Clipping for comfort or show? Cobs and traditional breeds carry heavier coats all year round as well as growing copious amounts of feather and fluff. Maintaining a clipped Cob takes time and patience as well as having the correct clippers and blades to get the job done quickly and efficiently.
Heavier breeds can suffer from mites and ticks which bury themselves into thick hair and cause irritation and soreness. Clipping off the hair on a very regular basis, will ensure that the skin is kept free from bugs and irritation, but does mean clipping almost weekly!
It is much easier to keep on top of the leg clipping by clipping every other week, this makes the job a lot quicker, as the hair is never allowed to get out of control. Leg hair tends to be thicker and coarser in this area as well as the skin being greasier. A good wash and dry of legs before clipping is essential to help the blades get through smoothly.
Clipping legs can be tricky, particularly if the horse has suffered with mites or similar. Most will react quickly, by snatching and fidgeting. If this is the case, clipping with full size clippers may be difficult, and a trimmer or Light Duty clipper would be a better option.
As cob owners ourselves we have tried and tested many clippers, trimmers and blades for this purpose and have curated a selection that will be the most effective to use.
Top tips to choose the right clipper and blades.
- Re-chargeable trimmers and clippers are the safest and most versatile to use. They can be used in any situation and ideal around fidgety animals.
- A short-bodied clipper is a good choice when clipping around heels and legs and makes it so much easier to manoeuvre near to the ground when clipping and trimming.
- Blades and grades. Different grades will help with getting a good finish. Having a variety to choose from will help as the coat density will vary depending on time of year and the finish required and whether the horse has a light/white coat.
- Coarse blades will get through thick greasy coats but will leave a rough finish. If clipping regularly, medium blades are preferable and will easily cope with clipping coat, legs and hog. A medium blade clips to around 2mm and is a good choice for most conditions and is advisable for greys and pink skins.
- The Lister Covercote blade is designed to skim and is perfect for using on cobs in the summer, to remove the thicker summer coat but still maintain the original colour of the coat.
- Trimmers with an adjustable blade height are ideal for dealing with varying densities when trimming and are good for blending into areas that have been clipped with a larger blade.
- The clipper that ticks all the boxes to the above clipping hairy cob requirements is the Lister Liberty, this paired with the light duty Lister Libretto gives the complete package to cover all clipping requirements for even the most challenging conditions.