Woolly Sheep

Not sure which is better. With a dry tan, sometimes, but not always, the grit they are tumbled in is also tough to get out in addition to all the burrs and sticks.

George has posted a method of cleaning using a lot of hair conditioner in the wool then pressure washing the wool clean. I have not had much look with that, but it could have been the pressure washer wasn't good enough.

Good luck, I hate those things. They mount up quick, but you spend a whole day brushing to get them somewhat clean.

 

I like dry tanned ,even when rehydration I try not to get the wool wet .

 

I do a bunch from a hunting ranch ever color / wool / hair configuration there is - and I send them off and do wet tan -
Works good for me -

 

maybe its the tannery you use - makes a big difference in the outcome.

 

The few I did were commercially tanned (DRY) and came back clean and purty . They seemed to combed to some extent but mounted up really nice and customers were happy with them. Wet tan . . . that's a lot of hair to get completely dry. I'm in Michigan so even our winters are more humid than other areas. JMO

 

I’ve done as wooley as they come - everything gets wet tanned - they don’t come back anymore tangled then when they were shipped there - the long haired - hairy sheep are worse then the wooley ones - those get flat out dreadlocks - and they won’t come out no matter wet or dry tanned . But I guess I can’t speak about the dry tanned / as all my capes are wet tanned. I way prefer getting capes back wet tanned. I generally mount everything within the same week as getting it back from the tannery - so I like it hydrated and ready to go - wet tan is not for everyone - if you don’t have the freezer space or aren’t going to mount them right away . I don’t freeze any of them - I just get them back and mount them -

wet wool doesn’t bother me a bit - I towel dry , so it’s not dripping and blow dry it for a little bit and then put a fan on it over night / and hit it with the blow dryer again the next morning a little and then the fan again and they dry just fine.

 

I did what Tom does. I used shop air and blew out residual. I used lots of conditioner when they came back. After blowing them dry, I'd mount them and let them set. The next day, with a furrier's comb and a hairdryer, I'd start at the underside and backbrush to the top making them puffballs. I'm not sure they'd have groomed that well without the conditioner.

 

George - yea I condition them really good as well …., and awhile back I was watching my wife comb out my 9 year old daughters long hair after she had showered and she was spraying something in it ….. I was like what is that ….. it is detangler it helps the brush glide through the hair a lot better and so I had her get me a bottle and I use it on those mounts & it is pretty cool stuff ! Would highly recommend spraying it in the wethair Before brushing out …. It really helps