This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/jul/14/lake-district-short-back-sides-herdwick-ewe

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Short back and sides for a Herdwick ewe Short back and sides for a Herdwick ewe
(2 months later)
The traditional Australian folk song Click Go the Shears, Boys, Click, Click, Click is apt in Lakeland now. July is the time for shearing to prevent sheep overheating and attracting parasites – only, these days, electric clippers are the norm.The traditional Australian folk song Click Go the Shears, Boys, Click, Click, Click is apt in Lakeland now. July is the time for shearing to prevent sheep overheating and attracting parasites – only, these days, electric clippers are the norm.
In a farmyard below crags, a shepherd stretches his back between clipping sheep. A gangling six-footer and weighing 12 stone – his fighting weight when wrestling Cumberland and Westmorland-style at Grasmere Sports – he stoops more than most in his daily task.In a farmyard below crags, a shepherd stretches his back between clipping sheep. A gangling six-footer and weighing 12 stone – his fighting weight when wrestling Cumberland and Westmorland-style at Grasmere Sports – he stoops more than most in his daily task.
Deftly he seizes the wool on the back of a "yow" appearing down the shearing pen race and swings her over the yard to land at his moccasined feet. He wears a T-shirt; a bare stomach is vulnerable to thrashing feet and horns. He keeps a bottle of Dettol handy – and a needle and thread to stitch cuts on the sheep. A Herdwick tup once kicked away the hand piece, resulting in a two-inch scar along the edge of his thumb.Deftly he seizes the wool on the back of a "yow" appearing down the shearing pen race and swings her over the yard to land at his moccasined feet. He wears a T-shirt; a bare stomach is vulnerable to thrashing feet and horns. He keeps a bottle of Dettol handy – and a needle and thread to stitch cuts on the sheep. A Herdwick tup once kicked away the hand piece, resulting in a two-inch scar along the edge of his thumb.
No sooner has he selected the sheep – in this case a Herdwick ewe – than he flips it around and sits it on its backside on the yard. Seated comfortably and with its head held firmly, it is less inclined to struggle, and his shears cut a swath like a snowplough through the wool – starting at the breastbone and down the front, leaving the underbelly and crutch shorn clean.No sooner has he selected the sheep – in this case a Herdwick ewe – than he flips it around and sits it on its backside on the yard. Seated comfortably and with its head held firmly, it is less inclined to struggle, and his shears cut a swath like a snowplough through the wool – starting at the breastbone and down the front, leaving the underbelly and crutch shorn clean.
Then he continues down the outside of a rear leg to the tail, before hoisting the sheep upright once more and plonking it back on its posterior. Now it's back to the top to clip out the neck, travelling the shears down the flanks before he turns the sheep around once again and manoeuvres it this way and that, so that he can begin working on the other side.Then he continues down the outside of a rear leg to the tail, before hoisting the sheep upright once more and plonking it back on its posterior. Now it's back to the top to clip out the neck, travelling the shears down the flanks before he turns the sheep around once again and manoeuvres it this way and that, so that he can begin working on the other side.
In 45 seconds the sheep is shorn and has that look of anyone who has been for a short back and sides "clip-oot".In 45 seconds the sheep is shorn and has that look of anyone who has been for a short back and sides "clip-oot".
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.