Common Horse Clipping Mistakes and Solutions

Common clipping errors

• If you accidentally make one of the following “clipping mistakes,” never fear – there are fixes.

• Some are immediate fixes, but sometimes, you have to wait for it to grow out.

• If you are new to clipping, do a few test swipes in an inconspicuous area to check the sharpness of your blades and the cleanliness of your horse. The belly and under the saddle flap are excellent places to test swipe.

Does improper clipping cause coat or skin problems?

• In some extreme cases, clipper irritations and burns happen when the blades get too hot, the clippers accidentally dig into the skin, or there’s an allergic reaction to products like coolant or shampoo. The key to avoiding skin problems is to bathe, let them dry, and use only fresh, sharp, oiled clipper blades.

The clippers are tugging or skipping

• There are a few reasons for this to happen. Your horse is dirty, your blades are dull, your clipper motor needs repair, or you need more oil on your blades.

• First and foremost, the clippers will pull and tug if your horse and/or your blades are dirty and dull. Clipping a dirty creature means dust and dirt muck up the blades, contributing to them losing sharpness sooner. It also means you’ll be pulling and skipping. It’s not comfortable and can lead to nicks.

The solution

• Bathe your horse if there is even one spec of dirt! If that’s not the culprit, check your blades.

• Dull blades need sharpening if possible. Some blades only have a few sharpenings before you need to replace them. It depends on how much blade is left to sharpen; there is more on that here. You may also need to add more clipper oil.

The coat is wavy, or divots appear

• Sometimes, clippers create varying depths across your horse. You may see hair like sand dunes, with longer and shorter spots.

• Or, it looks like you started to dig a hole with the clippers, and there’s a divot or chunk of hair missing.

The solution

• Some practice with the clippers can help you with this. Keeping the blades at the same angle will eliminate those dunes, but it does take some getting used to.

• You can also practice putting even pressure on your horse with the clippers. You don’t have to use all of your strength to smash the clippers on your horse, and you don’t have to clip as if your horse were a water balloon. Find the in-between.

• If your horse’s skin is wrinkled, loose, or floppy, as it happens around elbows, pull the skin taut as you clip. This action helps to keep things tidy.

• Use a step stool to reach the topline of your horse. Getting taller helps your arms be at a more natural angle for best clipping results.

There are clipper lines

Clipper lines look like railroad tracks and make a roadmap of your clipping. There are a few causes: dull blades, a dirty horse, or uneven pressure.

The solution

• Never fear; you have a few ways to remedy this. You can ignore this. A few days later, you will never know there were lines over your horse as the hair coat grows.

• You can clip over those lines as if you are making an X over them. Clip over the lines from all directions. Please throw rules about “clipping against the direction of hair growth” out the window.

The clippers are getting too hot too quickly

• Hot clippers mean they are working too hard. Likely, you need more oil on your clipper blades. Or your clipper motor could be starting to fade away and need some service. Or your horse is dirty, and the motor works overtime to overcome that. Your blades might also be dull, making the motor work overtime.

• The likely cause is not enough clipper oil. You should stop every 5 minutes as you clip to brush out the blades, use coolant if necessary, and reapply clipper oil.

The solution

• Go back to the beginning and start checking off boxes. Ridiculously clean horse? Super oily clipper blades? Stopping every five minutes? Chances are that this will solve your issue. If it doesn’t, take it one step further and consider servicing your clipper motors.

• Generally speaking, when all of the clean, sharp, and oiled checkmarks are checked, the blades don’t heat.

The clipper batteries are fading

• Most cordless clippers have replaceable batteries. These are the ones you pop in. Like all batteries, they will lose functionality over time.

The solution

• Some cordless clippers can also be used as corded models if their battery drains too soon. Instead of plugging the clippers into a charging stand, you can plug the cord right into your clippers.

• Some cordless models don’t use charging stands, so you can plug them in as usual and then use them.

• Buy replacement batteries. These are inexpensive and better than buying new clippers.

• Service the clippers or trimmers.

Your horse’s color has changed

• Bays often look chalky or dull, and chestnuts may appear like dirty pumpkins after clipping. This is just part of the clipping deal; this is one instance where gray horse owners can rejoice!

• A change of color or diminished shine only falls into the category of horse clipping mistakes if you clip too close to a show or event and must enter the ring on a funny-looking partner.

The solution

• Wait. As your horse’s coat grows, the color will return.

• Add more elbow grease as you groom. Your horse’s sebum, their natural oils, will shine up any dull coats. Natural oil production continues, it’s your job to smear it everywhere with your curry comb or grooming gloves.

• Add a grooming oil to your routine to boost their natural oils. Hot toweling (using hot water and cloths to curry) is a fantastic way to steam clean and add conditioning grooming oils to the coat.

• If the weather is still fantastic, you can bathe your horse with a color-enhancing shampoo after clipping. These specialty equine shampoos add color, shine, and conditioning.

• You can also use mayonnaise as a substitute for grooming oil, but only if this doesn’t make you hurl. You must also wash it off after some hours or overnight, so it’s more time-consuming than grooming oil.

The clip is too short

• Avoid clipping too short by making a test strip on your horse. Start with a blade that leaves more hair than you think. The #7F leaves 4 mm of hair. Then try a #9 or #10 blade. As the number gets higher, more hair is removed. Anything above a #15, like a #30, #40, or #50, is like shaving and is suited for medical procedures.

• When using shears, start with a covercote blade to leave about 5mm of hair, then try a medium blade, and finally, a fine blade if you want a short clip.

The solution

• The only solution here is time! A horse’s coat always grows and sheds, even the winter coat. Hair will always grow in, and a too-close clip will get longer.

• In the meantime, add more sheets if necessary.

Solving Horse Clipping Mistakes

• There is no better solution for trace clip and full clip errors than time and experience. Hair growth is on your side, and it will eventually smooth out. It combs back even if you accidentally chop into the mane, tail, or forelock.

Read the COMPLETE GUIDE TO CLIPPING YOUR HORSE for start to finish tips on clippers, techniques, and troubleshooting!

Videos

Grab some popcorn and watch this epic video about horse clipping- start to finish.

Horse clipping problems have a few things in common.

Bring back your horse’s color after clipping

Why your clipper blades are hot

What causes clipper lines on your horse?

Fixing clipper lines

Horse clipping tips for dense patches of hair