Last week I had my first experience of hands-on shearing. For me, not the whole sheep – that would take
far too long. No, last week was all
about preparing for lambing, and as lambs come out the back end of a ewe, that
was what we were shearing. Two days of
trimming bottoms. I would hazard that
this probably is not going to go down in my experience book as a favourite
activity, but I will say that I had nice soft hands afterwards (despite the
bits and pieces matted into the hair…less said the better) – all that lanolin.
The variation in wool is quite amazing. From tight curls, to luxuriously puffy fluff,
via dreadlocks, to the Scotch mules and their extremely long and hair-like
shaggy pantaloons. Some were a quick
trim – a short back(end) and (in)sides(of the legs). Others you just have to dive in with the
clippers because you know that somewhere deep inside is a sheep, and eventually
you'll find a part you can recognise and can work from there. Pantaloons become short-shorts, and long
daggy tails turn out to be tiny little stumpettes that waggle as you work
(occasionally dropping small gifts onto your hands as you shear away).
Before and after...
The whole process has also confirmed to me that sheep have
no ability to translate another's experience onto themselves. They watch curiously as their sisters are shorn,
but don't see this as something coming their way. And once done, I'm not sure that they even
realise what has happened (except perhaps that their butts are a bit
cooler). However, they do have a massive
range of facial expressions that show what they are thinking…
