Someone Will Walk Them

Two years ago, I attended a trial where, on the second day of the trial, the sheep ran the cross drive into the draw created by the first day's exhaust.  Handler after handler after handler, crossed themselves or hoped and prayed that those running sheep were on line to hit the cross-drive panels.  Some runs planned in advance for the downward draw, most could not get the cross drive and then flank the dog in any tidy fashion for the third leg of the drive, more often than not having a hard pull from the exhaust pen.  Oh, and this was in open by the way.  At the end of the day, the judge radioed up and asked for another set of sheep while he grabbed his good open dog and proceeded to walk the sheep around the very same course we, the mortal handlers, had run them.  That day was the start of my "walking the sheep" quest.

It happened at the Bluegrass this year....I watched a top hand get set some nasty sheep.  Really...no excuse on the set as one lamb ran into the fence on the top and then all three ran the top end of the field attempting to not have to run the course for the day.  Funny how this ended up being the winning run for the first go in open, and thankful I had my camera capturing the entire run.  The fetch was fast but the handler got a hold of the situation, dog and sheep, and walked the sheep around the rest of the course. 

My quest: How do they do it?  How do top hands make runs into winning walks as many another handler struggles to get around without the pace of a sprint?  While many of us make excuses, "my dog was on the muscle" or "I got a rogue sheep", these top hands work hard with the group drawn up and walk them. Time of day, breed of sheep, terrain, or even weather don't seem to prevent the top hands from walking the sheep, they and their dogs figure the walk out. 

I've begun to ask myself, "why are my sheep not walking?"  Is my dog not taking a stop?  Are my flanks too tight?  Is my timing off?  Is my dog over-flanking?  Is the walk-on too crisp?  And last but not least, do I have the communication with my dog to get what I need regarding the answers to the above questions? 

It is funny, at the trial yesterday, this was one topic of conversation for the over-thinking crowd.  Or maybe just those that humor my over-thinking.  I think I need a shirt that says: Walk the sheep or die trying. Of course, I have never been to Meeker....I wonder if the sheep can be walked there?

Seize the Day!