More Shepherding
Traditional shepherding brings good care to sheep. The shepherd is with a flock of sheep all, or most of, the time, so sheep are much watched-over. Guard and warning are there against any predators. Sheep are led, with an aim to avoid encounter with dangers and for being kept safe and well. Sheep are taken to pastures that will be good for them and they are kept away from vegetation which would do them harm if they ate it. Any ailments or injuries which sheep may succumb to are noticed at once and so can be attended to swiftly, therefore a situation becoming worse is more likely to be avoided.
In essence, through old-style shepherding, sheep are guided and managed, for their care, best interests, and welfare. The human brain is at use, supporting, adding to, complementing, and tailoring as necessary, what sheep know and have natural instinct to do anyway. The human-being is help, guide and augment.
In parts of the world, traditional shepherding still occurs. But in many places nowadays, for economic or other reasons, shepherding - in the sense of the full- or most- time of a shepherd/sheep farmer being spent with a flock - no longer happens. Those with responsibility for sheep located outdoors regularly and conscientiously visit their sheep in their locale, to check them, tend to them, give them extra feed if necessary, but they do not remain with them. And the quad bike is a benefit to checking, in time-efficient way, how sheep are and are doing - it allows a person to go fast to sheep, to range far and wide speedily, to traverse terrain difficult for walking on foot. The quad bike visit, however, does not have the core feature of traditional shepherding, that of staying and being with the sheep.
The optimum is to have shepherds with sheep all the time. In our modern times, being realistic and taking into account present-day circumstances and stringencies, the aim must be to have a method of shepherding which bears same beneficial characteristics as traditional shepherding. Fundamentals needing to be represented are: care, protection, watchfulness, vigilance. Compassion in World Farming says this: ‘Smaller numbers of sheep cared for by more shepherds allows proper supervision of the animals’ health and welfare.’