Safety is of the Utmost Importance

Remember that some horses find the noise and vibration of clippers very frightening and, if you are clipping a horse for the first time, try to find out what it is like to clip, prior to starting.

Before clipping begins, you need to have a suitable place to do it in. This needs to be an enclosed area, preferably a special stall. There needs to be a nonslip floor — rubber matting is ideal. You need to have good light so you can see what you are doing, and you must be out of wind and rain.

Most clippers are electric, although there are some that run on battery pack. If you are using electric clippers you must have a power point handy and a circuit breaker; it is also useful to have a hook on the ceiling through which you can thread the cable to keep it out of the way.

You should always have a helper   when clipping to hold the horse for you and offer it reassurance. Both you and helper ideally need to be wearing protective clothing of some form, such as boiler suits. You should wear rubber boots, a hat, and should use a dust mask as well.

Check your clippers before starting to clip. The blades need to be sharp and should be sent of for sharpening after every full clip, or two partial clips. At the end of every winter the clippers should be sent for servicing to keep them working efficiently.

You should clean your clippers thoroughly after every use so that there is no hair clogging up the vents and mechanisms. Before starting to clip, and a drop of clipper oil to the blades, and check the blade tension, which will vary with different clippers.

During clipping the blades will heat up, and it is very important to keep checking that they are not getting too hot. There are various cooling liquids on the market, which can be used or you can alternate with two pairs m clippers, using one while the other cools down.