Equine Clipping

Science behind the horse’s coat

Contrary to popular belief, horse’s coat changes are dependent on daylight, not temperature change. Horses use light receptors in their eyes which relay to the brain, ultimately affecting their coat growth depending on the season.

As we come into Autumn, the daylight decreases and melatonin production increases in the horse. This triggers more hair growth, therefore, the horse clipping season is usually from August to October. These coat changes happen at different time periods dependant of the area of the body. The shoulders, back and loins are covered by the winter coat for longer than other areas and take longer to shed. Formed as a barrier from the rain and snow, the thicker coat grows for protection against the elements and still prevents light showers from impinging through to their skin. Recent studies have proven that the coat changes from 5 to 8 weeks after the daylight adjustments. Clipping is the simple answer to get rid of the horse’s winter coat. However, if this is done too late in the year, it can remove new growing hair ultimately affecting their summer coat. Therefore, clipping at the right time is paramount for the best results both long and short term. September is universally the best month for clipping and is suggested by top brands at the peak of the season.

Pre & Post Clip Care

Coat preparation before clipping is of utmost importance to ensure the best results, optimise your clipper’s performance and reduce lines on the clipped coat. As discussed previously, the thickest parts of your horse’s coat during the clipping season will be their back and loins. These areas have a build-up of grease and dirt more so than other areas of the body.

Washing the horse before clipping has many benefits to the final result of the clip. It cleans the coat of any dirt and grease, allowing the clippers to glide easier, reducing lines, and also friction created in the handset which transfers upwards from the blades. This means the clippers shouldn’t heat up as they won’t have anything extra to fight against other than the hair. The pre clip wash must be done in time for the coat to totally dry before clipping. Clipping wet hair can damage your clippers as it increases friction on the handset due to water hindering the blades as they slide across each other. We suggest that you avoid 2 in 1 shampoos that contain conditioners as the sticky residue left behind can also have this negative effect on the handset. After clipping it is advised that you use a product to hot cloth with. This gets rid of any clipper oil left on the coat. It will hydrate the skin and ultimately decrease the chance of hives appearing due to irritation. The pre clip and post clip care is essential to maximise the results of the clip as well as the health of your horse’s skin and hair afterwards.

Pre-Clip

Lincoln Pre Clip Shampoo 500ml £9.95

Post-Clip

Barrier Lavender Wash 500ml £7.96 / 5L £49.94

Pesky Pest Wash 500ml £9.25 / 1L £15.95

Which clipper?

Choosing the right clipper is important to ensure that it’s powerful enough for the coat of your horse and can cope with the workload it’s challenged with. The three standard types of horse clippers would be trimmers, medium duty and heavy duty. All three serve particular purposes but need to be used correctly to do so.

Trimmers

Wolseley Raven trimmer Pro CP 90000 - Corded £99.95

Wolseley Skylark trimmer- Cordless £73

Trimmers are small clippers which are typically used for trimming bridle paths, tidying up areas and for sanitary purposes. Trimmers are cordless and rechargeable to allow ease of use and no wires interrupting the clip. Usually beards, feathers and tails are perfected with the trimmer. They are lightweight and some have adjustable cutting lengths with a dial on the handset. Comb guides can be added for feathers and areas that you want to set a specific cutting length. These guides are widely used by first time clippers and people that are inexperienced.

Medium duty A5 clippers

Wolseley Jay Clipper A5 Standard £388.99

Medium duty clippers are used for legs and areas of the body that don’t have coarse hair. They are sometimes capable of clipping horse’s full bodies if their coat isn’t too thick, and they aren’t clipping for a prolonged amount of time. The A5 blades that fit onto these clippers come in a variety of lengths including the skip tooth option. These blades have a normal cutter but have every other tooth missing on the bottom comb, this achieves a thinning clip for people who want to tidy tails and possibly not want to clip closely to the skin. The standard 10F blades that come on most medium duty clippers are the equivalent of a medium blade on A2 heavy duty clippers. These clippers are quieter than the heavy-duty option. Ideal for nervous horses and clipping areas that they fidget around with. They vibrate less and expel less sound.

Heavy duty A2 clippers.

Lister Fusion Clippers £315

Heavy duty horse clippers can be used on all parts of the horse. These clippers are the most powerful and can run for a long time whilst coping with thick hair. Available via mains powered and cordless there are options to suit everyone if you don’t have access to a power source at your yard. Coarse blades are an option for horses with coat types that would demand it. Cushing coats and full winter coats will normally require these blades and the strength of a heavy-duty clipper.

Clipper Care

Wolseley Clipper Oil Spray 200ml £6.78

High Performance Clipping Oil 250ml £7.49

Using the correct care before, during and after for your clippers is paramount to their longevity. Before clipping, the blades need to be totally clean of any dirt and rust from previous uses. During the clip, the blades need to be oiled every 3-5 minutes ideally with a blade specific oil. We suggest the use of an aerosol oil as this is a direct coolant as well. Blades get hot due to friction between the metal cutter and comb. This heat transfers up to the handset and can affect how well the clippers run and perform. Regular oiling and brushing off the dirt from the blades should avoid this. After clipping, the blades should be taken off and cleaned ready for their next use. This prevents rust and will keep them sharper if they aren’t sat in dirt whilst stored.

Tension

The tension set on your A2 clippers needs to be correct. This prevents the blades going blunt sooner than necessary and will delay the heat transfer from the friction in the blades. Corded clippers will not heat up as much as cordless. This is due to the battery being in the handset of cordless units and this can promote extra heat. Oiling and cleaning hair off the blades should help this issue. Using a direct blade coolant is even more important with cordless clippers for this reason.

To set the tension correctly, begin with the clippers switched off. The tension screw must be done all the way up and then rotated backwards for two full turns. With the clippers on, start on the underside of the tummy of the horse. This is a good testing area for the tension at the beginning of the clip. If the clippers are cutting well then proceed at this tension. If they need to be tighter, wind the tension up by a quarter at a time. You want to avoid tensioning them too tightly as this has a negative effect on the clippers as discussed previously.

If you need advice on clippers or would like to see the full range, pop in and see us in store.

Stockshop A2 Medium Blade £39.95

• Compatible with Liscop, Liveryman & Hauptres.