A CHAMPION’S TECHNIQUE

Press, Volume C, Issue 29477, 1 April 1961, Page 8

A CHAMPION’S TECHNIQUE

DEMONSTRATING the technique which won him the open title at the Golden Shears championships at Masterton, Mr Ivan Bowen posed the accompanying series of photographs on a shorn sheep so that the position of the handpiece and the shearer’s position would hot be obscured by the fleece. (1> The sheep is caught with the tight arm under the throat, balanced and walked out backwards on its hind legs. A one-handed job, it is much easier than turning the sheep down on its tail and dragging out the whole weigh across the Boot. The wool is kept clean, too. (2) Starting the belly, the sheep is crimped up and made small with no weight at all on the shearer. The right leg of the sheep is against the shearer’s right knee leaving the legs away from the belly and giving easy access. (3) Off the leg and going over the tail easily without lifting the sheep by dropping the brisket right to the floor. The sheep’s head is still kept forward. It is possible to get right over the tail and well up the back without any effort on the shearer’s part (4) Opening up the neck, the legs of the shearer are only about a foot apart with

the right leg between the hind legs and brisket. Left leg is in front of backbone and the sheep sits straight up and down on its tail. Its head is bent back behind and slightly beneath the knee and the blow is ready to go right up underneath the throat. The old style went behind the ear. 15) Coming down on to the long blow with the sheep the right leg has now moved round and the sheep is ready to slide down the left leg for the long blow, the hardest place to hold a sheep correctly. The left foot is right underneath the backbone. (6) For the long blow the right leg is on the tail, with the left leg underneath the shoulder keeping the front legs off the floor and the sheep’s head is kept pressed down towards the floor.

(7) Beginning the last side the sheep’s head is placed between the knees side-ways with its nose up. All that is necessary to bring the sheep’s head forward is to release the right knee. The head then comes forward ready to crimp the last side. 18) The secret of the last side is to crimp the sheep and make it small. The blows must then be made diagonally in the direction the handpiece is pointing. After

shearing the shoulder, only four blows should be necessary to complete the last side and leg. This can only be done if the sheep is made small. The left leg is still between the legs of the sheep and the head is also kept in front of the shearer’s leg. The last blow is taken off at the rump and not running out to the hock. The idea is to keep the blows full when running out the leg, as at the hock the leg is only one comb width.