How to Shear a Show Goat

Goats are great animals for children to keep to learn responsibility and farm animal care. When they show their animals they also learn showmanship skills that they can use throughout their lives. There are two types of goats: long-haired and short-haired. Long-haired breeds, such as angora or cashmere goats, are shown with their wool long. Short-haired types, or market breeds, must be sheared before the show. Depending on the size of the goat and the length of its hair, shearing a goat can take anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours.

Things You'll Need

  • Show rules
  • Mild soap
  • Coarse brush
  • Blower
  • Sheep shears
  • Shear guide comb
  • Small animal clippers
  • Soft brush
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Instructions

  1. Shearing

    • 1

      Obtain the hair length specified by the show rules.

    • 2

      Wash the goat with a mild soap and a coarse brush. Scrub the goats skin lightly to remove any dirt trapped in the hair and on the skin.

    • 3

      Rinse the goat thoroughly to remove as much soap as possible.

    • 4

      Dry the goat completely with a blower.

    • 5

      Shear the goat using sheep shears. Use a shear guide comb that is the same length as the hair length requirements in the show rules.

    • 6

      Shear the goat's back and sides, starting from the the tail and clipping toward the head.

    • 7

      Shear the legs, starting from above the knees and hocks and clipping toward the spine.

    • 8

      Shear the belly, starting from the utters or scrotal area and clipping toward the chest. Be aware of where the goat's penis is located and carefully shear around it.

    • 9

      Shear the chest and neck, starting from the bottom of the chest and clipping toward the ears.

    • 10

      Blend any areas of hair that look uneven.

    • 11

      Shear around the eyes, ears, pasterns and other delicate areas of the goat using small animal clippers.

    • 12

      Brush the goat using a soft brush to remove any excess hair clippings.