Body Clipping Tips: How to Clean and Oil Your Clippers

Clipping your horse is the equestrian equivalent of painting a room. Lots of prep work yield easy and fast results. And just like refilling your paintbrush, you need to stop every 5 minutes to clean and oil your clippers. (Video and Shopping below)

Clipper coolant and oil are great to use, in the correct order, of course.

The fastest way to spend more money when clipping your horse

Dirt, dust, and dander create two primary problems when clipping. You will see lines and uneven areas on your horse, not to mention the blades will tug against your horse’s skin. And that debris plus clipped hair clogs up your clipper blades.

When your clipper blades are gooped up, the hair and junk get between the moving parts, making heat. The cutting edges of the teeth also end up clipping through dirt, which acts like sandpaper to dull your blades and makes the motor work overtime.

So – you are sharpening and replacing blades more frequently and sending your clipper body in for service more regularly. That’s money out of your pocket!

Coolant first, oil second.

What does this have to do with clipper oil?

Clipper oil reduces friction, thus reducing heat, and helps the blades slice through hair without effort.

It would be best if you stopped clipping to clean your blades and re-apply clipper oil every 5 minutes. I promise your equipment will last longer, and your horse will be comfortable and gorgeous when you finish clipping.

4 Simple steps to clean and oil your clippers

Remove the hair from your clipper body and blades. Most blades pop off so you can brush out the gaps between the blades and the body. Use a toothbrush, or maybe a rag, to tidy things up.
Apply coolant to reduce any residual heat in the clipper blades.
Wipe off any excess coolant.
Because coolant evaporates quickly, you now have clean and dry blades that need OIL! Apply oil across the teeth and down the sides where the two parts of the clippers meet. Run the clippers for a few seconds and wipe away any extra.

It’s that simple to extend the life of your clippers!

Your blades are only effective if they are sharp, clean, and oiled.

Trimmers, clippers, and shears – special considerations

Trimmers

Trimmers will get hot and sluggish if you use them other than intended. They are great for mall areas, tidying up, bridle paths, and thinner hair. The trimmer’s teeth blades are shorter; there’s not room for a lot of hair.

Clippers

Body clippers are the go-to for overall horse clipping. Thick-coated breeds and horses with extra hair due to Cushing’s can stress a typical body clipper. Move up to shears for more power. #10 blades for body clipping can be sharpened, usually only twice. After that, it’s time for new blades, even if your horse and blades are spotless.

(L to R) Body clippers, shears, trimmers

Shears

Shears are monster-sized clippers that could probably chop down a tree. Their power doesn’t negate the necessity to wipe away hair and re-oil every five minutes. Speaking of which, some extra locations usually require oil on the area where the blades meet the handle.

In addition to oiling, you may need to tension your clippers again. The blades need to be “just-so” for proper use. Do this by tensioning the blades with the knob on the body. Each brand and model will have slightly different instructions – so read the directions for the best results.

Enjoy this complete guide, start to finish, of horse clipping.

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