Crazy Clipping

unclipped Animal

As the countdown to my 4-H achievement day is well under way (with only 3 days remaining) this week has been extremely hectic. These past two days I have spent helping other 4-H member clip there steers. Clipping steers helps to give them a more finished look and if a steer has enough hair you are actually able to hide some flaws that you don’t like about the steer.

For 4-H we try to keep it simple so the members can get right in there and not have to be worried about messing up.  The easiest and part of the steer that fits these criteria the best is the head. Clipping the steers head really makes a big change to the steer’s image and has no certain way of clipping that a member must fallow.

Clipped Animal

I usually like to start with the top of their head, starting at their nose and going up first and then going down to endure that all the hair is shaved right down. Near the top of their head you can see where the animal’s head will peak, this is called there poll. Here we will unusually leave some hair so that the animals face will look longer and can make some look a little more feminine.

Next I like to move to the side of the head, where we will go straight up to get all the hair off. We then will do a v-shape from the bottom of their neck to the line we created from the side of their face. This helps to make the steers shaved head flow into their body making them look a little more natural.

Then I just continue cleaning up around their face in different direction to get all the hair off. As you can see just clipping an animal’s head really makes a big difference to their overall look and is a great start for members to learn how to clip. So although this week is hectic and crazy, it is great to see members getting involved and wanted to learn more about clipping and making their animals look as good as possible.