First ever body clip - PHOTOS ADDED!!

[Weighaton]

Uummmm I have attempted my first ever body clip and I am going to need some advice. The great thing about having a private farm is that it is ok to only half clip your horse and turn him back out as if he had been attacked by a mountain lion with dull claws.

I started off clipping him dry. The clippers (Clipmaster) seemed to get hot relatively fast. I would groom an area and then clip. I roached his mane completely. Then I remembered you all talking about clipping wet. I decided to give it a try. So I bathed and lathered him up got him squeaky clean on one side and the clipping went much better. The clippers stayed cooler longer, the hair stopped flying all over me, him, in my mouth.

The problem - I only have one set of blades and they crapped out half way through. I wasn't being careful when clipping the dirty parts and really thought that the blades would last through the whole job. So I need to send the blades out to be sharpened. Now what do I do? When I get the blades back do I just start all over again? I do have small clippers that I can at least do his face. He looks really horrible but he feels so much better. It was 80 degrees today and he was so sweaty and smelly. On the ground where I clipped him looked like an animal had been slaughtered. The horse was chewing on apples which ended up in the hair pile. So his body hair, a foot of black mane, red apple skins, and chewed while pulp scared the meter reader half to death.

I will post photos for everyone's enjoyment. A good laugh will be my gift to the COTH community.

[stuge]

I am a fairly new clipper myself. I've clipped myself the last three years and only four horses at that. I clipped wet for the first time this year and I really liked it although the horse was pretty dry by the end so I still got stuck with flying hair and hot clippers.

First off though, if your blades were brand new, they died because you were clipping dirty spots. The key to a good clip job is a very clean horse and lots of show sheen and perhaps you know that but if you have 80 degree weather I can't imagine why you wouldn't have washed the horse and showsheened thoroughly!

If you get the blades back in the next couple of days you can just start where you left off. If much longer than that then yes, you would need to start completely over agian or you will be able to tell.

One thing that I do is I try to clip evenly on each sides, like I'll do a trace clip then move on from there. That way if something happens and I can't finish it will at least be even.

I can only imagine the poor meter reader. Our beasts sure do look scary in the midst of clipping don't they!

I want to know if there is anyway not to have the blade marks. I have even seen professional jobs and there are always blade marks. Fortunately it does grow out.

[GollyGee]

OK I never heard of clipping wet ever and I am over 50 and have been clipping and riding since 14. Nuff said.
But I give a thorough bath day BEFORE like wash scrub w/ a sarvis curry rinse and repeat, especially around hips and along back and top of butt. Then after I scrape really well I curry or brush in Show Sheen or Man n Tail or Cowboy Magic. Cover and make sure horse drys completely.
Before I turn clippers I make sure I have Blade Wash in a covered plastic container and a spray bottle of Blade Cooler making sure it works and spray is not clogged.
Then I clip!!
I did a big mare in like 1 hour the other moring after her night bath, no lines blades slide thru like butter and I was not a mess either!! She was shiny and loked a million when we got to track.
And if its not a $ strain I would buy a second pair of blades while 1st are being sharpened. You always have to have a second pair.
Once in my youth right after we got electrcity and all the dinosaurs died my friend and I clipped 4 letter words all over my horse..cute OK the blades crapped out and it took forever to get sharpened needles to say we rode in the wee hours or after dark using lots of quarter sheets!!:o:o

[Weighaton]

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/569287721EHxZSn?vhost=good-times

I should have cleaned him thoroughly first and I see that now. I was just so anxious and impatient to get it done. I had two hours to do him before getting all the children home from school.

[Weighaton]

Golly Gee - the clipping wet worked great. I was thinking that the blades would clump with the wet hair but they didn't. The wet hair just fell away. I did have a bowl of blade wash that I used often. But the blades stayed noticeably cooler on the wet coat.

I just ordered a second pair of blades and I will send the first off to be sharpened.

[whbar158]

Clean and keeping blades cool help a lot, so does good lighting, I just did a horse and he looked great in the barn, but not so hot outside......
How I get my horse to look great clipped is a good bath and showsheen then sometimes I use big blades (I have clippers where the motor hangs on your belt and you hold a part thats about the size of normal clippers and I have no idea what they are called) but to get a really good clip that looks great right when you finish I use just plain regular 10 blades and not the 10wide blades and there is a lot less lines from the blades and the horses just shine.

[Weighaton]

I wonder if the wet coat is the same as the Show Sheen because when the coat was wet the blades just slid right through. He is a big guy and the water is free.

[Wigwag]

Nice work, that is a lot of fur to clip! :)

Can't help with the blade advise. I clipped my horse two winters ago (normal TB) and did a blanket clip, both sides, with no dullness of the clippers. I clipped him dry because I did not know about wet clipping at the time.

[Seven-up]

I think that looks pretty damn good for your first clip. Boy, is he shiny!

Once your 2nd pair of blades arrives, you'll never know how you lived without 2 pair available at all times. There's nothing worse than starting a clip and discovering your blades are toast. I always seem to have this happen after I start working on a horse that had to be drugged. :rolleyes:

[Weighaton]

Thanks for the kind words. There are clipper tracks but I think that when the new blades get here I will just run over the whole body again. I bathed him with Cowboy Magic shampoo because that was all that was in the wash rack. He smelled so horrible from sweating in that shaggy coat I was happy after bathing him that he smelled so fresh. Even though he is only half done you can tell that he just felt better.

The weather here is insane. I am not kidding but we had 8 inches of snow last Thursday and today it was close to 80. And this is just north of New Orleans!! Snow in the French Quarter!!! Crazy. Our girls went nuts. Our QH gelding was confused and didn't know what it was. He spent half the day snorting the ground.

[Seven-up]

Thanks for the kind words. There are clipper tracks but I think that when the new blades get here I will just run over the whole body again. I bathed him with Cowboy Magic shampoo because that was all that was in the wash rack. He smelled so horrible from sweating in that shaggy coat I was happy after bathing him that he smelled so fresh. Even though he is only half done you can tell that he just felt better.

The weather here is insane. I am not kidding but we had 8 inches of snow last Thursday and today it was close to 80. And this is just north of New Orleans!! Snow in the French Quarter!!! Crazy. Our girls went nuts. Our QH gelding was confused and didn't know what it was. He spent half the day snorting the ground.

Oh, I hadn't noticed before, you're practically around the corner from me! I'm outside of Baton Rouge. You're not kidding about the weather! I've been dying to clip my wooly beast. She has that wet dog smell too. :lol:

[Summerwood]

Clipping a wet horse is tough on the blades and tough on the clippers. I agree that the cleaner the horse, the better the clip job. A light misting w/ show sheen or vetrolin shine (which isn't as sticky) does help. I have clipped many, many horses--some horses' coats are easier to get through than others. I always use the big clippers to do the body and knock all the thick, long hair off and then go over the entire body with small Andis clippers with a size T-84 wide blade. You will not believe the difference. I have clipped entire horses with just the Andis 2-speed little clippers and T-84 blades and the horse stands great (it doesn't sound like one of those huge bomber flies are attacking it) and there are literally no lines. The size T-84 blade is very close to the length that your big clippers will clip but it is slightly shorter so I go over the entire horse with them. It is not as time consuming as it sounds, especially once you get all the big stuff off with the big clipper.
If your horse is healthy and in good condition with no fungus (ie rain rot, etc), most horses will finish with a really nice shine to their undercoats. Don't be in a hurry or it will show!!! Look at the finished product in the sunshine before putting your clippers away.
I am there are lots of opinions on how to do it right but this is what has worked for me!!!

[Summerwood]

And ps--Put a blanket on with a nylon lining next to the horse and it will keep your horse shiny.

[Seven-up]

Clipping a wet horse is tough on the blades and tough on the clippers. I agree that the cleaner the horse, the better the clip job. A light misting w/ show sheen or vetrolin shine (which isn't as sticky) does help. I have clipped many, many horses--some horses' coats are easier to get through than others. I always use the big clippers to do the body and knock all the thick, long hair off and then go over the entire body with small Andis clippers with a size T-84 wide blade. You will not believe the difference. I have clipped entire horses with just the Andis 2-speed little clippers and T-84 blades and the horse stands great (it doesn't sound like one of those huge bomber flies are attacking it) and there are literally no lines. The size T-84 blade is very close to the length that your big clippers will clip but it is slightly shorter so I go over the entire horse with them. It is not as time consuming as it sounds, especially once you get all the big stuff off with the big clipper.
If your horse is healthy and in good condition with no fungus (ie rain rot, etc), most horses will finish with a really nice shine to their undercoats. Don't be in a hurry or it will show!!! Look at the finished product in the sunshine before putting your clippers away.
I am there are lots of opinions on how to do it right but this is what has worked for me!!!

I actually like to do the whole body with the smaller clippers too. The big ones are just too heavy and hard to maneuver into tiny spaces. I just get the 10 blades and they come out great. Probably not doing the clippers any favors, but it's easier for me!