Certain four-legged balls of fluff at Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site need haircuts.

Thirteen sheep will lose their winter locks during Saturday’s annual sheep shearing event at the 160-acre city park. The event also kicks off the outdoor museum’s 11-week Living History Program.

“Rather than wild sheep who lose their hair when spring comes, domestic sheep have been bred for that not to happen so humans can use that fiber,” said Melissa Keown, the ranch’s interim park operations administrator. “Domestic sheep need to be sheared; otherwise they get matted and heavy.”

Rock Ledge Ranch, tucked next to Garden of the Gods, was once inhabited by Native Americans and Colorado Springs’ first homesteaders, including the city’s founder, Brig. Gen. William Palmer.

Nowadays the property serves as a living-history museum and farm dedicated to teaching the stories of those who lived in the Pikes Peak region from 1775 to 1909. Living-history sites create an experience for visitors, through history and interpreters in period dress using period-appropriate means, such as cooking over a wood stove or using draft horses, to show change over time.

During the ranch’s Living History Program, which runs Wednesdays through Sundays, junior docents and adult volunteers interpret history for the public. They work in the historic buildings, Native American area, blacksmith shop and general store, and can answer questions and talk about the history of the area and what life was like for the people who lived on the property.

In the 1880s, El Paso County had the largest population of sheep in the state — 120,000 sheep produced about 560,000 pounds of fleece.

Saturday’s event will demonstrate the different parts of sheep shearing: shearing, skirting, carting and spinning and weaving. Skirting is picking the dirt and debris out of the fleece to get it ready for washing. Once the fleece is dried it’s carted, which gets out the last bits of dirt or hay and gets the fibers going in one direction so it can be spun. Spinners and weavers will be in the barn demonstrating what can be made from the wool. There also will be a chance for visitors to try their hand at spinning.

“You can make anything from wool,” Keown said. “You’ll see a lot of tablecloths and scarfs. Historically, it could have been made into clothing. You might see someone make it into a sweater. If you can imagine it, it can be made from wool.”

The event also will feature sheepdog handling and blacksmithing demonstrations and food trucks.

Keown enjoys watching the way the sheep shearer holds the animals still while he removes the fleece.

“Shearers wear special moccasins because of the lanolin from the sheep,” she said. “It gets slippery and the oil soaks up into those moccasins. We always joke how shearers always have the softest hands because of working with the sheep and getting that lanolin on their hands.”