No mate ram harness

Article last week from Derek Robinson who writes in the IFJ

Over-confidence is never an admirable trait, and with all potential breeding animals looking fit and healthy, I may have lost the run of myself a bit. While plotting some means of spreading the lambing dates more evenly, I hit upon a brilliant plan to use one of these ‘‘no mate’’ ram harnesses that, effectively, does the same job as the ancient practice of tying a bag around a ram’s belly to enable him to be used as a teaser.

If you decide upon this course of action, I would strongly advise that you attach it to some docile, well-bred type. Do not, under any circumstances, use a bad-tempered Wensleydale.

My daughter Jenny and I spent nearly half an hour at this task, and it was a bit like harnessing an octopus to a young giraffe.

After working out where all the ends were supposed to go, we then had the unenviable job of putting it on to an angry ram. Walter the Wensleydale is tall, narrow, extremely agile and very cross. When this three-way wrestling match concluded, we let him into a batch of ewes, and he promptly gave two or three jumps into the air, and kicked off the back straps.

After bringing everybody into the yard and changing the angles of several cross-straps, off he went again.

Twenty-four hours later, he had again removed the rear attachments, so a final tighten was necessary and he seems to be gradually accepting his fate.

I don’t think he caught any sheep, but it may be a good idea (in the future) to use a half decent ram, so that in the event of the harness detaching, at least I won’t have lots of O grading lambs to deal with the following year.