Going to clip tomorrow for first time. Tips?

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cullord

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I am going to clip my four year old tomorrow morning. She's clean. The clippers are serviced and ready. I've 4 pairs of blades (just incase :D) but it'll be the first time I've ever clipped. I've watched other people doing it in the past but not actually been taught or shown properly myself. I'd like to do a trace clip but am worried about getting lines straight, so wonder if I ought to just bite the bullet and just do a hunter clip for this first time. I've tried using chalk to mark lines on my bright bay but TBH they don't really show up. I tried today, just to see.

So, any vital tips I really need to know before I start? :)
 
Wear old non-hair-attracting clothes and accept you will still be finding hair in very strange places for a day or so :D

Wear a riding hat, steel toe caps if you have them. I have learned this from experience :(

I wont advise you on the actual clipping as I'm fairly rubbish myself ;)
 
Has your mare been clipped before? If not then I would aim to start small - say a bib clip and then increase when you are sure she is ok with things. The last thing you need is her flipping out after you have clipped one side of her bottom!

Wear full waterproofs (you'll still get hair in places you didn't know you had places, but it helps!).
Breath, and take your time. There is no hurry.
Stop regularly to brush the hair off and oil your blades and give pony a pat. I take an age to do a full clip so I give my mare a break half way through as she holds herself when I clip and it is tiring for her.
Do you have power sorted? Use an rcd just to ensure no horrible accidents.
Tie your mare up somewhere with good light - it really helps.
Don't push the blades, just hold them against the skin and allow the blades to do the work of moving through the hair.
Clip against the hair direction, some areas might need a couple of passes because of whorls etc.
Afterwards get a bucket of hand hot water with a slosh of vinegar in and an old flannel and give her a good hot clothing to get rid of grease and any itchy bits of cut hair.
Admire your handsome girl and congratulate yourself on a job well done!!

Good luck!
 
When you're doing lines, hold the clippers on and don't take them off until you've finished it!
Take long, slow strokes, to avoid tram lines.
Overlap each stroke by about 50%, again to avoid tram lines.
If your horse is any other colour than black , make a few marks along her coat with marker pen to give you a bit of a guide as to where to clip.
For leg lines, just follow muscle lines, makes it much neater and easier.
If you do a half head, go right up to the cheek bone, one of my pet hates face lines being too low lol! Its very hard to take them too high.
Close your hand round your horses eye when clipping close to it so hair doesn't go in it.


And at the end of the day, if it all goes tits up, its only hair! :D
 
One thing, when doing clips that require 'lines', nobody can see both side of the horse at once! Don't stress too much if it's not equally matching both sides, or, it's easy to end up with a much bigger clip than you anticipated.
I've always remembered something an ancient instructor used to say when asked what the difference was between a good clip and a bad clip, his answer was '4 or 5 days'!
 
Someone once told me the difference between a good clip and a bad one.

Two weeks.

Don't worry if not perfect (I need to listen tO me too!) your horse is young, and practice makes perfect!! I rem my first clip being rubbish, and then sides getting ever shorter as I tried to keep them level!!

If you are really anal (I am) I take length of baler twin and from the spine measure out the trace/blanket line so it's fair equal both sides!!!

But as y
 
Damn phone!

Was trying to say as your first time and prob horsey? Just aim for something simple so good experience for you both.

Don't stand downwind, hair in face eyes mouth not great!

Then go home and have a shower. You'll need it!
 
Thanks everyone! A big help :)

I know she's young but I've used small clippers on her before. To trim her ears, head and feet and she doesn't bat an eyelid. I'm pretty confident she'll be okay with the noisy big clippers. Plus she's watched lots of other horses being clipped right outside her stable for years. Fingers crossed she'll be okay being done. TBH it's ME I'm worried about LOL.
 
My best piece of advice - get someone else to do it! LOL

I have been banned because I am so flipping bad at clipping - even though I keep saying I need the practice, as soon as someone sees me with the clippers they take them away and won't give them back!!!
 
Take your time. If you are thinking of doing a clip that requires lines do these early on and work up to them ~ that way if it doesn't work you can just keep clipping!

Pics when you've done!
 
Wear a biohazard suit and goggles :p :D.. in all seriousness you do get hair everywhere! I always end up with sexy nose hair, extended "eyebrows" and a part beard! a boiler suit is the most realistic option with wellies if you cant get a plastic suit (hair cant stick to it). But I would also use a pair of goggles if poss as when you are doing the belly I find I need to look and get hair in my eyes if not which is horrid! :(. I know some people wear earmuffs as the noise makes their ears buzz after so clearly isnt doing much good for their hearing! but think this is usually when clipping a lot of horses, I opt for an ipod just because its something to listen to!

My lines are RUBBISH clipping ( I cant cut paper in a straight line so I dont stand much chance!) so this time I opted for it all off! but will leave legs on for next clip - my best tip is to start your lines really high so you have plenty of "correcting" room! :D

Agree with the other start with a bib clip just to play it safe just in case :p. My clippers broke half way through last time so my mare had one side only clipped for a day or two :D

Watch out for your cable you do NOT want the horse to stand on it. I put it over the horse's back when Im doing the alternate side to the power source to stop it from being around their front or back feet.

Make sure you stop for breaks to let your clippers cool a little and oil them regularly. Read the instructions so you know the distance to set the clipper blades at from the body and make sure the screws holding the blades onto the body are tight!

Watch out for areas where the skin gathers where you are more likely to nick them eg behind and on the inside of the front legs. To get round this pull the leg forward to clip the area so the skin pulls tight. The easiest way to do this is with someone to help you but it is possible on your own with a well behaved horse :)

Some people recommend using a warm/hot damp towel to firmly wipe over the horse after clipping to help prevent clip lines - dont know how well this actually works!

Thats all I can think of tbh! :)
 
I think I'll have to keep an eye on this thread! I'm trying to clip Ned for the first time soon (Not his first, mine) and his owner said "Good! I always dread doing him"...what have I got myself into?! HAH! She said I can practice on a few ponies first :P thank goodness
 
Give yourself LOADS of time! I always try to do mine first thing in the morning, on a day without much else to do. It's horrible, getting near the end, having lines to straighten out, a fidgety horse and trying to rush. I know it won't take all day, but it's nice to think you've got all day :o
Always make sure you have good (preferably natural) light, I clipped a pony on a dark evening under the barn lights and he came out like a patchwork quilt! The shadows meant I couldn't really tell what was hair and what was the shadow lol.
If you can get a helper, to hold a leg while you go behind elbows and such, that would be a good idea too.
And again, don't worry about wobbly lines, as has already been said, you can't see both sides at the same time and when you're riding it's pretty hard to see the lines anyway ;)
 
Full boilersuit - trust me!
Long firm strokes.
Be prepared - get all your stuff ready first
Dont let the blades get too hot - oil and change regularly
Sturdy boots!
Clip outside - horses prefer it.
Leave plenty of time to finish the job properly
Have an extra pair of hands nearby to hold up legs etc
Get a toothbrush and an old body brush for your "clipping kit" - lol, needed to edit this one - these are for the clippers - not you and the horse!!
Also, an old cotton teatowel
Keep a clean damp cloth somewhere nearby but not within hair falling distance to wipe the hair out of your poor old eyes, ears, nose and cleavage!!
 
DID IT :)

She's now got a high trace and clipped out half-head. And I've got hairs in places I REALLY SHOULDN'T!!!! :D :D

I think I need smaller clippers. Mine are giant and it was really difficult for me to hold them comfortably and get in to all the tight areas like inside back legs and stuff. I'm only 5'1 and guess the set of clippers I've got would be classed as 'Man Sized'! I'll get my trimmers out tomorrow and finish the underneath bits I couldn't easily do today.

She was VERY good and even stood with her headcollar off for her head to be clipped. She found it very interesting and kept turning her head to watch and give me a nuzzle whilst I was doing her body. Is this the same nightmare TB who's impossibly nutty the rest of the time!!!???

Thanks again for all the tips. And I used the lipstick recommendation to mark out her lines, altho I used a blemish cover stick instead and it worked a treat!!! Much better than chalk :)
 
If you are seriously looking for new clippers look at the heineger progress ones, they have a very slim handle which is easy to grip. Well done, now all you have to look forward to is finding horse hair all over you for the next week (so glad I'm not clipping this year :))!
 
broke_but_happy said:
If you are seriously looking for new clippers look at the heineger progress ones, they have a very slim handle which is easy to grip. Well done, now all you have to look forward to is finding horse hair all over you for the next week (so glad I'm not clipping this year :))!
Click to expand...

Mine are the Liveryman Arena ones. ANYTHING smaller and lighter than that would be a bonus. My arm's still killing and I only did one trace clip! Must admit, I also found tensioning them tricky. Maybe I should have bought a less industrial set but I spotted them in a sale a couple of years ago and snapped them up. Only now do I wish I'd shopped around. I've only got one horse to do after all.
 
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I wear safety goggles and a cardboard mask to cover my mouth. Absolutely completely detest getting clipped hair in my eyes and mouth! Its sharp and really really hurts :( you can pick both of these up at ur local DIY shop - well worth a couple of quid in my book! Good luck!! X
 
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