Or, as husband said, “Does it matter? You can only see one side at a time anyway.”
I have seen people mark where they want the lines to be placed with masking tape. When I clip my ponies though, I just eyeball it, go slow, and hope for the best.
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I was so determined to make mine perfect last month that I brought masking tape to the barn … and it did not stick at all to my horse’s teddy-bear winter coat for a single hot second.
My freehand wasn’t perfectly even on both sides but it was close enough for jazz.
I’m hoping someone will reply here with a brilliant foolproof way of marking lines to clip – the tailor’s chalk and masking tape I’ve tried have been no use on a wooly winter coat!
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I usually just eyeball it. The one time I was going to a semi important competition, I did mark it with duct tape, which stuck reasonably well.
If it needs to be perfect I measure from the spine down and use chalk to mark it. Liquid chalk works well or using the builder’s chalk.
on anything but a black horse, sharpie also works to mark lines and it will come off in a day or two from blankets and grooming. When I’m making lines I measure down from a few spots in the back on both sides and just connect them, especially with an irish clip.
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I actually put a few drops of clipper oil on my finger and draw short dashes where I want my lines to be. (You would use a lot of clipper oil if you wanted to draw a complete line, not super practical). It changes the way the hair sits (a little flatter instead of fluffy on a clean horse) to give a good visualization. I have also used saddle pads or cloth measuring tapes to ensure the sides are even, but I’ve gotten pretty good about eyeballing it with clipper oil.
Crayola Non-Toxic Washable markers have also worked well for me when I have tried to clip fancy things into haunches. But only on greys, chestnuts, bays, etc. I never tried anything on something dark brown or black,
I’m super OCD about clips being even on both sides…
I use a sewing measuring tape, a dry erase marker (grays and chestnuts) or chalk (black or dark bays), and blue painters tape. The nice thing about a dry erase marker or chalk is you can remove the mark just brushing with your hand if you want to adjust it.
I’l get one side taped up where I want the edges of the clip and then clip along the tape. Then I’ll measure from the horse’s topline to the top edge of the clip at about 8 points down the body (poll, neck, withers, lumbar, dock, etc.). At each measurement spot, I make a dry erase mark on the topline on the opposite side I’m measuring so I can find the exact same spot on the other side to make my measurement and mark on the hair. I’ll also measure from the bottom up where it makes sense - point of shoulder, elbow, stifle, and hock to bottom edge of clip.
The horse needs to stand pretty square for measuring and clipping the edges.
When you tape, use sections of tape about 6"-15" long and overlap them. If you use tape sections that are too long , they will tear or separate from the hair when the horse moves.
The places I really try to make even from side to side are the bottom half of the neck where it curves into the shoulders and the back of the haunches. Those are really the only places someone might notice an uneven clip when standing on the ground.
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I have used chalk in the past, and use a small saddle pad to measure how far down on each side.
I don’t care so much anymore, because you really can only see one side at a time.
Ok I’ve never clipped but I thought of something I consider clever and I’ll put it out there FWIW:
Pop a saddle on and adjust the stirrup iron down to where you want to clip on one side, then adjust the other side stirrup down so it’s even when you stand in front of the horse. Use the height of the irons to mark your chalk lines.
Since it’s not girthed up, the saddle can be slid forward or back along the horse’s back for a couple of reference points along the clip line.
