The Standoff

Me and my sheep are at a standoff. We’ve been at this place before in their young lives. In fact, it was around this time last year, now that I recall. Most of the grass in our fields is gone, the sheep’s preference for abundant living and their taste buds. Sadly, in our part of the world with seasons, the grass typically does not grow year-round.

As a farmer, I have to make choices that not only include what’s best for the animals, but what’s best for the budget. These sheep of mine would love it if I just came out and filled their trough daily with feed. In the world of people, that is the equivalent of giving them dessert all the time. The fact of the matter is, they would actually prefer to be roaming around the field on a nice day grazing around looking for the blades of grass that tickle their fancy. Today is not one of those days.

These sheep of mine currently have access to a one-acre field, which still has a little dead summer stubble mixed with some cool-season grass underneath. In the other area in which they roam, they have three acres of mostly woods where they wander about finding grass clumps here and there, some weeds, briars and honeysuckle vines. They generally wander back and forth through the day in these two areas.

In all of my graciousness as their shepherd, I went out of my way a few days ago to let them out into the yard around our farm house to eat some green grass and wild onions, which they love. They sampled some of my wife Katrina’s rose bushes as well, but not too much damage done since the growing season is over. While they wandered, eating to their heart’s content, I took the liberty of moving a nice, luscious bale of hay into their shelter in the wooded area. Once I got the hay in place, I coaxed them in with a little bit of feed (dessert, remember?) and they were happy campers, for a few moments.

Once dessert was over, their curiosity got the best of them and they started nibbling at the bale of hay. Well, that didn’t last too long. They picked at that a little while, then turned tail and headed to the gate, to complain. They were looking for me to come to the gate and just let them have free reign in the yard again, but it wasn’t happening. I had better things to do than sit and watch sheep all day to make sure they stayed put and didn’t get themselves into trouble eating too many rose bushes.

So, here we are, at a standoff, the place we were last year. If memory serves me correctly, I think it wasn’t until significant hunger set in and perhaps a good snow that made that hay taste pretty good to them. Sheep are not much different than kids, or most people for that matter. Most critters (and people) will generally get to a place where the sounds in their cavernous belly override their desire for the things they love to pass through their gullet. In other words, when sheep and people get hungry, they eat what’s available. Hunger is a great motivator!

Take children, for instance. Indeed, as they old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. They have to want it. Perhaps there are exceptions to every rule, but generally speaking, a parent is not going to win the battle with food by making their child sit at the table, endlessly trying to beg them to eat their veggies or whatever else they won’t eat. Motivation is the key, same as sheep.

When a kid knows that if they eat the stuff in front of them there is going to be a reward, they generally comply. Maybe that’s a cookie, or going out to play or maybe even a twenty-dollar bill if you’re so financially inclined. But sometimes that just needs to be plain ‘ole hunger that motivates. At some point in a kid’s life, it would probably do them some good to have the parent look them in the eye and say, “Okay, if you don’t want that, come back tomorrow.” While some may think that is cruel, introducing them to the real concept of hunger is likely one of the best things you could ever do for your kid.

I can attest to the fact that we have successfully raised nine children using this methodology and none of them have starved to death. Not one.

Oh, and what are my poor sheep to do? Well, I will continue offering them hay through the next several days and weeks ahead. Experience tells me that they won’t starve either, and will eventually get to a point where they nearly trample me down each day as I bring them a fresh load of hay.

Time will tell, but experience will generally prevail.