Body Clipping?

Can anyone explain to me how to body clip? Is it really that hard to do? Can I do it myself or do I have to find someone who knows what they are doing. I'm not body clipping for show, just to sell. We didn't have enough blankets for all the horses during the winter time.

Any help would be very much appreciated!!!! :)

I would also like to know what the average cost is for body clipping?

I used to body clip for $ in CA and would charge $60 for atrace $80 for a blanket clip, $100 for a hunter clip and $110 for whole body. If you are doing it to sell a horse I would advise having someone do it who knows what they are doing. It isn't hard but until you get th eknack of it you can end up with lots of lines. Plus you need the powerful clippers and they cost over $150 so unless you're going to clip a lot that would be silly to spend the money to buy them. You will need to blanket after you clip her unless the weather is really warm as otherwise the horse will be cold. I have successfully clipped horses up until mid-march but traditionally if you don't want to effect their summer coat you don;t want to clip later than early january.

Let me know if you need more info.

We have a pair of clippers, they are older though...The horse owners don't really want to spend the money on getting the horses clipped professionally. There are four horses that are for sale, that desperately need to be clipped. Would there hair fall out if you just keep a blanket on them at night? I've been putting a blanket on one of the horses at night, they are not ready to be sold right away, we are just preparing them. They aren't show horses or anything like that, they are pleasure/trail horses. The one we've been working with the most knows barrels, you can rope off of him, and more. We don't want all of the hair gone, they just look like sheep with there winter coats. Any advice/info would be great.

Thanks!!!

I think it'd be a bit unfair to blanket a horse that doesn't need to be blanketed. It could also be unhealthy due to excess sweating. The coat would shed, but I don't believe this is the best way to go about it.

If this "body clip" is the same word used for a "blanket clip" then these are extremely easy to do! All you need, is a clipper and a bit of chalk and an on hand helper to help with tricky places. It is advisable to wash the horse before clipping to remove excess dirt but make sure he is TOTALLY dry before going near him with the clippers. Also a good bath afterwards takes away scurf and makes the clipped coat easy to moult . Trace the clip you want with a piece of chalk, and just follow the lines this is totally easy to do! But I would advise you NOT to clip legs or head as fur there is for protection, also have a helper to help you clip behind horses legs, round the stifle etc.......

Good Luck!

One thing to also consider is if the horses are used to and comfortable with clippers. Body clippers are large and quite loud.

If the clippers are old, be sure to replace or sharpen the blades - dull blades will leave marks. You can do it yourself, but if it is the first time, you may end up with some lines - only one way to learn something like that though (and hair grows back)

Be sure to do it about a week before showing the horse to anyone so all of the oils return to the coat. I usually body clip my horses in march or april, so I don't know how it will affect the summer coat at this point. I am not a professional with the clippers, so it takes me 3-4 hours a horse on horses who are good about standing. You get a lot of hair in your face, and all in your clothes :) - just a warning.

The hair really needs to be clean to keep the clippers from sticking. The large body clippers can really only maneuver so some of the way down the leg - I find it easier to finish the legs and most of the face with regular clippers. When you clip, try to go with the direction of the hair - this keeps the clippers from cutting really short - some tricky areas will require you to clip from various angles. Clipping can be done on your own, but it is nice to have someone around to help you hold out a leg to remove the wrinkles from elbows and such.

If you are uncomfortable with clipping, try a really thorough grooming every day to stimulate the new hair growth and shedding of the old hair. A rubber curry, shedding brush, and shedding block are all great tools for this process. You can even use a set of scissors or smaller clippers to trip up the muzzle hair, under chin hair, fetlock hair, ear hair, and other fly aways. This will really do wonders to improve the look of the horses, even with some of their winter coats. Adding a light weight blanket to a well groomed horse can also help loosen some winter hair by rubbing against it when they move (the goal is not to sweat the horse out, but to keep them clean and loosen hair. Horses coats actaully change based on daylight hours more than temperature anyway.

I myself prefer a natural coat. For the Showjump course and my wife in the hack arena we have heated stables, and about five rugs a horse. Although I live in Australia, and overseas in the UK and USA can get a lot more colder!! Depends on the diciplin? Otherwise I can not help!

I wouldn't body clip sale horses for your first time. Just groom them really well lots of currying will help them shed and get shiny. I would however clip their chin and jaw wiskers,tufty ear hair (not the inside it makes their ears look big),bridle path and fetlocks if they're not standing in mud.

Body clipping is very difficult, especially if you don't have the right equipment. Don't be fooled it takes about 3-4 hours to do a full body clip, and that is with expensive equipment.

It is hard to make a body clip look good without the streak marks. I do recommend trying to find someone who already has a clipper and who knows how to do it.

A body clip is a good idea if you want to sell a horse though. It can make them look 100's of $'s better.