How to Clip Your Horse for a Show

Your horse will not shine in competition unless it looks its best from head to toe. Good horse grooming starts with a thorough clipping that keeps his coat shiny and neat. For the top shows, a professional groomer should be employed, but you can maintain your horse's coat with a pair of clippers.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Clippers with adjustable blades or two different sets of blades a 10 and a 30 or 40 blade

1. Bathe your horse and dry it with a towel that has been lightly sprayed with a conditioner, such as Show Sheen. Don't use too much because conditioners can cause your saddle to slide.
2. Brush your horse’s coat. Notice any areas that might need to be trimmed: legs, fetlocks, coronary bands, muzzle, ears, bridle path and under the jaw.
3. Use strong clippers with size number one blades. Oil the clippers before you start to keep them from getting hot.
4. Start with the horse’s legs to get the animal used to the sound and vibration of the clippers.
5. Pull any excess hair away from the leg and gently clip this hair off the horse. Don't let the clippers touch the horse’s leg or you will completely shave the leg. Use the shorter hair as your guide and follow it with the flat part of the clipper.
6. Go down to the fetlocks and completely shave any feathers that might be growing in this area.
7. Use the edge of the clippers and trace the coronary band. Place the clippers at the level you want the hair to be and go down. Continue this all the way around the foot. If your horse has a white foot or leg with a short coat, clip that entire area of white. This will make it easier to clip and keep clean.
8. Start around your horse’s head around the muzzle to introduce the clippers to its face. Hold the handle of the clipper and let your hand rest for a second on the horse's face to get him used to the vibrating.
9. Trim the whiskers from the muzzle, under the chin and follow this all the way to the horse’s jaw line.
10. Move on to the bridle path. Use the horse's halter to pull back the mane. Clip no more than an inch from where the halter was laying. Avoid taking any part of your horse’s foretop
11. Clip your horse’s ears carefully. Have someone help you if your horse resists. Trim the entire inside of the ear, leaving no fuzz on the inside and tracing the outline of the ear on the outer rim. If bugs are bad in your area, purchase a fly mask with ears for your horse.

Tips & Warnings

• Lower # blades leave more hair. Higher # blades leave less hair. #40's are surgical blades
• change which blades you use on different body parts for best work. But a 10 blade will do all parts of a horse very well. it's a very versatile blade