject was horse grooming but it ended up being more about Priscilla the ewe. More exactly it became more about Priscilla demanding attention (note how she was pawing at me).
Towards the end of the video you can see how Priscilla is using CowGirl’s leg as a scratching post. The horse was not phased. She is their “shepherdess” and therefore she’s accustomed to sheep coming up to her, hiding under her if they are afraid, and generally being their mom.
Even Brady the Pygmy goat was begging for attention while I was grooming CowGirl. He was head-butting my right leg while Priscilla was pawing at my left. Maybe next time I should try grooming CowGirl in her stall!
