Mpingo and I after my first clipping... I thought she looked pretty good.
Well, it seems it is time to blog some more and I am having a bit of a brain blockage when coming up with what to say this week. Katie and I have talked a lot about upcoming shows, and about when we should schedule some time to clip, bathe, and do hoof trimming. So maybe it’s only natural that the first thing that really comes to my mind is my first goat clipping.
We’d planned to show our Nigerians for the first time at the Fort Worth Stock Show in January 2020 and decided to do our first clipping on them in November. Plenty of time to clip for those of you that are experienced, but for a 65-year-old clipping one for the first time, it was scary. It started off when Katie had asked me, ‘Mom, do you want to clip the goat or muck the goat pen?’ Well, I figured clipping would be at least a sit-down job, and that sounded easier plus if I messed up the goat hair would have time to grow back.
At first, I thought, ‘How hard can it be?’ Well, it seems there is more to it than you might think. Things like, spraying coat conditioner on the goat and rubbing it in before clipping to make it easier to clip and to keep the goat from getting itchy. Or that goat skin is looser and you have to pinch it up in some places to get a tighter clip against the body. I was terrified of cutting chunks out of their hair; by the way clipping was done on Mpingo (who I have a very tenuous relationship with) and it was to be a show clip.
For those like me, that don’t know what a show clip is, that is a very short clip that is smooth and even all over, plus the hair needs to blend in with the longer hair that is left. Also, did you know you have to prepare the clippers and know what size of blade to use? I almost gave her a bald look because I didn’t have a clue and almost used the blocking blade (google it) on her body. Thankfully, Katie was there and stopped me before I got started, and then I almost burned up the clippers from over use without letting clippers cool down. I think that I thought that a person could just whiz through nonstop. I didn’t know you had to clean the blades or spray clippers with a coolant so you don’t burn the goat or burn out the clippers.
It took me 5 hours to clip her, and as it turned out, it was relaxing as well as rewarding. I still had Katie clip the face and underside because I was afraid I would put her eyes out or clip off one of her teats on her udder. In the end, I thought I did a good job. So now I’ve added goat clipping to my résumé. Surprisingly it is relaxing and enthralling. Goat clipping isn't everyone’s ideal job, but I like it much better than trimming goat hooves. A subject to discuss maybe next time. Until then, enjoy your day and thanks for stopping in and reading my thoughts for today.