New Zealand Shearing Style

40 Blows (or so...but who's counting?)

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Go straight to the diagrams:

• Diagrams 1-3
  
• Diagrams 4-6
  
• Diagrams 7-9
  
• Diagrams 10-12
  
• Diagrams 13-15
  

  The New Zealand Wool Board established the
  first shearer training scheme in 1953 under
  the guidance of Godfrey Bowen who laid the
  foundations of the New Zealand Shearing Style
  used all over the world. The basic pattern
  consists of 40 blows for adult sheep, with
  fewer blows for lambs..
  

  Tip from Amy: If you want to go fast, use
  a blow out (comb with 9 teeth). If you don't
  want to cut the sheep, DO NOT use a blow out!
  Use a comb with 13 or more teeth..
  

  
  
  

  All blows must start high on the brisket to remove all discoloured fribs. Watch for the pizzle! (I had one sheepowner tell me all his sheep were ewes, when in fact half were whethers and were so wooly you could not see the pizzle...ouch!) Blow 6 may have to be repeated to ensure clean crutch. Cover teats on this blow. Use left hand to clear top of leg and flank properly on the first blow up the hind leg. Be very careful here with goats to s-t-r-e-t-c-h the skin tight or you can cut them quite badly.

  Get a full comb under the backbone. When traversing the neck, if skin is not loose, go straight up as shown, otherwise make a "J" shape with the stroke, going across the wrinkle rather than with them to avoid cutting the animal.

  Be sure to keep pulling the skin until the neck wool is free. Sometimes the neck wool can be heavy and pull the skin out, resulting in cutting the animal so try and support the wool until you get to the long blows (sometimes you need an extra pair of hands!) Again, careful on blows 25 through 28 (the foreleg) twist the leg in slightly to get the skin taught.

  On the longblows (blows 29 through 32) keep your right shoulder low, support heavy wool, and keep control over the animal. Control the animal's head with the knees, and use your fingers under the jaw to lift the animal.

  Watch out for wrinkles! Have the animal leaning away from you with their head between your legs. When making the final blows on the angora goat, come from the tailbone up to the shoulder.

  
  
  

  Amy's Tips for Beginners:

  1. Get in shape before you start shearing!
  2. Wear shin guards if you bruise easy and you like to wear shorts
  3. Don't wear sunscreen above eye level......a hat comes in handy
  4. If you are shearing small flocks devise a portable shearing board
  5. Never try to hold things down on your truck with bungee cords
  6. Wear flat shoes with rubber soles
  7. Drink lots of water
  8. Most importantly, pull that skin taught and shear across the wrinkles in the skin
     
     

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