CC on my first ever clip please!

Thanks everyone :) have decided to just ignore the two very negative comments from people who seem to think it should have been a perfect clip. I know it's not brilliant but at least I had a go. Thank you for all the constructive criticisum, it has all been taken on board and hopefully pics of our next clip will he better :)
 
Allover said:
everyone nicks horses when they clip,
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I certainly dont!

It is a poor job i am afraid and i would advise you to get some help. You cannot nick a horse when you clip, it is the ultimate no no and next time you come to clip your horse will be less well behaved. Imagine if someone came to shave your legs every few weeks and kept nicking you! You wouldnt just sit there and let them do it. Please get some help from some one experienced before you try again.
 
Under the elbows I think is th hardest place to clip - usually we would twitch at the end and do half head and under elbows/chest last.
If the Horse is fidgety it is very easy to nick them especially in tricky areas with loose skin!!
 
practise makes perfect, but id agree it doesnt compliment the conformation particulary well, id go for a diagonal, the sides are not even and that would annoy me if it was me- but of course it doesnt matter so no need to stress over it, use chalk next time.

My first clip was done a month ago and although my lines are pretty good it took me two bloody hours- mostly spent on the back legs lol... cba with chalk myself so maybe i will learn to use it next time..

My horse has the most folded skin and when i had it proffessionally done they asked if she was old! shes only 8! luckily my clippers seem to be forgiving on the folds and I havent nicked her at all.
 
I agree Only Me it is very tricky but still not an excuse to nick your horse, especially on its first clip. I am less concerned with the OP's lines and clip style as that just takes practice but nicking is something else. I clip a lot of horses, being an instructor i clip my clients when they ask (and obviously pay!) I can certainly tell the ones who have bad experiences in the past. It just makes me cross as there is no reason why you would nick a horse when you do it properly. If you dont know how to clip ask someone else, pay your instructor to show you how. Thats how i learnt when i was a teenager. I certainly have never nicked a horse when clipping and would be mortified if i did.
 
rhino said:
You really need an extra person to do the 'armpits' as it is much easier when the skin is taut - next time get someone to lift the foot and then draw the leg forwards - makes it SO much easier!

Clip looks ok to me :)
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Not always possible I hardly ever have any one around to hold legs forward

what i do is use my left leg put it round the inside of my geldings leg and push my leg back thus pushing his leg forward and up. cant hold the pose for long but long enough
yes ignore the * I am perfect i never nick a horse gurus * .
if the horse moves sudden its easy to nick them


Ive nicked my mare before she flinched once then thats it and she been clipped for over 10 years still fine to clip
I am sedating my horse wed so he can have a sheath clean then i can clip him.

I think you done a nice clip on your horse Tonitot, as someone else said the horse doesn't give a rats whether the lines are straight , i personally don't like the face in a straight line i make it deliberately wonky then in a few days it just blends in. they have fluffy faces and i just hate looking at a solid line.
 
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Trot_On_Dressage said:
I agree Only Me it is very tricky but still not an excuse to nick your horse, especially on its first clip. I am less concerned with the OP's lines and clip style as that just takes practice but nicking is something else. I clip a lot of horses, being an instructor i clip my clients when they ask (and obviously pay!) I can certainly tell the ones who have bad experiences in the past. It just makes me cross as there is no reason why you would nick a horse when you do it properly. If you dont know how to clip ask someone else, pay your instructor to show you how. Thats how i learnt when i was a teenager. I certainly have never nicked a horse when clipping and would be mortified if i did.
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whats it like to be so perfect???:rolleyes:
to those above don't worry about some of the comments here , nicks to happen like when u shave, practice helps there is only one way to get better at it and I have seen * professionals nick horses * usually cos a horse heard something and startled or fidgety what ever.

Some dont have any help around so have to make do on their own.
 
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It is pretty amazing but i do have high standards. :rolleyes:

I still think you should make a real special effort not to nick a horse, especially on its first ever clip. Horses have very good memories, especially negative ones and why cause possible future problems when it really isn't that hard not to nick a horse.
 
lionman said:
Its not very good is it?
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gr8 comment really encouraging for someone doing their first clip isnt it.:rolleyes:

I think she has done very well with the first one we all have to start somewhere.
Nobody sets out to nick a horse but these things can happen , my horse is no worst to clip now then when i first clipped her
her son as yet is sedated though last year i did do neck and shoulder before vet sedated him
 
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Leviathan said:
gr8 comment really encouraging for someone doing their first clip isnt it.:rolleyes:

I think she has done very well with the first one we all have to start somewhere.
Nobody sets out to nick a horse but these things can happen , my horse is no worst to clip now then when i first clipped her
her son as yet is sedated though last year i did do neck and shoulder before vet sedated him
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She asked for a CC sweetheart, not a round of applause.
 
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Practice makes perfect!
My first clip on my mare last year was god awful :eek:
Clipped her twice since and the clips are MUCH better. Will be clipping her again next weekend! :)
 
It does the job and thats all that matters and she was a good girl. Try to get the lines done in one stroke if you can next time as it makes the lines smoother and neater but apart from that its fine. Having clipped a tb with medium blades I can agree that its not easy and the nice finish they leave on my connie is much harder to achieve. As for the armpits I use my trimmers as I'm to lazy to do them with the big ones. If you want to be super safter conscious like me I sit on my grooming box at his side with his leg resting on my knee then clip away, thankfully he is very good and lets me get on with it.
 
dafthoss said:
If you want to be super safter conscious like me I sit on my grooming box at his side with his leg resting on my knee then clip away, thankfully he is very good and lets me get on with it.
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:D That's my style too ;)

I agree - lines in one go makes them smoother, and it would suit her better if you took the line out to her hind legs, I think. But that's not terribly important.

I've nicked my old lad clipping once years back, between the forelegs - hate doing it! Now I err on the side of caution down there and tend not to get it very tidy (but you can't see and it's better than nicking him, imo).
 
Practice makes perfect as far as tramlines etc are concerned. However - it's really quite hard to nick a horse with coarse blades, as they leave so much coat on. If you are going to use mediums next time please take care in those difficult areas as it will be easier for you to nick her again! I wouldn't advise that you use fines until you are more practised. :)
 
Natalie_H said:
Correct - she asked for a cc - constructive criticsm.

Which part of "it's not very good is it" is constructive, or have I misunderstood something?
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Not very good means just that, I am sure the OP knows why it isnt very good. I am hoping she might take a good look at her pictures and improve her clipping skills. To say to this poster anything else is being less than honest.
 
Trot_On_Dressage said:
But she did also say she was going to ignore negative comments so obviously she was just hoping for positive ones and doesnt want to hear what she did wrong.
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I presume she is ignoring those comments which were unconstructively negative - e.g. lionman's. I am hoping she will take heed of suggestions as to how it can be improved, possibly even the suggestion that she seeks some help next time - which I agree would be a good idea if she can :)
 
God what sort of a forum is this :mad: It used to be a nice place to be.

This poor person has asked for CC on her FIRST clip, its her first clip for christs sake. Its ok being constructive as some politely have been, loads of confidence and advice has been given but then you get the perfect ones who have been down right nasty to her.

Ive never nicked my horse either but my clips are far from perfect. She only wanted a bit of advice. Im sure some people just come on here to cause trouble.

Round of applause for the people who have been constructive but nice.
 
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Exactly - the OP has accepted the constructive criticism such as getting someone more experienced to direct her next time, using chalk etc. She was looking for advice to help her get better which I thought was what this forum was about?

The remark about ignoring the negative was in relation to the non-constructive comments. She seems more than willing to take on advice to avoid nicking the horse & to improve the lines - that's why she asked in the first place as I see it.

As for being "honest" that the clip isn't very good, and expecting her to stand back & work out why.....well I can't fathom that at all. Surely you would say that it's not as good as it could be, and then explain why & how to improve?

Or perhaps I am being unrealistic in expecting more experienced people to help someone who has admitted she is a novice in improving her skills.

As Louby says - I guess this place isn't just as it used to be.
 
'It's not very good, is it?' is NOT constructive. CC is a big part of the art world and having been in the art world for 15yrs+, I can tell you, that's not constructive, helpful or useful by any stretch of the imagination. Lionman, I've read your posts and you seem like a typical troll to me. Jus' sayin'. That, or a big ol' grump who'd got their knickers in a twist about something!


OP: It looks good for your first try! I haven't clipped before so I honestly don't know how tricky it is. Not perfect, but who expects anyone to be perfect at their first go at anything? :)
Also, I have been shaving my legs for a good while now...and I still managed to cut myself pretty badly! I don't think one little nick is the worst thing in the entire universe.
In conclusion, great first try :D I'm sure you'll have it down soon :)
 
Hi. I went to a clipping demo last year where you could have a practice at clipping and this gave me the confidence to clip my own horses. As others have said you will get better with practice. I bought some Lister Legato cordless trimmers for doing the tricky bits as I was worried about nicking their skin.
 
You need someone to pull the front legs up for you so you can get underneath easier, I tend not to bother too much in that area and just do what I can without nicking.

Your clip doesn't look that bad for a first time, my farrier asked me if I had done my first time blindfolded :D

This is how mark mine out, others have different tips as well, finished article at end of vid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74WEY2JK6ps
 
Pedantic said:
You need someone to pull the front legs up for you so you can get underneath easier, I tend not to bother too much in that area and just do what I can without nicking.

Your clip doesn't look that bad for a first time, my farrier asked me if I had done my first time blindfolded :D

This is how mark mine out, others have different tips as well, finished article at end of vid.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74WEY2JK6ps
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This is really useful advice for anyone new to clipping. Cheers for posting the link.
 
hands up who has nicked their horse :o though can I blame him if he moved? ;) :D. I probably said sorry and let him have a pony nut or two (immediately replace with positive experience ;) )

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hands up whose horse was so traumatised they were a pita to clip the following time...

thats a no from me then, feel free to add!
 
Okay, I'm a dog groomer - and I'm not particularly proficient in horse clipping. The photo below was my horse, but as clipped by my friend who is really really good (professional groom in a previous life, turned out horses for HOYS etc).

But the reason I'm attaching it is because it illustrates a few things to help you.

First of all, work with a really really clean coat. The day before clipping wash the coat with a good degreasing shampoo. Some people will use Fairy Liquid, but this is what I use on greasy dogs, and it is very good on scurfy coats

http://www.technogroom.co.uk/catalo...rease&osCsid=8aadde26c2da8f0918e9f22f63738831

A dirty coat will make the clippers drag thru rather than cut cleanly. It'll make your horse uncomfortable too.

Also, the condition of your horse overall will play a part on the clip you do too. I sometimes find it's really hard to get a clip on dogs that have bumps (hips, ribs etc) as you can't keep things smooth. Your horse's conformation and natural contours will affect the lines. I'm not saying that you should beef up your horse just for clipping, but it does make it easier if they are slightly more covered. The pic below is a welsh cob, and she's beefy.

Make sure your clippers are well serviced and the blades uber sharp. The better the equipment works, the better the finish and the faster it'll be for you all.

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