Goat Stands: Best Clipping, Grooming and Hoof Trimming Stands

Goats are not only known for their superbly nutritious cheese and milk, but also for their luscious coating. Just like you would harvest wool from sheep. In fact, fiber from goat’s coating is a highly sought resource for exclusive and expensive clothing items.

You might have heard of cashmere, cashgora, angora, mohair coats; they all come from the eponymous goat breeds ^[1].

And each of those goat breeds has different fiber-harvesting requirements:

- Angora goats need to be sheared twice per year. ^[2]
- Cashmere and cashgora goats are not sheared at all. Instead, their fiber is combed out once per year ^[3]. The reason for this is due to the fact that you would mix coarser guard hair with fine cashmere.

Mohair goats need to be sheared in the early fall and early spring.

How to Prepare for Shearing Goats

If you got yourself an electric clippers for goats, from a renowned brand like Wahl or Oster, you are halfway done when it comes to preparation. The same is true if you have a proper combing and scissors kit.

However, before goat shearing or trimming can commence, you need to do a few things first:

Apply permethrin or pyrethrin a couple of weeks before shearing in order to eliminate all the ticks and lice.
Keep your goats dry at least 24 hours before shearing.
When you are done shearing your goats, they will be much more susceptible to developing health problems. After all, you just removed their natural protective coating. In order to avoid such issues, make sure to keep the goats in a dry environment protected from bad weather, in addition to providing a new bedding.

Selecting the Best Trimming Stand for Goats

Having good hair clippers, combs and scissors is one thing, but the most important part in shearing goats is to get a robust goat grooming stand.

Needless to say, a goat clipping stand will make the whole process much easier and safer. Especially if you don’t want to ruin your back from all the constant bending!

Look for a goat trim stand that has the following features:

Built to last – either steel or aluminum. Avoid wood because they tend to rot and attract bacteria due to moisture exposure. Steel can either be powder coated to prevent rust, or stainless steel; they are heavier than aluminum but don’t bend as easily.
Foldable legs – great feature to have when you want to easily transport the stand or save some space in the barn.
Winch – more expensive goat and sheep stands have a winch so you can more easily get the sheep on the stand. Lower it all the way down for a goat to step on it, and then elevate it so you can proceed with the shearing at a comfortable height level.
Side rails – more expensive goat stands have side rails, if you are running a bigger goat shearing business.

Here are some of the best-budget goat stands you should consider and compare to others you may encounter:

Best overall trimming stand

Weaver Leather Livestock Steel Trimming Stand with Wire Headpiece

Powder-coated steel stand with wide-tipped leg bottoms for extra anti-tipping security. The legs can be completely folded making it easy to transport.

Both the headpiece pillar and the front legs can be height adjusted. This means that you can incline it to secure easier goat access. The headpiece itself consists of wired side folds for the goat’s head and a plastic chain that doesn’t mess up the fur.

Best aluminum goat clipping and grooming stand

Weaver Leather Livestock Trim Stand with Straight Head Piece

A mirrored version of the Weaver’s steel stand, but made out of aluminum instead of steel. This makes it much lighter and impossible for it to rust. Additionally, the headpiece fully envelops the chin of a goat. The plastic chain for securing is also integrated within the headpiece.

The legs are foldable as well, and the height of both the legs and the headpiece can be adjusted.

Goat milking stand

The stanchion measures at 36 by 22 inches, with 15 inches above the ground, and the head-gate space is at 13-26 inches above the standing surface.

Unfortunately, it lacks in any customization, but it is not intended for transport and compact storage. On top of that, you will have to maintain wood so it maintains its sturdiness.

Tips for Proper Procedure for Goat Shearing

Select goats from youngest to oldest.
Secure the goat on the stand.
Use a blow dryer to blow any dirt, dust or debris off of goat’s coat.
Start with shearing the goat’s belly area, and then move to the udder and scrotal region.
From the belly move up the sides to the spine.
Neck area starts from the throat to the top chest area, the bottom, and finally to the ears.
Back area starts from the head’s crown to the tail.
Check if you missed any areas. Usually those would be around udders or testicles, so scissors should be enough to trim off the remnants.
Release your goat from the stand.
Filter the fleece from any soiled or stained pieces. Put the untainted fleece in a bag and label it with goat’s age and shearing date. Bagged fleece should always be stored in a dry area.
Clean up the stand for the next goat.

Here’s a short video for those of you who prefer visuals

Holding goats for shearing its valuable coat takes a lot of work. Properly feeding and sheltering goats, keeping the space clean, checking for health issues, and getting all the tools to make the job easier. A great goat trimming stand will serve at the front and center of that job, so choose wisely.