Horse Clipper

Horse Shows – Clipping For A Show

When showing your horse, doing a proper clipping job can be one of the most important ways to make him look his best.

Many people leave show grooming to the last minute. When clipping a horse for a show, it is important to think ahead. It takes about a week for any clipper marks to grow out enough to be unnoticeable, so show clipping should always be completed at least a week before the show.

Start out with the head. There are several things that should be trimmed to make a horse’s face as refined and beautiful as possible. First of all, you need to trim the excess hair from under the jowl. While in the summer, many horses are sleek, during the fall and spring seasons, the shaggy hair below the jowl can be quite unsightly. Pointing the clippers so that the teeth are perpendicular to the cheek, gently run your clippers down the cheek towards the jowl. This will catch any cat hairs and shaggy coat without clipping down to the skin.

Under the jaw, clip the coat tight to the jaw line. Make sure that the edges are even, or your horse will wind up with a ragged look. Trim the hair down towards the chin, removing the long hairs that snug up against the chin.

Generally you should not need to trim any hair on the rest of the face. The whiskers will need to be trimmed, but they can wait until the day before the show. The eye whiskers can be trimmed too, but should be left at least half an inch long as they are the eye’s primary protection against damage in the dark.

To trim the ears, fold them gently in half so that the inside hair sticks out. Trim along the edge of the ear, removing the inner hair that sticks out. Unless it is necessary for your breed or discipline, avoid trimming out the inner hair as it is an essential protection against flies in the summer.

The bridle paths should be trimmed with scissors before using the clippers. For most horses, a 2″ long bridle path is adequate. Some breeds require longer bridle paths, so check your breed’s standards to know how long it should be.

Clip the bridle path as tight to the neck as possible. You will probably want to repeat the clipping from both sides of the neck to make sure that you don’t miss any hairs. Avoid the temptation to trim a little further each time as you will soon wind up with a bridle path that is too long and looks terrible. The bridle path can be trimmed again just before the show if necessary.

Another area that often requires trimming is the fetlock. This will probably only need to be done a couple of times a season, but does make a big difference in how a horse looks in the ring. Following the direction of the hair, clip down the fetlock, around the joint. Do not clip the front. Picking up the foot, trim the hair up the back of the pastern, towards the ergot. Remove the ergot if it has gotten long.

Finally, if your horse has decent hooves, you will want to boot up your horse. This is done by clipping the excess hair around the coronet band. Clip each section upwards from the hoof, just catching the hairs that hang over the coronet. Be sure to go all the way around the hoof, catching the inner hairs as well as the outer hairs.

No matter what breed or discipline you show, make sure that you check the standards before you go ahead and clip. Some breeds specialize in long fetlocks or shaggy faces. It would be a terrible faux-pas to arrive with a neatly trimmed horse only to be confronted with a ring full of shaggy beauties.

About the Author

Lydia K Kelly is a writer for HorseClicks, classifieds of
horses for sale Florida
,
horses for sale Georgia
,
horses for sale Hawaii
and other states. Lydia is also a featured author at
www.ArticleKing.com

How to Body Clip a Horse : How to Maintain Horse Clippers

Oster A5 2 Speed Golden Animal dog horse Clipper/Blade/10 pc Comb Guides L@@k $149.99

180W TRI-SPEED Horse Animal Clipper shear+ Blade 110v $93.00

New Oster A5 2 Speed Turbo Animal dog horse Clipper/Blade/10 pc Comb Guides L@@k $159.99

Electrical Livestock Horse Cattle Clippers 2 blade $110.00

180W TRI-SPEED Horse livestock Clipper shear+ Blade NEW $94.99

Hand Clippers No Electric Needed Horse Dog Humane Pet $19.99

Andis AGC2 Super 2 Speed Clipper T-84 Blade 22330 Horse $149.99

Oster A5 GOLDEN Clipper with 10 blade & 10 pc guide combs grooms dog cat horse $68.99

WAHL PRO SERIES CORDLESS RECHARABLE ANIMAL CLIPPER KIT TRIMMER HORSE DOG SHOW $58.00

Horse Grooming Set: Plaid Halter, Grooma Soft Touch, Oster Clippers, & More $20.00

New Oster A5 1 Speed Turbo Animal dog horse Clipper/Blade/10 pc Comb Guides L@@k $149.99

New Showman Horse clippers kit $15.00

Oster Stewart Clipmaster Model 510A Horse Cow Dog Sheep Clippers w/case $76.00

Horse Clippers -Trimmer – Shears $150.00

Iron Horse Plus Wahl Horse CLIPPER KIT w/Clinton Anderson DVD Made in USA $93.90

Andis Progress AP Clipper for Cattle Horse Durable NEW $279.99

Stable Pro Wahl Horse CLIPPER KIT w/Clinton Anderson DVD Made in USA $135.90

Oster A5 1 Speed Golden Animal dog horse Clipper/Blade/10 pc Comb Guides L@@k $145.99

HORSE CLIPPERS CLIPPING INSTRUCTION TRAINING VIDEO COURSE ON DVD ROM $2.35

3D Cartoon Horse – Nail Clippers Key Chain – WW1001 $7.99

Wild Thing (Winnie the Horse Gentler, Book 1) $2.00 Twelve-year-old Winnie Willis has a way with horses. She can gentle the wildest mare, but other parts of her life don’t always come as easily. Along with her dad and sister, Lizzy, Winnie is learning how to live without her mom, who was also a natural horse gentler. As Winnie teaches her horses about unconditional love and blind trust, God shows Winnie that he can be trusted too. Readers will be h…

The Ultimate Guide to Pampering Your Horse $17.42 Hundreds of easy ways to give horses extra love and attention….

Eager Star (Winnie the Horse Gentler, Book 2) $2.04 Twelve-year-old Winnie Willis has a way with horses. She can gentle the wildest mare, but other parts of her life don’t always come as easily. Along with her dad and sister, Lizzy, Winnie is learning how to live without her mom, who was also a natural horse gentler. As Winnie teaches her horses about unconditional love and blind trust, God shows Winnie that he can be trusted too. Readers will be h…

Andis 22330 AGC Super 2-Speed Professional Horse Clipper with Size T-84 Detachable Blade, Horse Grooming DVD, in Storage Case $152.50 The Andis Super AGC 2-Speed Clipper runs at up to 4,400 strokes per minute due to it�s heavy duty, high speed motor. The unit is equipped with a 4 x 4 blade drive for 25% more blade torque. The AGC Super 2-Speed Clipper is the ultimate grooming tool with it�s power, control, and versatility. The unit features a 14� cord. The unit also features a locking switch button so the unit cannot accid…

Oster Professional Freestyle Cord/Cordless Equine Clipper Kit $77.55 The Oster Freestyle Cord/Cordless clipper is designed with power and versatility in mind. This unique product features an adjustable blade system that allows you to cut to five different hair lengths with one blade. Combine this with its long lasting battery technology and ultra powerful motor, you can feel comfortable knowing you are using the brand that the pro’s use to keep your animal well g…

andis 22510 Freedom Clipper $46.17 The Andis 22510 Freedom Clipper is a rechargeable cord/cordless horse clipper perfect for use on bridle path, fetlocks, ears and face. It’s lightweight and comfortable for controlled grooming. No cord gives you more freedom to groom anywhere. It’s quiet and has a memory-free NiMH battery. Battery will run one full hour on full charge. Its stainless steel blade adjusts from fine to coarse. The …

…

Oster 78005-010 Golden A5 Single-Speed Clippers $105.99 Heavy duty professional corded animal clipper. Powerful universal rotary motor. Single speed. 2,000 strokes per minute. Compatible with all Oster CryogenX detachable blades. Includes: clipper with standard Oster #10 blade, blade guard, blade oil, grease, cleaning brush, extra brush and spring set and instructions….

4 Clipper Refillable Lighters Bull, Chicken, Horse, Ape $3.94 The set includes 4 CLIPPER Lighters with different Designs (As shown on Pic above) Genuine original Refillable Collectible Lighters Lighters already FULL of Regular BUTANE Gas Flint can be replaced as well High Quality Life-Time Durable Lighter…

Oster Premium Lubricating Clipper Oil, 4-ounces $1.50 4 ounce dropper bottle. Keeps clipper blades and bearings lubricated for maximum efficiency. Refined white mineral oil of the highest purity and approved as a lubricant by the USDA. Used regularly to maintain a light film of oil in between upper and lower parts of the blades….