My boy Clipped

[TPs flat rock acres]

Ok here is a photo of my boy. This was the 2nd time he was clipped when he was a baby at his breeders home and yesterday. He was a very good boy. He was clipped by a 15 yr old 4H boy and was very pleased with how George the stallion acted. Nick the 4h boy didn't do too bad but you can see coat is uneven. Is there a video somewheres or something that tells how to clip. I am attaching photos of before and after

he looks totally different

He still has to do around his ears and feet but after about 1 1/2 clipping we thought that was long enough.

 

[TPs flat rock acres]

would like to dye his mane and tail to just make him look pretty what do you think. How do they make those horses look so nice for photos

 

[Tremor]

Well, I don't know if you bathed him or not, but bathing before helps. Make sure they're dry before you clip though.

And clip in the opposite way the hair go. (Against the grain) If not you'll have streaks. Kinda looks like the boy went in any which direction. LOL!

 

[Katiean]

The 4h boy needs some instruction in clipping. He didn't even do your horses legs. When I clip for someone I bath the horse. When the horse is dry I do my first or ruff clip. Then I bath again. Then I do a finish clip. You have to make sure you have all the fine dirt out because the dirt will destroy your blades. After I get the final clip done I bath again to get all of the fine bits of hair out so the horse does not itch. Also when I clip I start at the head and work back. I do save the face and legs for last. On a nice sunny day I can clip a horse in about an hour. Baths and all.

 

[ohmt]

Aww well I think Nick did a great job-I bet he's just not clipped very often. He'll get the hang of it with practice

I bathe first and then brush, brush, brush. I always start with the rump because it seems to be the best area for the horses to get used to the clippers (with yearlings/weanlings I start at the neck because it takes care of their neck itchies so they don't get too upset with the clippers-then I do body and rump). Then I go to the body and then the neck. I then do the head and legs the next day to give them a little break. It's best to do the larger areas of the horse first though (like the rump and stomach area) so your clipper blades are at their sharpest. I take breaks every 10 or so minutes to let the clippers and horse rest (and myself!) and brush the horse off to see how I'm doing. Always go against the hair. Some areas you need to pull the skin to make it taut to get all of the hair and don't be afraid to apply a little pressure. Even with semi dull blades I can get a decent clip with only a few lines-I just have to go over some spots a few times. The best way to learn though is a lot of practice!

 

[rabbitsfizz]

To be fair to the lad, if this is a first attempt at clipping he hasn't done all that badly!

What you need to do now is bath him (for the record, all my horses look like this on the first clip- a bit of a mess,then I bath!) and clip him again, this time paying close attention to the "finish"

Spraying with a show shine of some sort, once the horse is dry, really helps get a good finish, too.

I would not dye his mane and tail, he is an Appy roan and it will look strange on him to have a black mane, they always have those pepper and salt manes and tails.

He is a very nice boy, you should be proud of him.

 

[TPs flat rock acres]

thanks Ohmt

this was his first try at it and didn't want to discourage him as he would love to show

No he didn't have a bath as it was kind of cool up here and dont want to run cold water him it was going to rain. I was going to sponge him but said well we will just see how he takes to the clippers

Katiean we did't do the legs as it took him along time to do what he did so that will be next weekend. It was his first try at it and with young kids don't want to discourage him. Most important thing is the horse didn't mind it and we had fun!

 

[TPs flat rock acres]

To be fair to the lad, if this is a first attempt at clipping he hasn't done all that badly!

What you need to do now is bath him (for the record, all my horses look like this on the first clip- a bit of a mess,then I bath!) and clip him again, this time paying close attention to the "finish"

Spraying with a show shine of some sort, once the horse is dry, really helps get a good finish, too.

I would not dye his mane and tail, he is an Appy roan and it will look strange on him to have a black mane, they always have those pepper and salt manes and tails.

He is a very nice boy, you should be proud of him.

Thanks Jane We will hopefully finish him up this next weekend with a bath more clipping, finishing legs so you can see his pretty legs and final touchs. Like to find information about show clipping so I can direct Nick. He was just so thrilled of his work. He kept saying "sorry" about the clipping marks

so he knows. We all start somewheres and learn right

any other pointers would be great... So you think my boy looks good. Hes bigger then I had hoped and didn't throw alot of color on his baby so not sure if I want to breed appys. I thought I did when I got him 3 yrs ago so now looking for a boy thats smaller and what can do what I hope in my breeding program.

thanks again

 

[High Meadow Miniatures]

Good advice here from everyone

I have to agree with several others and say that a vaccum & bath, really help get the dirt out of their coats...And a tip for good photos, training him to set up and taking the pictures in the early morning or evening light really help a lot. I am no professional photographer, but the lighting really can make or break a photo.

Also, just FYI, I see you said that he didn't throw much color on your foal...Just one foal, does NOT mean he will/will not throw lots of color...It's all in the genetics, unless if he is homozygous. I don't breed appies, so I'm not the best one to tell you about their color/patterns, but even in pintos, a homozygous horse still doesn't gaurantee a lot of color on their foals...Breeding for color is a crapshoot most of the time

 

[LittleRibbie]

I would like to get on the

for Nick wagon!!

And I would also like to

you for letting him "practice" on your special horse.

My niece visited a couple mos. ago and was just thrilled that I would allow her to fully body clip my 7 horses. She has only ever done bridle paths and fetlocks....she too kept saying "sorry for lousy job".......heck, I am still learning too. By the time ( 3 days later ) she did the last horse...I gotta say, she did a pretty dang good job!!! Well worth the price of her smile and her accomplishment of doing all the horses. AND THE BEST THING WAS I DIDNT HAVE ANY HORSE HAIR IN MY BRA!!!

 

[chandab]

AND THE BEST THING WAS I DIDNT HAVE ANY HORSE HAIR IN MY BRA!!!

Well, that right there would be the best payment of all. Man that's itchy.

 

[Riverrose28]

To all those complaining about short hairs in their bra, the trick to that is, put on a tee shirt and no bra!, no little hairs to get stuck in the bra, learned that lesson grooming dogs! Kudos to you for allowing a 4-Her to practice clipping. I just did two rough clips myself today, tomorrow I hope to bathe and finish. The horse will dry faster with out so much hair and once clean the finished product will be a much easier job. Kids need to practice, your boy did great with a kid, you should be proud! Good Job.

 

[wingnut]

There is nothing more fun then finding what's below all that fur every spring!!!

And I'm in my second year of clipping and can honestly say, it takes practice, practice and more practice. I *wish* my one girl looked that good after I clipped her for the first time last year! LOL! I have a long way to go, but I learn something with each clipping session. For instance, one of our 2 yr olds, Baby, likes me to sing while I clip. I thought at first it was my imagination but she would settle right down every time I would sing again. And I wasn't even singing a real song...just kept repeating "What a good girl, what a good girl, Baby, Baby, Baby is a very good girl" in a sing-song fashion.

Tell Nick to keep at it!

 

[CharlesFamily]

Good for Nick and the horse! First clips of the year are always tough - even if you have had a lot of experience! All of that hair and the dirt! I just finished up my horses today - even with a bath first, that winter dust is really hard to get to until after you clip and that longer hair makes it really tough to get a good finish. You will find if you clip him again after a good bath when it is warmer it will be MUCH easier to get a nice, smooth clip! My horses have some lines too, but they will smooth out. I was just excited to get all of that hair off of them!

Barbara

 

[Blackwater Farm]

A good DVD that I found helped me learn some tricks was called "Clipping For Show". There is a series of them...I got it from Ozark Mountain Mini Tack. I cant recall at the moment what the lady's name was but I really liked her, very informative.

 

[TPs flat rock acres]

Ok thanks I will go look and purchase it.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Tip for those attempting to avoid horse hair in questionable regions- go to a ...aah now, what do you call them? Flea Market? would that be right?

Anyway you need to buy a couple of those ghastly shell suits everyone used to wear.

Just slip them on over the top of your clothes, or divest yourself if the weather is hotter.

None of the hair gets through.

I used one for dog grooming as the "proper" suits were super expensive.

Not a hair about my person!

 

[Ashley]

It looks to me that he clipped with the hair instead of against it.

 

[Katiean]

I have a friend that owns a dog grooming shop. She keeps telling me to clip "WITH" the hair. I just chuckle and tell her the horses are different. Also for that first bath and the dirt being well imbeded...I use a spray nozzle and spray until I don't see any more dirt.

 

[TPs flat rock acres]

Yes he did clip with the hair. I will let him know against thanks!