@mmeqcenter I do most of my own clipping and I can’t do even a clip for a fox hunting horse that fast. A clip suitable for h/j showing or a h/j show barn with a perfectly clipped face and ears all the way down to immaculate coronary bands, that’s always been pretty tedious job for me or my grooms. $275 is not out of the ballpark for that service.
And just because someone is a working boarder, their time and skill is not worth less $$.
I wear a tyvek suit. As if body clipping doesn’t freak some horses out enough, I wear the hazmat gear to confirm it 
I only body clip my cat now.
Cats are liquid.
DH has suggested she press charges, but she isn’t showing at WEF and the groomer is like $120 after a good tip, so, she just looks terrible most of the time. I’m sure I’ll get better eventually…
Not to mention I don’t know any trainer, especially in a top show barn, who would allow a first time clipper to do the job on a horse in their barn. There are standards to maintain.
Plus an extra two hours to do laundry and get all the hair out of your bra.
It takes me 60-90 minutes to clip, but I subscribe to the school of thought that “the only difference between a good clip job and a bad one is 2 weeks of hair growth.” If I wanted to do a pro grade no lines job, it would take me longer than that. If my horse didn’t ground tie and fall asleep while I was clipping him, but instead wiggled and twitched his skin and got offended by having a vibrating machine near his ears, it also might take longer…
I have no issue with the fee that was charged to OP, just with the idea that 6-8 hours for a clip job for a general non-pro horse person is normal. Fees charged have more than just the actual time spent to be considered.
I figure if it actually took 6 hours, that includes a bath before, a bath after, and the horse not enjoying the process and needing breaks.
6 hours could be spent on a horse dramatically not enjoying the process without additional time at both ends… but I’ve decided that the OP’s lease horse is a particular no-longer-25-year-old TB of my acquaintance who probably would have a line out the door for a care lease if it were available, and you need to spend 2 hours and lots of treats on his head alone, he is so ticklish.
I used to clip my cats – ragdolls that got lion clips. Sometimes they looked better than others. Two weeks after clipping they always looked fine. Clipping my cats made me appreciate how easy it is to clip my horse. Although, as a foxhunter, I only had to manage a trace clip.
I think trace clips are HARD. I can never get the sides to match.
That’s what the masking tape is for. Lol.
I’m aware😀. I clip well, actually. For some reason, tape never works for me. I started doing a polo clip on the ones that don’t get a full body clip. I seem to be able to manage that.
I also trim my bands…they turn out like a trace clip!
You only can see one side at a time. 
My last two hunt horses were saints about standing while being clipped. Made it a lot easier.
Not at all in my opinion. All of the costs seem reasonable and customary (horse ownership is filled with these!). Clearly however there was a breakdown in communication - the unfortunate thing is trainer probably didn’t even think that someone new to the horse world wouldn’t expect all of these costs and that’s where the problem occurred.
I would have a frank conversation with your trainer to express your concerns but it certainly doesn’t seem nefarious - just handled badly (important lesson - many horse people are bad business people and bad communicators)
My vet charged me nearly $400 to clip my cat. That did include heavy sedation, for both of them, I think.
I would gladly pay $200+ to have someone clip.
I was the body clipper when I worked at a fox hunting barn, sometimes 6-8 per day.
No amount of layers, bibs, hats, scarves kept the hair from being everywhere.
I HATE BODYCLIPPING. 
This is just another example of how things are questionable in the horse industry. If it were any other industry a lot of the barns would be shut down. A lot of horse professionals (a term used loosely) think they can do whatever they like and the clients should just go along with it. Communication and transparency are lacking. Unfortunately a lot of people do accept this as the norm and go a long with it.
In this case communication and transparency were definitely missing. Whether it’s “normal” for a leaser to be charged for joint injections and adequan injections is besides the point. They were not included in the original agreement. Same think with the Beamer and dental work etc. The OP should not be expected to pay these if they were not agreed upon.
The saddle is a weird one. Sketchy yes. OP was misled. From the original post it looks like it was suggested that he purchase a saddle. The misleading part is where the trainer said he’d never have to buy another saddle again. As we know- no saddle fits every horse. Shame on the trainer for saying this.
I’m also very surprised at the 6-8 hrs to body clip a horse. Neither I nor my horse would have the patience for that! It usually takes me 1.5 hours and I do it 2x a year max. It’s a decent job for schooling and local A shows. Would I go to WEF with it? No. But I am never going to WEF. Around my area it’s about $150-$200CA for a body clip but I suspect it depends on the area.
I’m also questioning having a 25 yr old do 3 lessons a week but hey if he’s honestly physically able to do it and still enjoys it, that’s amazing! Not getting lead changes could indicate something physical or he just hasn’t been taught them correctly.
I can’t even get the masking tape to match on each side. 
The hock injections would’ve given me sticker shock. So would the saddle. Not saying either is a “rip off,” but I can understand feeling shocked by the price tag when all is said and done, and then looking differently at the smaller ad hoc charges I had unquestioningly paid before.
There is just something psychologically different about knowing the expense upfront, feeling empowered to shop around, and then making a conscious choice to pay it. But often in the horse world, for whatever reason, there’s pressure to agree to pay for something before you know the price.
I can so easily see the trainer casually floating the idea of OP getting his own saddle, then it’s a custom saddle, then it’s a CWD, then next thing you know, it’s $9000 and feels too late to course correct. Something similar happened to me with an air vest. My trainer and I had a casual conversation about how I was thinking of getting one. Then later that month, oh hey the rep is here, why not get fitted. Oh hey, she has your size in stock! It’s right there in her car! When I found out it was $800, I decided it was something I could live without, but the whole inertia of the situation made it really hard to say no.
I’ve also gotten texts before along the lines of “hey vet is here today, would you maybe want to go ahead and do [insert treatment, test, etc] on your horse?” It feels like being put on the spot to say yes — most of the time without any idea what it’s going to cost. I spent like $750 on random diagnostic bloodwork once and I didn’t even know what I had agreed to or what was being tested until I saw the bill. And of course all the test results were normal and it was not helpful in the least 
Takes me about 4 hours, but I do horse over 2 days. I’m old and very lucky because I can place him by the stairs to a building and sit while I do fiddly bits. No ears and only checks. So happy that ear trimming and whiskers are no longer fashionable!
I have done this a few times when the schedule allowed for it. Sometimes it’s easier on both the horse and the person to do half of it, knock off for the day, and come back fresh tomorrow.
I would usually do everything but the legs and head on the first day, so it might not technically be half as far as square inches go.
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