Halter Breaking Your Lamb
In order to halter train a lamb, one must first understand why it is often difficult to do. Lambs are naturally fearful. The slightest thing may scare them half to death. When sheep are afraid or bothered by something, whether it is a person, animal, or object, they naturally move away from it. Whether some people like to admit it or not, sheep aren't exactly the smartest animals alive, but they aren't the dumbest either. I've seen sheep repeatedly run head first into fences to try to escape something. It doesn't matter how many times they run into the fence, they continue to do so until something prevents them from doing it. These same principles can be applied when halter breaking lambs. A halter can be a very scary thing for a lamb that's never had one on. Wouldn't you feel a little odd if you had a big thing of rope dangling off of your face and you knew it wasn't supposed to be there? I know I would. To make matters worse, for some reason this rope thing gets tighter at times. When using a rope halter, it tightens around your lamb's muzzle when the lead is pulled. A halter doesn't work like a slip or choke collar made for dogs. These collars are designed to tighten around the neck when tension is applied to the lead. When the tension is released, the collar returns to the original position, making the dog more comfortable. On the other hand, a halter (I'm referring to the most popular kind--the rope halter) will tighten when tension is applied, but it will remain in this position even when tension is released. For this reason, I recommend nylon buckle halters for lambs just learning how to lead. Depending on the brand, most nylon halters will either release the pressure on the head when the tension is released from the lead, or they don't tighten at all. Just like anything else you teach your lamb, things must be done in steps. Everything and everybody learns easier when things are taught in steps. When you were taught how to swim, you weren't just thrown into deep water were you? Of course not. First you were taught how to hold your breath, then the motions of swimming, and then allowed swimming in shallow water. Over time, you swam in deep water. The same thing must be applied to your lamb. Don't expect to bring your lamb home the first day and take it on a three-mile hike (although that would be fun).
The first step in halter breaking lambs is getting your lamb comfortable wearing a halter. This is best done by putting the halter on your lamb and just letting it drag it around. Do not leave a halter on your lamb when it is unattended. The halter could get caught on something and your lamb could easily choke to death or break its neck. When some lambs have the halter put on for the first time, even when they are dragging it, they will freak out. There is added weight to your lamb's head often making them confused. In order for the halter to be as comfortable as possible, get your lamb in a comfortable position before you put the halter on the lamb. The best time to do this is when your lamb is eating. Your lamb will be so busy eating its meal that it won't even notice that the halter is on its head.
Now that your lamb is used to wearing a halter, it's time for it to learn where its limits are. Most people want to put the halter and our natural instinct tells us to pull on the halter if the lamb won't walk. This will only create the opposite reaction. As stated before, lambs are easily spooked and will naturally run away from things that bother them. If you pull on the halter, your lamb is going to try to run (or just pull) in the opposite direction of the tension to escape it. So no matter how hard you pull your lamb isn't going to give in easily. To solve this problem I like to move on to the next step of the halter training and make it as easy as the first step.
You must now teach your lamb that the halter's lead is only so long, and that is where its limits are. To do this, I put the lamb in a comfortable position again, eating. While the lamb is eating with its halter on, I tie the halter to the fence. Never leave a lamb unattended while it is tied. Your lamb will be busy eating and won't even notice that it has been tied up. Most lambs will occasionally raise their heads and look around while eating. By doing this, your lamb will notice that it is tied. When your lamb has stopped eating, let it just stand there for a little while and see what it does. It will teach itself that it can't go any farther than the end of the lead. It will realize that when it gets to the end of lead, the lead will pull on its head and the only way for it to stop pulling is to walk back to where it has been tied. After a couple days of this, try leading your lamb with the halter inside the pen. Don't go very far. For instance, before you feed your lamb, tie it to one side of the pen. Place the feed in its feeder and then untie your lamb and walk it to its feed. You are now showing your lamb that leading is easy and rewarding.
The final step is to walk your lamb on the halter out in the open. If you have more than one lamb, walk them all together, or at least in pairs. Sheep are flock animals and are more comfortable when they have the company of other sheep. If your lamb refuses to walk when it is on its halter, don't pull on the halter. One trick I've learned is to give small quick jerks on the lead. This gives small amounts of tension to the lamb's halter. I have found that small amounts of tension will often get the lamb to lead better than giving one big pull on the lead. If this doesn't work, as some lambs are stubborn, seek the assistance of a friend or parent. Have another person walk behind your lamb and each time it refuses to walk, have the person tap or squeeze the dock. If you are walking your lamb alone, carry a large stick or shepherd's crook with you. When your lamb won't walk, use the stick to reach back and tap the dock. Repeat this daily and before long your lamb will be begging to go for walks!
