 |
CLIPPERS & BLADES and Horses
The actual clipping of horses is the relative easy bit, knowing how to prepare and tension (if required) your clipper whatever the make and model and the selection of the right blade to use for the task which confronts you - is the skilled part!
Often this vital part of clipping is either totally disregarded or never taught by those teaching the skills of clipping. One presumes it is omitted because too few have any practical experience of the range and depth of either clippers or blades and therefore limiting their teaching knowledge to a few machines they may have used.
Many who undertake the clipping of animals have little or no experience and quiet happily embark on what is quiet a skilled task with more or less no knowledge about the machine and blades and invariably precious little practical knowledge.
Hardly beneficial to the animals, the machine nor the operator!
How often one hears the comment "My friend gave me some instruction! Fantastic!
So how good is the friend?
Are they for example professionally trained - when assuming the mantle of teacher?
Conversant with more that one clipper beyond the machine they use?
Knowledgeable on a wide range of blades and their uses!
Experienced in a wide range of clipper tensioning?
Able to clearly and confidently advise on the general daily maintenance of a wide range of machine?
Knowledgeable to advise on lubrication of individual blades and machines and at least a basis knowledge of blade sharpening requirements.
Few friends can offer that degree of advice or expertise! Agreed many can confidently explain the difference between a full clip and say a bib clip, but as already stated clipping is the relative easy part! Making and keeping the machine clipping at peek performance is were the skills kicks in!
The person who set out to clip their own horse will benefit enormously if they either take qualified professional advice which sets out not only to teach the art of clipping but undertakes to teach a comprehensive syllabus on all the aspects relating to the use of a wide range of machines and their accompany blades.
The student who is this conversant is then fit to undertake serious clipping and can expect to turn out a well clipped animal in which they can take a justifiable pride!
Beyond the "wielding" of a machine against the coat of the horse what should the "student" be looking to master?
MACHINE SELECTION
First point - distinguish between a "Clipper" and a "Trimmer"
Clippers clip! Trimmers trim!
Often the discerning user likes to have one of each - a clipper for full body work, and a trimmer for facial work and possibly a degree of leg work depending on the quality of the trimmer and the available blades that can be used with it .
There are a considerable number of machines vying to catch the potential customers interest with a hope of securing a purchase. Some "flamboyantly" described by their manufacturers prove to be a dismal failure! A web site such as www.peasridge.co.uk makes a good starting point for in-depth and informed data.
There exists at least a total of 30 clippers available for your selection in a number of categories and at various prices.
Theses categories can be grouped as such:
Mains powered
Battery powered
Run off 12v batteries
Mains or battery powered for nervous horses
Then these categories can be further sub divided in to "Sub categories" comprising of
Mains powered
Heavy duty
Light duty
Battery powered
Heavy duty
Light duty
Run off 12v batteries
Heavy duty
Nervous horses
Light duty
Now consider the range of possible end users
The "contractor"
A person whom clipper horses and other animals for reward. Someone engaged in clipping for a living either part or full time .
The "stable yard"
An establishment which undertake to clip horses at livery, or assist clients with their clipping requirements. A racing stable, police or military establishment, riding school or place keeping horse for hire. Horse/pony rescue centres, and all similar places where any number of horses are kept.
The "horse owner"
One of many such persons who keep a horse/s and or ponies for pleasure, country pursuits, and a range of competition activities.
Owners of the "nervous" type horse
The owner of a horse/s, which for whatever reason has/have a tendency to be nervous about being clipped. This may well include such animals as those, which require to be sedated partially or fully. Some horses may have an aversion to trailing cables, clipper vibration and or noise. Also including some owners who experience difficulty using large and heavy machine for a variety reasons.
The "Veterinarian "
The veterinarian is often confronted with specialist clipping requirements spanning a range of animals from the larges to the smallest. A vet engaged in both large and small animal practises, laboratory work, and small animal specialist activities.
Decide which of the groups above best represents your needs then you can do your research into the most suitable machine
CONTRACTOR
Refer to our website page "Mains powered clippers" on the product menu and you can view all the machines consider most suitable for the "Contractor"
STABLE YARD
For the stable yard environment refer to our website page "Mains powered clippers" on the product menu and select "Heavy duty - livestock and horses" section
HORSE OWNER
For this end user categories, one once suggested "light duty" machines in preference to the "heavy duty" type. Today however with heavy duty machines such as the Hauptner 2000 and Premier 3000 being so highly suited to especially lady operator due to their lightweight and slim shaped hand pieces one should include them for serious consideration also.
NERVIOUS HORSE OWNERS
You have two choices here - either battery powered or mains!
In both cases refer to our website page either "Cordless clippers" or "Mains powered clippers" on the product menu and you can view all the machines consider most suitable for the "nervous animal"
VETERINARIAN
The Veterinarian will have special need and selection will invariably depend on the nature of the work - large animals or small animals, and whether the vet is operating in a mobile situation on farm say and maybe power is not always available.
Reference to our website page either "Cordless clippers" or "Mains powered clippers" on the product menu and you can view all the machines consider most suitable for the "Veterinarian"
From the Peasridge website clipper data displayed on line you will be able to obtain all of the likely information you will require to make an informed selection of suitable machines. No known website offers more comprehensive details
A visit to "Clipper Advice" (see the nav bar at the top of the page) will enlighten you as to some of the working principles of the machines and items such as parts diagrams
TRIMMERS
There are a number of trimmer on the market - possibly rather to many to avoid confusion as to which is the best. Experience teaches German made machine are often some of the best and one can usually expect long levity plus reliability.
Trimmers have an important roll in the clipping of a horse in that they are more acceptable to the animal on its face that the large machines. Trimmers with have suitable blades can also be effectively used for a considerable amount of leg word and removal of the coarser "feather"
This type of leg work does however require a good knowledge of blades
Feathers and coarse leg hair can cause problems for many blades whether the larger traditional clipper blades, or the narrow detachable type They just don't like clipping in this area! Some will do it but with a struggle!
The inexperienced operator might reasonably favour the use of a more open and fewer toothed narrow type "detachable" blade, but experience teaches that a surgical size #40 - "53" tooth blade will invariably give a superb clip going through the coarse hair with ease!
Now clearly "surgical" gives the concept of "extra close" clipping and the way to combat this is to use an attachment comb - say a 1/16th or even a ¼-inch to give added height and allow for a better covering of hair.
The #40 blade is also highly successful for hogging manes.
One word of warning - clipper which take these blades tend to be the professional dog grooming machines and not the cheaper trimmers. One exception trimmer is the Moser "Arco" Once handled and used you will quickly see why it is popular with horse owners who are prepared to spend a bit extra and get something "superior!"
BLADES
A list of the manufacturer's blades is given on each of our clipper web pages with additional information regarding alternative blades, which can be used with the machine.
For greater blade detail you need to refer to out website section "Clipper Blades" found in the drop down "Product" menu at the top of this page. Here you can view all the blades suitable for the machines listed.
No other website will give you greater blade information and we constantly update pages as we gain more data from our continuous field trials with blades both existing and new.
There is several important points about blades often either over looked or just ignored!
These are:..
The blade does the cutting - the clipper provides the power
Hence the reason to note the "cutting strokes per minute" information give and not just be guided by "wattage" and outdated system for assessing the power output of a machine.
There are two types of blades to be concerned with.
A traditional screw or tension nut fixed blade
a blade consists of two pieces of precision made metal "plates" shaped or cut into a plate and honed to a fine sharpened edge. These two metal blades are brought together under pressure, either as a result of the "tensioning" produce by tightening the two together to a precise pressure, which will produce the maximum cutting edge and result in a smooth clip.
or a "detachable" one piece blade
Detachable are standard in the professional dog grooming world and are now becoming more widely used on horses. They are a complete blades comprising of both upper and lower plates, held together with a factory pretension spring. It is neither necessary nor advisable to attempt to adjust the tensioning or indeed unscrew the blades. Available in both a "wide" and narrow format. Wide detachable blades are used for full body clipping - the narrow blades for facial work and legs.
Detachable blades have an obvious appear in that the do not require tensioning
Generally they have clipping width slightly less than the traditional screw/tension bolt fixed blades.
Blades operate with the bottom "lower plate" or "comb" blade stationary and the smaller "upper plate" or "cutter" moving or driven by the clipper in order to do the cutting.
The sharpen of blades is crucial to their performance!
The correct sharpening by skilled professionals using the correct machinery in a manner appropriate to the blade in question is ESSENTIAL to the cutting performance!
Not all blade sharpening unfortunately is to a professional standard nor will it return a blade to the standard of performance as when purchased as new! Blade sharpening is as good as the skill of the people undertaking it!
Many blades are pronounced, "blunt" or "will not clip" when in fact where they correctly tensioned they would and often do clip several more horses satisfactorily.
The "enemy" of a sharp blade is meeting up in the course of clipping with pockets of dirt, dust, or small particles of grit! You will have swept (clipped) through the area before you are aware of entering such an area, although the experienced ear may denote a change in the motor sound! These so called "pockets" are often resulting from sweat, which has attracted grease, which of course acts as a magnet to any abrasive matter!
A blade - irrespective of the make or machine can be subject to sudden bluntness at a moments notice!
This is the downside to clipping, over which you have very little control and hence the reason for a reluctance to give any fixed number of horses/animals clipped per blade set! Whatever one stated is likely to be wrong!
The best advice is and always will be NEVER contemplate clipping an animal without a spare set of blades! Half clipped animals are nobodies "favourites!"
Be mindful also blades sent for sharpening are realistically likely to be away from you for 5/7 working days particularly if sent by mail to a sharpening service venue.
They are not a "drop them off at BOOTS in the High Street and pick up an hour later!" item.
Whilst it seems to cause considerable "grief" the tensioning of blades is certainly not a difficult skill, it does however require intelligent thought and practice and the more you do the better you get at it!
The single biggest problem for the average horse owner who clips is simply "not doing enough!"
Tensioning requires an intelligent approach. First familiarise yourself with the manufacture's recommendation. Remember these are general to cover a host of horses and varying breeds, not just your horse! Some adjustment may therefore be necessary.
However before you start any adjustment, try the machine on the recommended setting and see if it clips! If you feel it is not as it should be, try making an small adjustment.
When adjusting the tensioning first view the tension knob or nut as if it where a clock face, Imaging the circle as a segregated one hour broken down into 5 minute sections - just as a clock face is. Now any adjustment made should be "5 or 10 minutes" in either direction. If you tighten too much you will increase the likelihood for the cutting edge blunting. Remember to lubricate frequently as if blades are staved of lubrication they will overheat and quickly start to "dull" (loose their cutting edge)
Often it pays if a clipper is not performing i.e. not clipping, to dis assemble the blades clean and re assemble. A single hair can cause a refusal to clip if trapped between the two blades!
Good clipping is achieved with a "clean" horse - not an easy task to achieve without resorting to through washing and shampooing - washing with water alone is not enough!
Grooming and dirt removal with a "dandy" type brush is fine until the dandy brush bristles get clogged with grease and then do little more than transfer dirt from A to B on the body!" Several clean brushes would be advisable and discard as soon as they become clogged!
Power grooming - a highly expensive bit of kit and probably not every horses idea of a fun morning or afternoon! If you can justify the cost of one and if your horse is tolerant of the machine its a great way to ensure a really clean coat!
The manner in which you clip with certain types of clippers can have a pronounced affect on their performance. Most horse owners involved in clipping appear not to enjoy the task and one gets the impression rightly or wrongly, clipping the horse is done at the fastest speed possible! It is perhaps not one of the most pleasant of jobs and certainly the hair has a habit of getting in ones clothing with ease. However a clipper blade "pushed" at a fast speed through any animals coat whether it be the fine hair of a thoroughbred or dense coat of a native will tend to clog cause "tramlines" or just cease clipping - jammed with hair!
Recognise as you clip any variations in the coat, and ease up allowing the machine to do the work. When approaching a dense area or hearing a change in the blade tone ease up the pressure of the clipper head, and in more difficult areas pull back and re-enter the unclipped hair, again allowing the clipper to do the work - your hand a mere guide rather than an instrument of pressure!
In certain cases the use of a different blade may prove more successful than the one you have fitted and here your knowledge of blades and their ability in various coat conditions will prove invaluable.
Hence if you own or use for example a Hauptner, Lister, Moser or Aesculap clipper, like the dog clipping professional, know your clipper's blade range and the individual use and purposes of each blade!
|
|
