Trained Sheep Love A Parade

Trained Sheep Love A Parade AG WORLD Ag World 4-6-17 "They love a parade," says Ed Etzler of VanWert, Ohio, who has trained eight of his registered Hampshire sheep to pull a wagon in parades, and at fairs and livestock shows. It all started back in 1976, but it wasn't simply a matter of hitching them up and taking off. It took lots of hard work and plenty of figuring. Before he could learn to drive his "sheep train", Ed had to find a way to hitch them up. He designed the harnesses himself. Then, using scrap leather, he sewed them together with the help of a friend who runs a sewing machine in a factory. Ed started with two sheep and worked up to eight. His "eight-sheep hitch" is hitched to a wagon of his own design that's equipped with a brake. "Getting the sheep into the harness was a challenge, but teaching them to pull the wagon was an even greater challenge. I used the same commands as for driving horses," Ed points out. Two ewes, Patty and Margie, have been in the hitch from the start. So far as Ed knows, his present hitch of eight is the only one in existence. "I know of a six-sheep hitch in Utah but I believe ours is, the only one with eight sheep." Driving sheep is a family project. Ed's wife Marilyn does the secretarial work, makes the bookings, and helps hitch the team. Their son, Danny, is the "brake man" and assistant driver. The Etzler's two daughters, June and Sally, help out when they are home on a visit. "It takes as long for a driver to learn to drive sheep as it takes the sheep to learn to be driven," Ed says. He has taken his sheep to 28 parades and five county fairs. They have performed at the City Hall Plaza in Springfield, Ill., and appear regularly at the North American International Livestock Exposition in Louisville, Kty. Ed has retired his lead team from his breeding flock but the other six ewes lamb each year. In fact., one ewe that performed at the Louisville show in 1979 delivered triplets and raised them all. "The sheep seem to like crowds and the applause. They're usually very good about letting kids come up and pet them," says Marilyn. Ed adds that, "We don't intend to add any more sheep to the hitch, but we're going to do more things with them. We can do circles and figure 8's, but there's a lot more we can do if we practice. So, we're going to practice."

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