The Great Yorkshire Show
Sheep Shearing Champion endorses
health benefits of Ritchie Combi Clamp
» » FARMING AS A FAMILY UNIT WHERE THE
total land acreage includes land belonging to
uncle, mum and dad, their own and a rented
land block, Gary and Sharon Jones constantly
have sheep on the move as the land they
farm covers 650 acres of Welsh hill moors.
Gary learnt his shepherding the hard way
and hard years of intensive sheep handling
have taken their toll and worn out his hips,
arms and shoulders. At the age of 40 Gary
had to give up his contract sheep shearing
business as his body was no longer ‘fit for
purpose.’ His hip joints needed re-surfacing
and shearing was out on health bounds.
Fortunately a new ‘business partner’ was
found at the 2016 Welsh Winter Fair when
Gary purchased a Ritchie Combi Clamp to
enable him to handle the sheep more easily.
He said: “Like many businesses ‘the
customers come first’ and in this particular
instance my personal health took a low
second place. Sheep races were second
rate, handling was slow and conditions
Take the back ache
out of handling sheep
difficult which meant I was kicked and
knocked around by sheep trying to jump
out of the race. Dagging, foot treatment
and injecting were slow, back-breaking
experiences. My new Ritchie business
partner has put all those experiences into the
history book. I just wish we had found the
Ritchie Combi Clamp earlier.”
With sheep husbandry, up to 40% of the
time is taken moving sheep to and from
the handling system. Equally important is
the constant need for the shepherd to be
stooping, bending, lifting and often running
to manage the flock! Fortunately the Ritchie
Combi Clamp has changed much of this.
Minimal physical effort is required to hold
each sheep in a Ritchie Combi Clamp
compared to traditional methods. Operated
by a foot sprung plate on the side of the unit,
a padded side wall within the sheep race
gently, but firmly holds the ewe still, enabling
the shepherd to carry out the necessary
tasks.
Ritchie make and supply a fully type-
approved road legal trailer for the Ritchie
Combi Clamp to operate from, something
Gary felt was a must. The trailer unit
incorporates a standard Ritchie Combi
Clamp unit and up to 12 aluminium hurdles
which can be easily towed from farm to farm.
With a 12-volt portable battery, the unit can
incorporate electronic weighing, ear tag flock
management and shearing out in the fields or
in a building. Now just two people can move,
set-up and operate the flock management of
2,000+ sheep.
Sheep Shearing Champion
Gary Jones endorses the
RITCHIE Combi Clamp
See full
testimonial
HERE
Employ the RITCHIE Combi
Clamp for a happier, quieter
and safer way to handle sheep.
• Substantially reduce
body stress for operator
and animal
• Plus, go mobile with the
RITCHIE Combi Clamp Trailer
Contact us today for more info.
Tel: 01307 462271 • Email: [email protected] • Web: www.ritchie-uk.com
46 Summer 2017 www.farmers-mart.co.uk