If you want to know the best way to clip a horse from start to finish, you should find this video and its accompanying step-by-step guide helpful.
This archive video of Mary King and her former groom Jodie Summers clipping out the late Kings Temptress contains expert advice on what to wear, where to do it and how to get it right.
Before you start though, make sure you’ve got the best clippers for the job and decide which type of clip you’re going to do and draw on the lines with chalk if that’s helpful.
NOTE: this is archive material filmed in 2008
How to clip a horse: the basics
1. Wear appropriate clothing
- Wear sturdy footwear, ideally with steel toecaps
- Don’t wear fleecy clothes. Overalls are a good idea – if not, a long waterproof riding coat and/or waterproof trousers are handy
- Use a cap to keep your hair back or a riding hat for extra safety
2. Find the right location
- Outside gives good natural light
- Indoors is best in wet weather
- Choose a place where the horse is relaxed
3. Make sure the horse has a clean, dry coat to avoid blunting the blades. The best way to do this is by using a hot cloth or by bathing your horse.
4. When using mains clippers use a circuit breaker and be careful the horse does not stand on the wires.
5. Before starting to clip:
- Check the clippers are working
- Check the blades are in good order and have been recently sharpened
- Make sure the tension is correct. This is different for each clipper brand. For Lister Clippers, which were used in the video, screw the tension nut down until tight. Turn the tension nut back one and a half turns.
- Apply clipper oil along the teeth of the blades, and also on the sides at the heel
6. Introducing the clippers to the horse
- Show the horse the clippers while they are turned off
- Rub the clippers against the horse’s shoulder
- Take the clippers away and turn them on. Let the horse listen to the noise
- Take the clippers gently to the horse and place against the horse to feel the vibration
- If the horse appears relaxed you can start clipping
7. While clipping:
- Use long smooth strokes against the lie of the hair
- Stop every 10 minutes to clean the hair from the blades and apply oil along the teeth of the blades and also on the sides at the heel
- If the blades start to get hot, stop and set them aside to cool down, or swap to new blades. Apply a blade coolant spray if necessary. Do not put the blades in water or paraffin to cool them.
- Take your time!
8. When the clip is complete, wipe the horse down with a warm, damp sponge to remove any loose hair, then rug up appropriately.
9. Caring for your clippers:
- Brush off all the loose hairs
- Remove the tension set and the blades
- Clean the blades with a brush and/or rag and put them away. Do not put them back on the handset while in storage
- Clean the handset and pack away carefully
- Store your clippers in a cool, dry place
- Send your clippers and blades away at the end of the clipping season to be serviced and sharpened ready for the following year
You might also be interested in:
While we’d all like our horses to come out looking like the illustrations in the BHS manual, sometimes things don’t
Best horse clippers to tame even the wildest of winter coats
Fix up and look sharp with these top trimmers
Which type of clip is right for your horse? Check out H&H’s helpful guide
9 reasons why we’re big fans of the blanket clip
5 types of clip you’ll only meet in the real world
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