Silly question, I know. But I somehow got this far in life without having to clip a horse. Most of the people at the barn have the trainer do it for shows because she’s better and faster at it. I’d like to start doing it myself for fox hunting. Daughter’s pony is very relaxed about being clipped so I’ve been successful touching up her whiskers, ears, etc. How do you learn without risking the horse looking silly the first few times? Clip on the long side so there’s room for someone else to fix any weird patches?
Personally I learned to clip by doing a mini that no one cared how he looked. After a few days he looked fine. Then I did my pony a few times. Once again after a few days looked great. Hair grows and time can fix most bad haircuts. There are a ton of different vidoes online just google how to clip a horse. I watched the Smartpak one before doing either pony.
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I learned by doing. The first few attempts were, uh… not great, but I got better with practice. Give yourself a couple weeks leeway the first time, before you have to go anywhere where appearance would matter. Time heals all bad clip jobs - the hair does grow back eventually.
Make sure pony is either bathed or at least groomed very thoroughly, start with new or very sharp blades, use painters tape or chalk to mark your lines if you’re doing a partial clip. Work in sections and take your time.
Even the professional clippers had to start somewhere, so don’t be afraid of making mistakes or learning as you go!
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Clip early (October) so that it grows back quickly. Also body clipping/ hunter clipping is much, much easier than trace clipping since there are way fewer places to screw up. And having a horse that stands well, and good quality powerful clippers with sharp blades helps too!
I learned by doing. The first attempt was embarrassing. It got better on subsequent attempts. It’s just hair. It grows back. Take the leap and start clipping!
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I learned by being handed an ancient set of Clipmasters in a barn full of schoolies who needed haircuts (but didn’t need to be bee-yoo-tee-ful). The first horse wasn’t pretty. The second one was alright. By the end of the day it was old hat.
Use sharp blades and don’t be shy about using cooling spray and brushing hair out of the blades periodically. Follow the direction of the hair, wherever it may go. Keep the flat surface of the blade flat against the body. Don’t be afraid to pull the skin taut a bit in places where it’s looser. Use short strokes and overlap them about 1/2". Don’t worry too much about marks until the bulk of the hair is off, then go back and take a couple diagonal passes across places that look uneven. If the horse is chill about being clipped you can take your time (don’t worry, you’ll get faster with practice).
You’ll do fine! And don’t worry if it’s not an instant masterpiece – things start to look more even after a week or two, and you can always go back and touch up the next day if you notice uneven spots.
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:yes: Everything @x-halt-salute says.
Especially about frequently brushing blades clean of hair & using cooling spray.
Not only does it shorten clipper life if you don’t do both, but your horse is not going to like hot blades near his skin either!
And don’t stress about a sloppy clip until you get the hang of it.
I once got distracted doing a trace clip just before moving my horse to a new barn. Looked away for a second & Oops. :uhoh:
New BO waited a week, then mentioned they had thought horse had mange :disgust:
A friend/trainer once started a clip job on a very hairy pony, finished one side nicely, then had an emergency…
Pony was 1/2&1/2 for a week! :eek:
I practiced on my retired QH who has the Cushings coat. He looked like corduroy pants in places, he was so uneven with lines/stripes. BUT I kept doing it and getting better. When it came time to clip my show horse, it was so easy because he has a really nice coat that’s easy to clip :lol:
Use plenty of oil and keep the blades clean/have a second set of blades in case the first ones get hot. I also read online that people use Show Sheen on the areas they want to clip, and I tried it this year. The clippers went through my show horse’s coat really nicely with that. Have good lighting too, like if you can do it outside I’d do that. I always miss patches if I do it in the barn and don’t take him outside to check for missed patches.
Also wear clothes you don’t care about and eat beforehand because you’ll be filthy and covered in hair afterward.
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And to add to the above tips - Don’t wear polar fleece while clipping!
I wear my rain pants and jacket, the hair just slides right off.
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Wow! Thanks, everyone! I’m planning to pick up a set of used old-school Oester clippers from the Tack consignment store and give it a whirl on the pony soon. No shows this winter so she can have a little less than perfect hairdo
The advice about what to wear is really important and don’t plan to do anything until you can get home and shower. No matter what you do you will be covered with hair!
I have seen this happen more than once. :eek: So I do work in quadrants and switch sides. It’s not just an emergency, but if you or horse lose patience, run out of time, clippers break, clipper go dull (bathe your horse!)…
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Yup, I learned by doing, and I started on the schoolies. Grays are easier, too, as they don’t show the lines as much. The difference between a bad clip and a passable one is usually about ten days. 
Some key things for a good clip: squeaky clean coat on the horse, sharp blades on the clippers and bright light. Clip outside in the sunlight if your barn lights aren’t bright enough.
A very slightly damp horse with a little Show Sheen in the coat is nice, because the clipped hair flies around less.
Clean the clippers and using cooling spray and oil often. A very nice luxury is to have two sets, so you can alternate as they get warm. DON’T continue clipping if the blades are uncomfortably warm to your bare hand.
Dress in clothes you truly don’t care about, and elastic cuffs on pants and sleeves are great. Duct taping sleeves and pant legs closed isn’t a bad idea either. Absolutely, positively wear eye protection. If I had a dollar for everytime I ended up red eyed and swollen from a tiny piece of horse hair, I could buy new clippers! Another plan is to go home and shower and change after clipping, but that was rarely the case for me, so unless I wanted to work all afternoon with itchy horsehair under my clothes, a turtleneck and taping sleeves shut was the way to go.
An experienced friend who can bend the head and neck one way or another, or hold up a foreleg can be invaluable, but bad help is worse than no help at all.
Keep the horse happy. I have stuffed a hay net with richer than usual hay and hung it in front of a horse I’m clipping and it made for a good experience for both of us.
l learned to do the basic and show clips from an Arab trainer (had to learn that not all breeds shave around the eyes :winkgrin: )
My sisters showed goats and I learned how to body shave on them - took a couple of times but I did get elected the official show shaver. 
I do like to have 2 sets of heavy duty clippers so one can cool off while I’m using the other set along with a handful of freshly sharpened blades.
Allow me to suggest the Andis AGC 2-speed clippers. I taught myself to clip with them and really appreciate how light-weight they are and my horse appreciates how much quieter they are than the Clipmasters.
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I just clipped for the first time ever last week. Same boat as you - I’ve always been in barns where the trainer or the grooms clipped for clients. However, I’m an adult with student loans now, so here we are!
My trainer showed me the basics and off I went. I split it into 4 days because I was so slow: day 1 trace clip, day 2 most of body, day 3 legs, day 4 face. By the time I got to my horse’s face, I felt much more comfortable. All in all, it took me like 8 hours, with maybe 30 min of touch ups I did this weekend. I suspect the next time I do it will be significantly faster.
After putting him in the sun this weekend to see the “patchy” spots and fixing those up, he actually doesn’t look half bad! The hardest part for me was getting the foldy bits of skin behind his legs, the depressions above his eyes, etc. I used the same size clippers everywhere, so that was part of it. But it really helped when someone else held his legs up to help me get at the folds. Sometimes it’s necessary to stretch out the skin a bit in order to get at those areas.
The other advice you’ve gotten here is good. No fleece or chapstick, oil the clippers as you go, and don’t take it all too seriously. Hair grows back!
Good luck.
This is definitely one thing you have to learn by doing. Lots of good advice here. I’d suggest watching a couple YouTube videos if you want to feel more familiar with the process, and then just make sure you have good quality clippers with sharp blades, a clean dry pony, somewhere with good lighting, and quite a bit of patience. Your first time it will probably take you forever, and won’t look that great, so it’s helpful if you give yourself some buffer time between clip day and the show you are going to.
The first time I body clipped my own horse he was heading to Spruce Meadows the next afternoon. Such a bad idea… Thankfully he was a saint and stood quietly for hours while I figured out what I was doing. I was so slow, and had to spend ages fixing patches. He looked okay at the end of it because I’m a bit of perfectionist, but I would not recommend that approach!
Also don’t apply chapstick to your lips!
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If you need reading glasses, definatly have those handy. I was really wondering why my clipping wasn’t looking as good as in the past and then put on my readers to clip. 
I got pointed at lesson horses and told to get going. After the second or third one, I finally started to figure out how to prevent clipper marks.
