This course will teach you how to safely shear a sheep and look after your own personal welfare in this physically challenging role. Learn to develop and build the skills and techniques you need to succeed as a shearer at a professional level

As a shearer, you’ll be involved in:

• Applying crutching and/or shearing techniques (blows) using a handpiece to remove the wool from sheep over the course of a run
• Having a clear focus on animal welfare at all times in the handling and managing of the sheep
• Using your handpiece on the sheep in a safe and professional manner to maximise the clip for the farmer
• Using appropriate, well cleaned and maintained shearing gear and equipment, to ensure a safe environment for you and the sheep
• Working quickly, safely, and competently for long periods of time
• Working as a key part of a shed team, understanding roles and responsibilities and communication within the team.

Our WOMOlife shearing course will teach you:

• Setting up the stand
• Best practice position of the downtube, the handpiece, and the sheep, to be able to shear safely and efficiently
• Animal health and welfare
• Catching and dragging a sheep from the pen to the stand
• The importance of footwork
• How to release the sheep
• Types of cut outs
• Crutching and all the variations, including full belly (for pre-lamb or prior to shearing) and half belly (mainly done in the winter for easy access for lambs to feed), fan and back slam methods, and ring crutch method (four blows, used for dagging, pre-tup crutch for ram to go out, or general tidy up)
• Handpiece and gear safety
• Types of combs and cutters and how to set them up
• How to clean and maintain your gear – and even how to tie your moccasins!
• Knowing when to grind or sharpen your gear, the set-up, parts, papers, body position
• How to grind, including the hollow grind
• Shearing – where and how to place your feet, looking after the sheep, understand the shearing pattern, tips and techniques for each individual blow, and the full shearing process
• Eating wisely for a longer more sustainable career