How to Groom a Sheep for a Fair

Though sheep represent one of the world's most common livestock animals, breeders often show them at fairs to entice prospective livestock buyers and farmers. Typically, breeders show sheep at two types of fair: market fairs and showing fairs. Market fairs feature animals that will be slaughtered for human consumption, while showing fairs feature animals that demonstrate the best of the best in a specific breed or type. Because the goals of each fair are different, so too are the grooming strategies. Grooming sheep for market requires you to eliminate wool that obscures the musculature and body shape of the sheep, while grooming sheep for show requires you to highlight the physique and health of the sheep.

Things You'll Need

  • Electric clippers
  • Bucket
  • Water
  • Soap
  • Hand clippers
  • Grooming stand
  • Wool card
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Instructions

  1. Market Sheep

    • 1

      Place your sheep in a sitting position. Grab the sheep under its front armpits and lift the sheep's front legs, shoulders and head back over its rear end. This should cause the sheep to slip back into a sitting position, but you may need to push its rear onto the ground with your knee or even sweep its hind feet out from under it.

    • 2

      Shear the sheep's belly and side wool vertically from armpit to armpit with electric clippers. You can hold the sheep's head in place with your non-shearing arm, or you can place the head between your thighs. This often calms the sheep, reducing the amount of struggling.

    • 3

      Stand the sheep up and place its head between your knees facing behind you. You should be facing the same direction as the sheep's rear.

    • 4

      Shear the sheep's back and rear vertically from shoulder to hip with electric clippers. Be sure to remove any matted wool on the sheep's rump.

    • 5

      Reverse your position so that you and the sheep are facing the same direction, and step over the back of the sheep's shoulders so that you are squeezing the top of the sheep's rib cage together with your knees, holding it in place.

    • 6

      Shear the sheep's head and neck with the electric clippers.

    Show Sheep

    • 7

      Lift or lead your sheep onto a grooming stand and secure its head to the hitching post at the front of the grooming stand.

    • 8

      Wash the sheep's outer coat using soapy water and a sponge. Use dish soap or specially designed wool soap to counteract the greasiness of the lanolin naturally found in sheep wool. Remove all debris and dirt, and work and lather all matted spots on the sheep's coat.

    • 9

      Brush the sheep's outer coat using the same type of wool card you would use to prep spun wool. This will fluff the coat in addition to removing any debris and dirt still around after the washing.

    • 10

      Trim the sheep's wooly coat with hand clippers so that it is mostly equal-length all over the body, from the top of the shoulders to the back of the flanks. If the wool is bristly, as with Dorsets, trim the belly wool short with electric clippers. If the wool forms ringlets, as with Cotswolds, trim the belly ringlets to create a draped look around the exterior of the belly before trimming the belly wool short with electric clippers.

    • 11

      Trim the sheep's neck and head wool shorter than the body wool, leaving the sheep's forelocks in tact if so required by the competition. Taper the wool gradually up the neck so that the wool's length flows from the body to the neck gracefully and slowly.