I have clipped horses a few times over the years. Looking for your best secrets to successful clipping. Assuming clean horse and new blades.
. I’ve tried the “clip them wet” idea (didn’t work). Now I use ShowSheen and it seems to work (of course well washed etc).
A Facebook post mentioned using Skin So Soft and hot water to wet the coat.Unfortunately when I asked for more info I did not get a reply.
What are your secrets?
I’ve never had luck with clipping wet…I must be doing it wrong. But I love clipping threads!
My key items:
As I am clipping:
If you are doing a trace clip, hunt clip, bib clip, etc where you have a line of clipped/non clipped hair:
I am of no use as I always clip wet. I suppose my two tips would be to scrub the bejesus out of the horse during bath time (I do 2 washes with dish soap and jelly scubber no sponge nonsense except on the face) and to end the bath with Shapleys Light Oil (mixed with water in a bucket and sponged on then scrape off do not rinse). The Shapleys works better than any shine spray product I’ve ever used. I did find that cool lube aerosol spray seems to dull my blades incredibly fast and that the ceramic blades stay sharper longer.
For my own personal horses I like using a 10 blade which is shorter than the standard T84 (I think 1.5 mm vs 2.4mm). I can’t visually see a difference (they don’t look scalped) but it takes the hair a little longer to grow all the way back.
Kaya and @Displaced_Yankee……
Any secrets about tensioning the blades? I never know what is correct.
I clip wet, but if I have to clip dry, vacuum horse with shop vac, then wash, then vinegar rinse, then mix oil of some sort in a bucket of hot water and sponge it on liberally. Then dry and clip.
Long strokes, even pressure, and the blades have to be able to easily slide across and move freely. I oil every few passes vs using any spray. I hate cool lube. I just switch out blades.
I clip legs, saddle area, girth area with a 7F and body with a 10. I prefer a little bit longer on the legs and under tack.
I clip my cushings pony 4-6x a year so I’m getting pretty good at figuring out thick teddy bear coats.
Very clean horse is a good place to start. I also don’t clip wet. Never found that to work well.
I try to avoid pre-clip sprays or conditioners. I don’t want anything to coat the hair. Long strokes are better if the horse will be still. Even pressure. It’s like when I took a drawing class in college. Don’t use your wrist. The motion is from the whole arm, or at least elbow down. It helps you get even pressure. Sharp blades and clean hair and skin don’t need much pressure to clip.
If you get lines, go over them with short strokes at an angle.
If the horse gets fussy, I move on to a different area. And I don’t leave all of the detail work for last but intersperse it. Perhaps come back the next day for some nooks and crannies and clean up if the horse’s patience is done.
Like writing on a chalkboard or whiteboard.
My tips have pretty much already been posted – I’ll just add to oil more frequently and more oil than one would imagine is necessary. That, and I alternate sides (right neck/left neck, right torso/left torso, etc.) as I go.
Remember to keep telling oneself that no one can see both sides of the horse at once, and the difference between a so-so clip and a good one is about a week or ten days.
This is what I tell myself when leaving saddle or spur patches or doing a hunt or other partial clip.
For the spur patches I hold a piece of cardboard (from, say, a box of cat food or a tablet of paper) against the horse’s side and clip around that. And then try to remember not to cut into it later 
.
I once left a bib on for a horse who gets shoulder rubs sometimes. And the I shaved it off wondering how I missed it.
Yes. Back the tension knob out nearly all the way out when you put on your blades (lefty loosely). Then tighten until you begin to feel some resistance, then back it out a quarter turn. If they don’t cut, tighten in quarter turns of the knob.
According to my most treasured book, Grooming to Win, the tension should be set at “the lowest tension that produce a clean cut”. As the blades wear, increase the tension by quarter turns of the knob (righty-tighty). Too much tension causes the blade to wear out quicker. Once the blades no longer cut well on the tightest tension, it is time to re-sharpen.
I have been spoiled with the T-84 blades that are one unit. But they also have two screws that are sometimes too loose or too tight after resharpening. If you have new blades or newly sharpened blades, try adjusting those two screws.
I can get about 2-3 clips from a set a blades and about 3 sharpenings if the horses are not terribly dirty.
I clip damp. As in, I wash the horse thoroughly, and let them dry for awhile before I clip. I do not like eating hair. I love my Lister Stars. I also have some wonderful smaller clippers for the bottom of the jaw, ahe back s of the ears, etc.
I have a very old but amazing set of Oster clippers with a bunch of sets of blades for anyone who is looking for a great set of clippers. I just had them rebuilt by a wonderful Amish guy. They are heavy, but I never noticed it 20 years ago!
I’ve been using clippers that don’t have the blow hair in your face feature, and it’s very nice!
On my Clipmasters for tensioning, I’d start them loose, turn the knob until I felt resistance then a quarter turn past that. It seemed to work well.
Spotlessly clean horse is the prime trick. Sharp blades and a fresh drive assembly if you’re using Andis AG line clippers. Every set I have, I’ve taken the little plastic bit off that sits below the blade as it always seems to fill up with hair.
I got caught having to wet clip once as owner gave the horse bath… three days before I was scheduled to clip. He had gotten so sweaty and grungy he needed another bath when I started. I used the E3 Argan Oil shampoo, and the blades went through his heavy damp coat like butter.
My blade cleaning routine is to blow the hair out with canned air (for electronics), dip the teeth of the blade into the Andis blue dip, tip the blades up while running to let the lube drain into the blades, then wipe the excess off on a towel I’ve got tucked in a pocket. The canned air has the added benefit of cooling the blades.
I would try the Shapley’s light oil trick if I picked up clipping again.
Thank You!
that’s why I love my Andis Progress… now bought out by Heiniger (sp?)… I had the motor replaced last year and they tried really hard to get me to buy a different pair - “all the pros are using this one!” - nope, nno thnank you (they looked way smaller… the size of my old Oster A5
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