Posts Tagged ‘horse clippers’

Should I trim around my horse’s eyes and ears?

Clipping the hairs of the horse’s eyes and ears is a controversial topic. There’s no doubt that a horse with close clipped ears and eyes has a pretty face, but those hairs are there for a reason. Before trimming these sensitive areas, decide what you need to clip, and then make sure you have the best tools for the job in your horse grooming supplies.

The ears

The horse’s ears have two kinds of hairs- soft fluffy coat hairs that run along the edges of the ears, and thicker, more wiry hairs that grow inside the ears. The soft external hairs can easily be clipped away, and that’s a good choice to make the horse’s head look neater without losing the protection of the thicker internal hairs. To clip these soft hairs out, a good set of hand clippers are ideal.

To trim the soft external hairs of your horse’s ears, start by folding the ears over in half lengthways and just trimming the long hairs that poke out. Run the trimmers with the lay of the hair to prevent getting rough edges, and simply smooth out the long stray hairs that stick out. This will be enough to give most horses a neat and tidy appearance for all but the most demanding show rings, and still give your horse’s ears the protection they need from flies, dust, and dirt.

The hairs inside are essential to keep out dust and flies. Unless you are showing and the rules demand it, don’t trim inside your horse’s ears. If you absolutely have to, choose the quietest horse clippers you can find. Hold some tissue over the base of the ear to keep the hairs from falling inside the ear, and carefully trim along the surface of the ear. Once done, you will have to protect your horse’s ears yourself – this means keeping your horse’s ears protected from flies and dust, and even from stable bedding which can get inside and cause infection or injury. As the hairs grow back, your horse will be prone to minor infections; you need to make a regular practice of rubbing your horse’s ears with a gentle antibiotic cream to keep them healthy.

The eyes

Like the ears, the eyes have two kinds of hairs. This time though, the long, wiry hairs are less significant. These can be clipped back to tidy up the horse’s face, and most horse’s won’t miss them. The short, soft hairs around the eyes – the horse’s ‘eyelashes’ are essential to protect the horse’s eyes from dust and dirt. Like with the hairs inside the ears, don’t clip these off unless you are absolutely required to for show ring standards.

In any case, clipping around the eyes needs to be done carefully – it’s not something that should ever be done with scissors. A good pair of hand clippers is an essential part of your equine supplies to prevent any risk of injury to the horse’s eyes.

Which clippers should I use?

If your horse is sensitive about its face. choose a battery powered or rechargeable model for quiet operation, and so you don’t have the cord flapping around your horse’s face. If your horse is pretty good about clippers, the benefit of a corded model is that you don’t need to replace batteries or remember to recharge it. You’ll want a model that is light and fits your hand well, because you need to be accurate when clipping around the eyes and ears. Choose one that has a small blade, for a neat and careful finish.

As always, choose clippers from a reliable manufacturer like Wahl, Oster, or Andis. You want to be sure your clippers are safe to use, have a good warranty, and that you can easily get replacement blades – dull blades are dangerous when clipping sensitive areas like eyes and ears!

Here’s some good choices for precision clipping from the top manufacturers:

• Wahl horse clippers. The Wahl Touch Up Animal Trimmer is a great battery operated trimmer for small touch-ups and precision trims. It uses AA batteries, so they’re easy to replace, but it isn’t rechargeable.
• Andis horse clippers. The Andis Lightweight Cordless Horse Trimmer is easy to hold and use. It’s not for big jobs or tough hairs, but it’s perfect for touch-ups and trimming the eyes and ears.
• Oster horse clippers. The Oster Pro Cordless Trimmer is rechargeable, and has a precise blade for carful trimming of sensitive areas. It’s lightweight and comfortable to use, and has one of the narrowest blades available, so you won’t make any mistakes!

If you do trim the hairs of your horse’s face, you will need to take extra precautions to protect him from pests and dust. Keep the eyes and ears clean with a damp sponge, and make sure you apply a gentle insect repellent or use a fly net to protect your horse from flies and other annoying insects. Keep a watchful eye for any infections, injuries, or ingrown hairs, and treat these quickly. And remember to look after your horse clippers – keeping the blades clean and sharp will keep your clippers one of the most useful tools in your horse grooming supplies!

This is the third in a series of five articles on horse grooming. This article is an easy to read, well written guide for trimming around your horses eyes and ears. Not only does it provide specific guidance but also makes recommendations on the right horse grooming supplies for a safe and good looking result.

Author: Marcus Koll
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Beading Necklace

A horse’s tail is its prized possession. It’s used for comfort, to swish flies from itself and other horses, and it’s used for balance and communication. Trainers can use the horse’s tail to see if it is frightened, excited, or uncomfortable. In the show ring, a clean flowing tail can really catch the judge’s eye.

So how do you get the perfect tail? Well, first of all, it needs to be clean, and keeping a tail clean – especially a white one – is a big topic. Here, we’re going to talk about how you can clip and trim the tail to help your horse look and feel its best.

What kinds of tail trims are there?

What type of look you go for depends on your horse’s breed and what kind of work it will do. Some breeds, like Arabians, are usually shown with a natural, long, free flowing tail. Dressage horses will have a tail closely trimmed at the top to accentuate the hindquarters. Show ring hunters will need a tail that can be easily braided. Polo ponies and driving horses need close trimmed tails that can be easily tied up short to protect them from getting tangled up in traces or the polo mallets. Even horses that don’t show will benefit from a tidy tail to help keep it clean and keep it from getting matted and tangled.

Once you decide on the look you want, you get started with trimming the tail, and that will help you choose which tools you need in your horse grooming supplies.

Trimming the base of the tail

The base, or top of the tail is the most conspicuous part. If you are going to braid the tail you will need long, smooth hairs that will lie flat in a plait or braid. You will need to protect the tail from rubbing with a bandage or tail guard if your horse has the habit of scratching its tail on doors or fence posts. Fortunately for you, though, you don’t need to do a lot of trimming. That said, after you plait the tail, you may find that some hairs keep sticking out. Trimming these away with a good set of hand trimmers will make for a perfect show ring braid.

If you want a natural tail, again you won’t need to do much. The real work is for those that want a ‘pulled’ tail – that means keeping the hairs at the top of the tail very short for a close, neat finish. Traditionally, this used to be done by pulling out the long hairs, but many horse owners don’t like to do this. There’s no doubt that the horse’s tail is more sensitive than its mane, so pulling the tail is more uncomfortable for the horse than pulling the mane. And with some practice, you can get a better look with hand trimmers than you can get with a pulling comb.

Why? Well the problem comes as the hairs grow out. A newly pulled tail looks great, neat, tidy, and it really shows off the horse’s quarters and can accentuate its movement. But as the hairs grow out, they get prickly, and yet they aren’t long enough to grasp them to pull. That means you have an unsightly ‘bristle’ period until the hairs are long enough to get a grip on them. This isn’t a problem with hand trimmers!

With hand trimmers or clippers, you can choose how short you want the hairs to go. You can use wide clipper attachments to get slightly longer hairs, which are easy to get to lie flat, this is best for the top of the tail. Choose a closer trim for the sides of the tail, to clip the hairs away and really show off your horse’s quarters. Use a tail bandage and some baby oil or conditioner regularly, and you will get a smooth, professional finish. Keeping a good set of hand clippers and attachments in your horse grooming supplies means you will have a perfect finish every day.

Trimming the end of the tail

The end of the tail will also need trimming. For horses that aren’t showing, keeping the tail trimmed back to at least halfway up the cannon bone will help to keep it clean and prevent tangles and mattes. Horses that show with a natural tail may just need a little tidying up now and again for a good shape. Working horses might just need the tail shorted a little so it can be easily tied up. Show horses like hunters and dressage horses though, need a perfectly even, or ‘banged’ tail.

Getting a perfectly level tail takes two people – that’s because you need to try to simulate where the tail will be when the horse is moving. One person needs to hold the tail up just a little, so that it hangs where it would be when the horse naturally raises its tail when it moves. The best way to do this is to put your arm under the dock and simply rest the tail over. Then the second person can start trimming. Most people will choose to cut the tail at about midway up the cannon bone. However, if you are trying to make your horse’s legs look longer or shorter, you may want to cut lower or higher, or you may want to cut to match socks or stockings for a more even look. Either way, don’t use scissors.

Why not use scissors? Unless your horse has a very thin tail, there’s no way to get a perfect finish. It will take more than one cut, and that means edges and uneven ends. If you have a lot to cut off, you can start with scissors, but finish with hand trimmers. Holding the trimmers upside down, you can cut along the bottom of the tail. Unlike scissors, good, sharp clipper blades won’t push the hairs away, but will catch them and trim them evenly for a perfect flat finish. It takes a little practice, but the results are worth it.

Choosing a trimmer for tails

If you are going to be trimming your horse’s tail regularly, you should consider having a good set of horse trimmers in your horse grooming supplies. It will make keeping a ‘pulled’ and banged tail tidy easier for you and more comfortable for your horse. If you are going to be braiding your horse’s tail for shows, a good set of cordless trimmers will be essential for tidying up stray hairs – not just on your horse’s tail but for any last minute show ring touch ups. Here’s some options form the major suppliers:

Wahl horse clippers. The Wahl Bravura is a versatile hand clipper that can be used for manes and tails and more sensitive, precision areas. It can be used both with the cord and cordless, so you can take it with you to shows, and it’s quiet but powerful. It comes with a set of four attachments for clipping different areas. It’s a great choice if you can have only one set of trimmers in your horse grooming supplies.

Oster horse clippers. The Oster Powermax is a coat clipper, rather than a trimmer, but it’s a great value choice if you need one clipper that can do everything. The two-speed operation can get through thick coats, and the slower speed lets you do more sensitive work. You won’t get the precisions finish of a specially designed trimmer, but if you can only afford one set of clippers this one is more versatile than most. It will certainly make a good job of tail trimming, and it comes with a selection of attachments.

Andis horse clippers. The Andis Freedom Trimmer is a great cordless choice. It’s lightweight, lasts for an hour when fully charged, and runs quiet. You get a good choice of blades with the Freedom trimmer, so you can use these trimmers for careful work on fine hairs, then switch to more robust blades for the mane and tail.

Always choose clippers and trimmers from one of the main horse grooming suppliers. This way, you will get a warranty, you can be sure your clippers are safe to use, and getting replacement parts and blades will be easy. For trimming a perfect tail, you need to be sure your blades are sharp. If the coarse hairs of the tail get caught in dull blades, not only will you get uneven edges and broken hairs, but you risk pulling out hairs and hurting your horse. Invest in a few sets of blades, so you always have a sharp set in your horse grooming supplies, and you have spares when you need to send them away for sharpening. With a good set of trimmers and sharp blades, you can keep your horse’s tail looking neat and healthy every day.

This is the second in a series of five articles on horse grooming. This article is an easy to read, well written guide to grooming your horse’s tail. Not only does it provide specific guidance but also makes recommendations on the right horse grooming supplies to use to get the job done right in the shortest time.

Author: Marcus Koll
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Pressure cooker

Horses are not cheap to own because of the many horse tack supply items that they require. Consider shelter, food, tack supplies, and a whole lot more and you will understand why. While not everyone would want to own a horse, ranchers find horses to be very interesting and useful creatures. They are willing to go the extra mile just to provide their horses with all the necessary tack supply items they need.

Horse clippers are primarily used for keeping different parts of a horse neatly trimmed or shaved, whether for vanity or showing purposes, or for health reasons. That is why it is important to think about the important aspects of choosing the right horse clippers before you finally decide to buy. There are hundreds of types and brands of these clippers available today; however, there are four things to take into consideration, which include the motor, the size, the power and the speed. Clippers with decibel ratings are also efficient since most horses are easily startled by loud and strange noises.

Tack trunks are also very important tack supplies. There are a lot of beautifully designed tack supply trunks sold these days and your options are really endless. But regardless of the design and overall look, the functionality of tack trunks is also very important. Find those that have built in wheels so that you can easily maneuver them around without worrying about heavy loads. Since these trunks are designed to keep and properly organize your horse equipment, it is normal to see them with compartments. These compartments are basically add-ons to a trunk but they are very useful as well, especially in storing horse tools like combs, accessories, grooming tools, and a whole lot more.

When buying a tack supply trunk, be sure to check for a proper lid. During a horse show, the trunks with a treaded rubber lid are multi functional, as they are useful for standing on when grooming or braiding a horse’s mane. When purchasing any tack supplies, keep in mind that a trunk with multi functional uses is always a better deal. Visit www horses com for additional equine info.