Jordan and I hooked up our red trailer and climbed into the truck to head north to the Denver area. We had been in contact with a lady that had Karakul sheep. We had been interested in getting sheep for a few years. It started in Russia when we had purchased some karakul hats. We looked into the ancient breed and discovered they were a hardy breed, able to survive in harsh conditions, cold or hot. They are a multipurpose, meaning you can harvest them for wool, meat, or even milk! We found the location of the woman's home, picked out our sheep, paid her for them and then headed home. We had never owned sheep before and knew very little about them, but were excited to start this new adventure. When we got home, we unloaded them into their make shift pen and have been learning more and more about them every year. 
Did you ever do 4-H or FFA? Maybe your kids are participating in one of those organizations? They are both great organizations to a part of and I recommend it! These organizations encourage discipline and consistency in the projects that the kids participate in. These are skills that I am still striving for as well and often think I would like the accountability of a 4-H or FFA club for myself!
Through these organizations we've learned more about sheep and how to train them. When you first bring a sheep up that has never been handled, their flight response is very touchy. They literally think you are going to eat them, so they are running away and leaping about. Your first step is to teach them to trust you. When you raise a lamb from the moment they are born, they learn to trust you from day 1 and have almost not visceral reaction to you. Our latest batch of ewes, that we acquired last year, had never really been handled and they could leap and move very quickly. We didn't start working with them right away, mostly due to the schedule, but it turned out to be a positive as they learned to relax, seeing the rest of our animals not reacting in a dramatic way. 
This winter we officially started working with them. We had the whole flock follow us into the green house and then we cornered each ewe, catching them, straddling them and wrestling a halter onto their faces. Then, we would lead/drag them out of the green house and tie them up in a line along the fence. We had grain that we would feed to them while we just sat next to them. After the first week they were not fighting us as much, realizing there was something tasty in it for them. Into the second week we started teaching them to lead by walking the same path, giving them treats as we went. The first day of this was complete chaos, but after a few days they started to get the idea. I've worked with horses for almost my entire life and working with sheep is nothing like working with horses. Horses are more relational and motivated by the pecking order. In other words, you establish yourself as a leader to be trusted and they will yield to what you are asking them to do. There is a lot more that goes into it, but that is the basic premise. For sheep, they are highly motivated by basic needs, such as flight or fight mechanism and the desire to eat. If you can convince them that you are not going to eat them, then they can be convinced to follow you by what you have for them to eat. It's like bribing a child to pick up their room for a piece of candy. There is still so much we are learning about how to train sheep, but we have an older ewe, Bridget, who is a star when it comes to be haltered, led, and standing tied. She is not registered as a Karakul, but she produces big babies and I'm eager to use her for milking. Visit my Youtube channel to keep up on our latest adventures.
This winter we officially started working with them. We had the whole flock follow us into the green house and then we cornered each ewe, catching them, straddling them and wrestling a halter onto their faces. Then, we would lead/drag them out of the green house and tie them up in a line along the fence. We had grain that we would feed to them while we just sat next to them. After the first week they were not fighting us as much, realizing there was something tasty in it for them. Into the second week we started teaching them to lead by walking the same path, giving them treats as we went. The first day of this was complete chaos, but after a few days they started to get the idea. I've worked with horses for almost my entire life and working with sheep is nothing like working with horses. Horses are more relational and motivated by the pecking order. In other words, you establish yourself as a leader to be trusted and they will yield to what you are asking them to do. There is a lot more that goes into it, but that is the basic premise. For sheep, they are highly motivated by basic needs, such as flight or fight mechanism and the desire to eat. If you can convince them that you are not going to eat them, then they can be convinced to follow you by what you have for them to eat. It's like bribing a child to pick up their room for a piece of candy. There is still so much we are learning about how to train sheep, but we have an older ewe, Bridget, who is a star when it comes to be haltered, led, and standing tied. She is not registered as a Karakul, but she produces big babies and I'm eager to use her for milking. Visit my Youtube channel to keep up on our latest adventures.Working with any animal takes time, energy and discipline. To make any changes in life takes time, energy and discipline. I've seen this with my very middle daughter, as she has struggled in the past to finish her school work daily and then not had any improvements because you can not expect to retain information if you are not practicing it everyday. This year we have had some breakthroughs and due to her being more disciplined, she is retaining the information and it is not taking her as long to finish her school! There are
some tools we are using to help her and I. There is a free online homeschool curriculum that I use to utilize when we lived in Russia and it now has the ability for you and your students to track what they have completed and earn "points" as they go. It not only is helpful for them, but me as well, as I often forget where they are at in each subject and what I need to grade or go over with them. I spent a lot of time everyday, reorienting myself to where each of them were at. With this online tool, it has saved us all time, energy and mental space. The online program is through https://allinonehomeschool.com/ You can sign up for free, but I recommend giving a donation as they have put a lot of time and effort into a free online homeschool curriculum that is excellent. I still use The Good and Beautiful for most of my educational needs, but added other subjects through Easy Peasy like, daily Bible reading, science, art and computer skills.
some tools we are using to help her and I. There is a free online homeschool curriculum that I use to utilize when we lived in Russia and it now has the ability for you and your students to track what they have completed and earn "points" as they go. It not only is helpful for them, but me as well, as I often forget where they are at in each subject and what I need to grade or go over with them. I spent a lot of time everyday, reorienting myself to where each of them were at. With this online tool, it has saved us all time, energy and mental space. The online program is through https://allinonehomeschool.com/ You can sign up for free, but I recommend giving a donation as they have put a lot of time and effort into a free online homeschool curriculum that is excellent. I still use The Good and Beautiful for most of my educational needs, but added other subjects through Easy Peasy like, daily Bible reading, science, art and computer skills.As many of you know I am big into natural health and wellness; preventively taking care of our bodies to avoid be horribly sick or having illnesses that could be prevented through proper diet and high quality supplements. I realize that some illnesses are not preventable, however, even those can be better managed through holistic means. When we manage our health and wellness with the same diligence as training an animal or doing school work we will also see huge improvements as time goes by. There is never a get healthy quick scheme without unwanted side effects. Like get rich quick schemes, they are detrimental in the long run. Time, energy and discipline are the key to better health as well. Here are some of my go to's for better health:
Ningixa Red: 1-2oz everyday, and more if you're fighting something
Boost and Balance: 1 packet everyday
The Good Day Protocol: Click the title to see how to use it.
Joy
Valor
Harmony
White Angelica
Daily use and practice is very important in whatever we set our minds to do. Consistency is the key and taking the time, energy and discipline to accomplish your goals.
Go here to get my daily regimine: Daily Regimine
Have a Blessed Saturday!
Becca Maria
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