It's a skill that dates back to the 1800s in New Zealand and it isn't for the faint-hearted.
We are talking about shearing, which can be hot, sweaty, back-breaking work.
But it's still a key skill in the industry - and last week a group of young students in Tūranganui a Kiwa / Gisborne were taught the tricks of the trade.
It was also about building their resilience and improving their mental health after a tough year.
Under the elusive sun on a remote sheep farm just out of Tūranga / Gisborne, the dogs are hard at work, mustering the sheep to the main shed by mid-morning.
It's time for the sheep to be shorn, but holding the shears this time are newbies.
They are students from the local high schools, learning the skill and improving their mental health at the same time.
"Our goal for the four days is to try and get them to shear three sheep in half an hour, unassisted to a reasonable standard," said Noel Handley from Elite Wool Industry Training.
"But everybody comes out of the four days with their head held high and a sense of achievement, so that's great to see, really satisfying," he told Newshub.
The course has been organised by Gisborne Boys High School and is run by Elite Wool Industry Training and funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
It follows a tough year for the region, after Cyclone Gabrielle and multiple devastating floods and states of emergency. The toll mentally has been brutal.
"There's a lot of anxiety in the community. If it starts raining again, we have found students - it stresses them out," said Sara Evans, organiser of the Gateway Programme.
Some students lost their homes; their families lost their livelihoods, but this shearing course gives them a sense of ownership and lifts their morale.
"Shearing is a good skill, in the shearing shed the boys work as a team, there's a lot of laughter," Evans told Newshub.
"They can go out in the holidays and earn some money for their families or for themselves, to save up for whatever they want to do," she added.
It's tough, dirty, sweaty work, and at times the sheep don't cooperate.
But the students love every single moment.
"It's challenging physically and mentally but it's enjoyable once you get the hang of it," said course student Levi Cameron.
"I never thought I would be able to shear a sheep, but I have. It builds resilience for sure," said another student Greer Mackay.
The sheep farm where they're working was hit hard by the cyclone.
It belongs to Hamish and Amanda Cave, who jumped at the chance to support the course.
The skills learnt here, they say, are invaluable to the country.
"The benefits are that this is the next generation of shearers - and as long as farmers in New Zealand have got sheep they need to be shorn," said farm owner Hamish Cave.
"I'm very impressed," Cave told Newshub.
A little bit of Tairāwhiti / East Coast competition helps.
"They are quite competitive," said Noel Handley.
"We get them up there crutching and shearing and keeping an eye on each other, they don't want to get beaten by their mates. They are pretty competitive."
Dave is four. He used to think he was a cat.
He's now playing a role in this region's long recovery, because every step taken and every sheep shorn takes them all a little closer to normality.
