31/05/2026
Pre....clip tips and advice to get the perfect clip!
1. Bathing........get those 💅 dirty! Get lovely hot soapy water, with your favourite shampoo.....pref a good degreaser that isn't too harsh on the horses skin
By all means, apply it with your sponge or whatever, then throw the sponge in the hedge!
Your nails are the secret weapon here. Once you have a good lather, get those nails scrubbing the skin thoroughly to draw out all the sand, much, scurf etc into the later......no sponge or product will be as good as your nails.........we all know real horsey ladies don't have precious nails, so no need to worry about breaking one 😆
Rinse really thoroughly, and repeat if necessary
2. Take rugs off at least an hour or 2 before the clip. Rugs make the hair lay very flat to the skin, especially in warm weather, which also makes them sweaty
Imagine trying to cut your grass, but someone decided to go in with a roller just before you start.......mower wouldn't cut properly, would it? If the grass was standing upright, it would get a nice uniform, clean cut!
I get that people put a sheet on to keep the horse clean for a clip, but it really isn't necessary. It doesn't really matter if they get a fresh stable stain, or if the lie down. It's underneath and inside the fur that needs to be clean
3. Don't ride your horse before a clip if poss.......especially in Summer. We want the horse to be as cool as possible, not warm. The horse has many different textures/types of hair on its body. Some are coarse (easy to clip) Some are very fine (not easy to clip)
If those tiny whispy fine hairs (normally belly area near the back of the horse, behind ears, and behind front legs) get sweaty, they can be incredibly difficult to clip.....this is where YOU will struggle and snag hairs, annoying your horse. If you use a professional clipper, they will know the right type of blades and machine to deal with this situation and not aggravate the horse
4.PLEASE DONT PLAIT THE MANE! 😆
I get it.......I understand that you guys try to help by plaiting the mane up out of the way, to help. However it actually makes it more difficult. It's easy to use my arm to hold the mane up and I can get a nice straight line
It's not easy to hold plaits up with my arm, as they tent to want to flick back down very easily. If ONE plait flicks down as my clippers are passing by.........you risk losing that entire section of hair from the mane 😆
Thankfully it has never happened to me, and I pray it never does.......but it has almost happened before!!
5. If your horse seems anxious or fidgety at first.......don't worry, just leave me to it, I've seen it all before. There's no need to come in with treats, or licks etc. I know you guys are just trying to help, but sometimes, the less fuss and distractions, the better. If I'm struggling I might ask for an aid as a last resort, but this is very rare. A truly anxious horse isn't interested in eating. I know some people find it helps, I'm not saying you shouldn't do it personally if you are clipping......but if I'm clipping, I prefer not to. Less is more in my experience 🙂
6. FLYS 🪰 😡🤬............I'm open to ANY actual effective solution to keep those little bitey bast.rds away......the more suggestions the better......I leave that to you guys!!!
It's that time of year when the mini spawns of Satan are crawling out from their maggoty shells to torture every living creature 😭
If you made it this far.......I salute you 🫡 and appreciate you taking the time to read this
