By Kim McClure
"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." - Eleanor Roosevelt
My 4:30 a.m. alarm played quietly in the background, but I had already been up for an hour before. It was a brisk, clear morning on April 22nd, and I was about to embark on the road trip adventure of a lifetime to Alzada, Montana. The car was fully packed, the dogs were loaded, and a quick final check before heading out to meet our travelling friend, Paul Batz, at a rest stop in New York. I can’t say what I was feeling most at the time about this trip; was it excitement, apprehension, or elation? Maybe it was all of the above! Either way, I was about to fulfill one of my many long-time dreams to travel to the “West” AND gain valuable working experience on a large ranch. I can’t believe it; I can now check two boxes on my bucket list!!
The Road Trip
We drove just over fifteen hours on the first day, arriving in Albert Lea, Minnesota, to our humble rest stop – the Best Western. Thankfully, it was a fairly uneventful drive, minus the minor detour I took through downtown Chicago during rush hour. Note to self for future trips: when the GPS says to go left to stay on the I90, don’t do it!
Wisconsin took my breath away as it reminded me much of Northern Ontario. It was hard not to stop and take pictures of the bald eagles and incredible scenery. On day two, we had roughly eight and a half hours to go before reaching our final destination. Paul was excited to get back on the road. I think it takes practice to be an excellent long-haul driver. I felt that this was the most challenging part of the trip. There were some points where I thought I wouldn’t make it. Determination, more breathtaking scenery, neat wildlife, and interesting highway signs made the hours and miles pass away quickly. Mid-afternoon, we turned off the interstate in South Dakota and crossed Wyoming into Montana. Over two days, we successfully drove over twenty-three hours through ten states in total. On the way home, it took three days and, well, eleven states, actually. I made a quick U-turn in Michigan when I turned the wrong way off the interstate in Indiana, stopping for fuel. The drive was long, but a great time and lots of laughs. I wish I had built in more travel time to explore. It looks like I need to add road-tripping out West back onto the bucket list.
The Gather
Nothing could have prepared me for what I would experience over the next six days. We pulled off the main road onto a long driveway winding its way up to the ranch house. I watched as the cars disappeared behind me, and the vast terrain of red and gold, sagebrush, and cactus expanded across the horizon in every direction. It made me think of the early settlers, what their journey must have been like, and what they must have felt when they finally made it to their destination. We arrived and were warmly greeted by our hosts, extraordinary ranch managers, Joyce and Gary Heibertshausen, and their friends, Lerrina and Craig Collins from Idaho. Quick introductions, leg stretches for all of us, and the official adventure, commencing with photographs, began as we jumped right into work.
Photo credit - Kim McClure
I live in suburbia with my two Border Collies, Mead and Drift. We are grateful for the available lessons and practice times at our friend's farms. Still, we don’t have the ability to train regularly and work through a wide variety of situations. The largest farm I have seen to date was approximately 250 acres, and the largest number of sheep I have seen together at a time would have been approximately 150-175. We are used to working no more than 10-12 and as small as three in trials and training scenarios. We came to 5-H Farms in Montana to help with shearing, learn more about sheep farming, and care for and manage sheep on a large scale. This trip did not disappoint in any way! Our first task was to work as a team and gather approximately 1800+ range ewes from the halfway point of the ranch. This ranch spreads across more than 24,000 acres. In the winter, the sheep spend their time in vast, sheltered areas called “the breaks,” where they are protected from the challenging Montana winters. Days before we arrived, a team had already gathered the ewes and brought them halfway, allowing them time to settle before the next leg. These ewes are sturdy, carefully bred cross-breeds designed to sustain range living. The Rambouillet ewes were bred to Lincoln rams to make the commercial Columbia type. Corriedales were later added to the mix. They are carrying the next generation, thus the need for shearing to prepare them for lambing in late May and early June back on the range.
Photo credit - Paul Batz
Quad bikes and side-by-side loaded up, Joyce with Annie, Craig with Lacey, Paul with Mya, Lerrina with Edge, Mead and I headed out to bring these girls home. What I found so interesting about these sheep is that they typically do not like to flock together. You might see small packets together, but they spread pretty far apart from each other. These are range sheep, and they are not used to seeing people and dogs regularly. It’s not uncommon for them to bunker down and hide in low areas or dense sagebrush, necessitating the right dogs and machines to ensure no one is missed. There is a strategic way to gather, with each person covering a fence line, driving corner to corner, and keeping watch for stragglers. Sometimes, the dog is needed to go out and encourage the sheep to move forward, join other moving packets, tuck in corners of packets that are starting to drift or go in and seek out any sneaky evaders. Dogs also needed to be quite skilled at riding bikes, taking direction from someone on a bike, and knowing that the job is to push the sheep forward and not balance or bring the sheep to the bike. I have the utmost respect for the working ranch dogs. The terrain is rough and sometimes challenging to navigate. You can’t go too quickly, or you may end up head-first in a wash that presents itself at the last moment. The sheep must also be encouraged to move in the most stress-free way possible. It was fantastic to see everyone working so well together and to watch these small packets slowly come together into larger and larger groups. In some spots, I got out of the side-by-side to walk alongside Mead as she drove just to give her some encouragement and truly immerse myself in the soil to get the whole experience. Of course, I was also carefully watching out for snakes. Yikes!!!!
Watching the small packets become larger groups reminded me of the great herd migrations in Africa. I can’t even describe the feeling; it just gave me goosebumps. Keeping together 1800+ ewes moving at a steady pace was easy with each person in the right spots. You need people to steer, cover the sides, and then continue the momentum by keeping that consistent, steady push from behind. It was easy to keep the flow out in the open space. Arriving at a gate posed new challenges, mainly if the front of the group had different opinions about going through it. No amount of pressure from behind would encourage the front to move. Instead, the group would need to be rotated clockwise or counter-clockwise, creating a flow. Pardon my literal translation, but it looked like the water going down a toilet. Rotating the sheep allowed the outside edges to funnel out through the gate. This movement could only be created by the work of our trusty dogs. Here is where I learned one of many sheepdog handler lessons. Trust your dogs and watch the sheep; sometimes, the best thing to do is be quiet and let the dogs do the work. I watched as the dogs read the sheep faster than we could and put themselves in the right spots to ensure the sheep continued to flow through the gates. There were times when the ewes got close to the opening and, with just a moment's pause, decided they would like to make a break for it. These quick-working dogs were on it and redirected them. They moved the sheep easily and carefully so as not to put too much pressure on the gates.
Shearing
The ewes spent the night in a field close to home, so gathering them the rest of the way and into the barn the next day would be easy. We woke early on Wednesday morning and headed out to the barn, where we set up panels to house the ewes overnight so that they could move through a smaller chute system up a ramp onto the shearing trailer that was backed up into the barn on Thursday morning. We moved approximately 400+ ewes from the larger group into the barn on Wednesday to keep them dry overnight. They are taken off food and water, which helps reduce discomfort when shearing and makes them easier to handle. The remaining flock was kept in a field close by and ready for rotation into the barn. Each part of the process was done with precision. I knew very early on that this was a well-oiled system carried out each year, with the well-being of the sheep at the forefront of priority.
Photo credit - Joyce Heibertshausen
The shearers arrived at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday. With their blades sharpened, spin tables set, and bagging compressor ready to go, we set off with the first bunch of sheep on the trailer. I have only watched shearing on YouTube, so I have no basis for comparison. This team of five shearers and support crew was incredible to watch. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to spend some time in the barn to take in this whole experience. With the music going, the bass in the barn would marvel at any nightclub. I wondered if the music helped keep a rhythm going or if the sheep found comfort in it. They seemed calm on the ramp in the trailer, waiting for their turn. Once sheared, the ewes happily went out a back door from the trailer and down an alleyway to another chute system called a “race.” This is where most of our work took place over the next four days.
Our fantastic team down the hill gathered small groups of shorn sheep and pushed them through the race so that we could dose them with flea and tick repellant, apply a newly painted ranch brand, and cover minor nicks with pine tar to prevent infection and fly infestation. The sheep were treated with an Ivomec Sterile Injection and vaccinated with a 3-way CDT vaccine. We processed around 2600 sheep from Thursday to Sunday because the 1800+ ewes were not the only sheep sheared that week. We also saw around 650 ewe lambs, approximately 100 rams, three very handsome pedigree Corriedale rams and a number of mixed sheep, including the “blacks,” which I learned were genetic anomalies which were also used very purposely in large flocks as a counter to demonstrate the health of the flock. Working in close quarters with the sheep provided an excellent opportunity to learn more about how they think and move. This is where I saw some incredible dog work. The sheep are much larger than any I have seen or worked with. They can sometimes move quickly and erratically or don’t want to move. I watched the seasoned pros confidently go up the alley with a simple “look back” command. They gathered groups of sheared sheep and pushed them into the race with ease, for the most part. Some of the sheep made the dogs work hard because they weren’t convinced they wanted to go down the race. My dogs had opportunities to work on these simple yet essential tasks. It was so good for both dogs. They learned to be patient and hang out because being a ranch dog doesn’t always mean constant work. They learned to work in close quarters. I watched little Mead shine as she took to the tasks quickly and understood the job we needed to do. I think she loved and relished the power she found pushing the sheep into the race. It’s interesting how different sheep can affect the dogs, particularly if they haven’t had much experience with various sheep and how well they take to real work versus training scenarios. Drift was overwhelmed but managed to do some good work and gain the most invaluable experience of just being there, learning to chill and soak in the experience. I was amazed to watch seasoned dogs work so naturally and confidently. Sometimes, they were needed to dig in tight in large packed groups. Other times, they exercised calm power to move a single that separated from the group. We all had opportunities to work with our young dogs, providing new experiences for them, and each one handled the work well and even did some pretty amazing things.
Photo credits - Lerrina Collins and Kim McClure
In the end
Four full days of hard work went by quickly. By Sunday, I was completely exhausted, but the best kind of exhaustion—the fresh air, warm Montana afternoons, and over 30,000 steps a day kind of exhaustion. It was exhilarating to know that we were finished and to look back on all that was accomplished. Everyone who needed shearing was done and in their new space, with most eagerly awaiting their new arrivals. I will forever cherish this incredible opportunity and experience, the new friends I’ve made, and the memories we can share. Each day presented new and interesting learning opportunities, and I came away with a better understanding and appreciation for farming life. I thank Joyce and Gary again for welcoming us to their home and for the unforgettable learning opportunity. For novice folks like me, if you can find opportunities to learn more, do it! To the incredibly dedicated people out there who are raising sheep and continuously striving to breed quality working Border Collies, you have my utmost respect and admiration. Raising livestock is a lifestyle, not just a job.
Special acknowledgement goes to the hard-working dogs Turner, Annie, Eve, Sis, Edge, Sky, Kidd, Jemma, Mya, Trypp, Kingston, Pilsner, Mead, and Drift.
Thank you, Paul, for being my superb travel companion, and thank you, Lerrina, for showing me the ropes on the first day in the side-by-side.
Photo credit - Kim McClure