Coats are growing, which means its clipping and trimming time of year. Don’t be caught out, check your clipping equipment before you really need to clip as there is nothing more frustrating than having a clipper that won’t turn on when needed, or a horse that becomes half clipped as blades are not sharp enough.
A little bit of preparation beforehand, will ensure clipping can be carried without too many operating problems. Clipping can cause stress to both handler and horse, as it’s something that is not always done on a regular basis. If a horse is new to the owner, or young and not been clipped before, do try to think about turning on a set of clippers or trimmers and running them nearby to assess how they feel about the situation.
Assuming the horse will be fine to clip, only to find it is absolutely terrified. This is not a great situation to be in, particularly, when the next option is going to be a call to the vets to get the horse sedated.
Refresh your clipping knowledge with a quick read through of instructions regarding correct tension and type of blade to use. Selecting the right grade of blade for the coat and finish that you require, will ensure the end look is smooth and line free. Ensuring the right tension is applied to the blades is also important, both with getting a good finish but also to make sure the blades don’t get too hot.
Check that you have plenty of clipper oil to hand, we cannot stress enough, just how important it is to oil blades every 5 to 10 minutes during use. This not only keeps the blades running correctly, which in turn generates less heat, but also can keep the blades sharper for longer. It might be useful to consider clipping oil which has a bactericide added to prevent cross infection if the same blades are being used on different horses.
Lastly, preparing the horse with a good groom or body wash before clipping will really help give a great finish. If the coat is greasy the blades will struggle to get through the extra grease as well as the hair, and in doing so will leave lines where the teeth have worked hard to get through.
A quick spray through with a coat conditioner type of spray helps blades glide through a thick, dry coat and is worth doing too.
A good wash after will really help to take the clipper oil residue and remaining grease out of the coat. An old fashion remedy of vinegar and hot water as a sponge off is a good mix to use for this. Alternatively, hot clothing with hot water and detergent is great too.
Head to our Clipper How To Blog for more information on tensioning, care and maintenance and types of blades etc