by Charlene Strickland
If you’re lucky enough to be able to work your horse indoors during the winter, then you also know it takes a long time to cool him out if he’s got a long coat of winter hair.
Thankfully, the invention of clippers has come to the rescue and can create a smooth, short coat that is easy to clean, and easy to keep dry during winter workout sessions indoors.
However, while the task of clipping may seem simple, a sloppy job can make even a champion horse look like a ten-cent poodle on a bad hair day.
The following step-by-step guide will hellp you change your potential horse furball into a sleek superstar.
Before You Begin
Before even plugging in the clippers, decide which style of clip you desire.
For an all-over clip, shaving the many areas of the horse becomes a complex, time-consuming task. Even an expert will allot a minimum of one hour to complete a smooth clip.
For your first attempt, schedule most of a morning or afternoon or span the grooming over more than one session: one for clipping the legs, one for the body, and the last for the head. Clipping requires concentration and a steady hand, and a fresh start could help prevent a barbershop disaster.
Try to pick a day that’s not too cold or windy. A crisp breeze blowing over your horse’s newly-cropped skin could make him catch cold. And be sure to store the clippers indoors, so the motor will run more briskly.
The Salon
Pick a well-lit area with a dry floor for your “Equine Beauty Salon.” You’ll need electricity to run the machine, so try to position the horse fairly close to a convenient outlet and be sure the location allows you sufficient space to work around the entire horse.
You will need the following items: electric animal clippers with sharp blades, blade cleaning solution, clipper oil, and the brushes you use to groom your horse. For the best results, use two sets of clippers: large and medium.
The large clippers have a powerful motor and the widest blades, so they will clip the fastest. You can use a wide blade on medium clippers, but the smaller appliance will clip slower and overheat faster.
Use the medium clippers with interchangeable blades for the legs and head and to touch up any “clipper tracks” left by the large clippers. The smaller, finer blades help you work on uneven surfaces and closer to the bones of legs and head.
You can equip these clippers with several sizes of blades, ranging from the #10 (for medium length hair) through the #15 (medium close), #30 (close), and #40 (surgical). If you have only one blade, the #15 is the most useful.
Be sure your clippers are ready for the job. Test the blades for sharpness by clipping a test section on your horse. If the blades clip slowly and seem to drag against the hairs, have them sharpened before you continue.
Clean any loose hairs from the blades and the clipper head with an old toothbrush, and follow the manufacturer’s instructions on oiling the motor. For the large animal clippers, add drops of oil into the two holes on the top of the clipper head.
Prepare the blade cleaner solution for use by pouring about an inch into a shallow bowl or can. During the session, dip the blades into this liquid. Use kerosene or a commercially-formulated solution intended for clipper-cleaning or spray the blades with special coolant.
Prepare Your Horse
Finally, prepare your horse for clipping by acquainting it with the sound and vibration of the machine. Most horses are familiar with the quiet hum of smaller clippers.
However, the large machine clatters at a louder pitch, so let your horse get used to the noise before you actually begin the session.
Save yourself a great deal of frustration by introducing the machine a day or so before you actually clip. With an assistant holding the horse’s lead rope, assure the animal that this new tool is nothing to fear. Stroke the body of the switched-off machine over the areas you will clip, and be careful not to jab the sharp teeth into the horse’s skin.
When you see that your horse accepts this stroking, back off a few steps and turn on the power. Approach closer after you observe your horse’s calm reaction to the noise. Again slide the machine over the horse’s body, without clipping.
Before you actually begin clipping, complete a few last minute preparations. Clean the horse thoroughly, as any dirt or dust will make the blades become dull faster. You can bathe the horse, using a livestock vacuum to remove all dirt, or curry and brush the winter coat thoroughly.
The Clip
Start clipping on the legs to get a feel for the action of the machine. Use the medium clippers, with a #10 or #15 blade. Some grooms use the close (#40) blade to define the legs sharply, but this can turn white leg markings into “pink” socks or stockings.
Start on the back of a front leg at the coronet. Hold the machine so the blades will cut upward against the hair’s growth, and bring the blades flat slightly underneath the hairs.
Use a long, steady upward stroke as you slowly glide the moving teeth against the hairs. Do not press down on the blades or point them directly at the horse’s skin.
Clip at two angles, first along the slope of the pastern, and then straight up. Stop just above the knee (you’ll use the larger clippers from here up). Move around the leg as you complete the strokes. As you clip hair along the tendons, pull the skin to the side. To clip the inside of a leg, move to the opposite side and reach across.
Always keep yourself out of hoof’s way. It helps to rest your free hand on the horse’s leg or body. This can reassure the horse, and will also allow you to feel the horse shift its weight before it actually moves. This little bit of time is all you need to move the clippers out of harm’s way and prevent gouging your horse.
No matter how diligently you concentrate, you will end up with some clipper tracks, or ridges of hair that duplicate the pattern of the blades’ teeth. Try “erasing” them by turning the clippers to cut with the hair, or clip at an angle across the tracks.
After trimming the legs, turn off the clippers so they can cool. Then, switch to the large clippers to start on the body. Most grooms begin clipping on the horse’s near (left) side, either on the shoulder or barrel. The horse is less likely to fret as you clip these sections.
Because these parts are so large and visible, they do require a smooth clip. By starting here, your blades are at their sharpest and you should get good results.
Your first stroke, again upward against the coat, is a test of the machine’s cutting ability. If the blades do not appear to be cutting freely, adjust the tension knob.
After your first long stroke, position the clipper head above the first row. Clip the second stroke below where you began the previous cut. The blades can overlap the adjacent cut approximately half an inch.
As you slowly mow through the hairs, aim for a coat of even length. You don’t want to clip the same section twice as second cuts tend to leave those telltale clipper tracks.
When you approach a section where the coat growth changes direction, turn the clippers so the blades continue to cut against the hairs.
After the first few minutes, you should be used to handling the heavier machine and can shave the relatively flat planes of the horse’s barrel and shoulder.
Cool and clean the blades of all clippers by periodically spraying or dipping them, with the machine running, into your cleaning solution. Be sure you spray or immerse only the blades, not the clipper body.
Watch for clumps of hair between or behind the blades. Switch off the machine and use an old toothbrush to brush away these hairs.
This might be a good time for a break. Stretch your back and shake your wrists while you let the clippers cool down for at least 10 minutes. Excessive heat damages the motor, and hot blades can burn the horse’s skin.
When you continue, you’ll confront the contours of the belly, flank, and elbow. Each of these zones presents problems of clipping into angles and seeing what you’re cutting.
When your blades approach loose skin, use your free hand to hold it taut and flat. You might want to use the smaller clippers in certain places such as between the legs and chest, or where the hind legs meet the flanks.
Clip the neck after the barrel and shoulder. Watch your blades on the horse’s neck because you can easily snip the roots of the mane by mistake. Most grooms clip the area under the mane first, which establishes a line between that section and the rest of the neck.
Use your free hand to fold the mane aside. Then, starting at the withers, line up the edge of the blade as close to the mane as you can without actually touching any mane hairs. Carefully clip your way below the mane roots toward the poll.
Try for one slow, but continuous, stroke by sliding your free hand along the crest to keep all the mane hairs pushed upward as you advance the clipper blades.
Moving to the backend of the horse, you also want to clip carefully around the tail. Start on one side of the tail, aiming the blades up toward where the tail hairs emerge from the croup. Holding the tail hairs out of the way, slowly clip upward.
Angle the blades to end the cut directly above the middle of the dock. Repeat on the other side, so you create an inverted V shape above the tail. Then clip the rest of the hindquarters.
After you’ve finished clipping, rub the horse with a towel and brush it well with a soft brush. This removes loose hair, and the friction of the rubbing helps stimulate the skin.
Remember that your horse may change colour after clipping. A chestnut or bay can become a lighter, drab shade, but the colour will look better after a week or two. You can restore the gleam to your horse’s clipped coat by daily currying and brushing. You can also rinse the coat with an oil rinse by adding mineral or baby oil to your water and rinsing.
While clipping a horse in winter can make your indoor riding life a whole lot easier to contend with, it also removes your horse’s natural protection from the elements, so you must, I repeat, must, replace your horse’s missing winter coat with insulating clothing and shelter from the cold and wind.
