Tag Archives: clipping

Subi vs Clippers

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Nay Nay gets enough post around here.

It’s about time the Original Chestnut gets his own post again.

For the last few weeks, Subi has been pretty miserable. It’s been hot, but not that hot. And then it got pretty hot. Either way, he was miserable and sweaty and sporting a pretty decent old man summer coat (yet, his winter coat is pretty pathetic). The last straw was a humid morning when he was sweaty at 7am.

So, I made a decision last week that I was going to clip him on Saturday. Or at least TRY and clip him.

You see, Subi and the clippers have never really gotten along.

In almost 15 years of ownership, I’m never actually clipped any part of him. Tried? Yes. Clipped? No. So a full body clip shouldn’t be an issue, right?

Hahahahahaha.

Funny.

Armed with a few CCs of ace, Subi got a bath on a cool (yes, it’s been cool since Saturday) Saturday morning before we tackled step one: earplugs. See, he hates the sound of the clippers so I thought that they might help. Start laughing here, please.

Subi 1, Me/clippers 0

I abandoned them and just moved on.

Then I walked him up the clippers and thought, maybe he’s matured at 23? Hahahaha. I let him sniff them and he looked at me, bored and started snacking on alfalfa.

Then I turned them on. BAM. Horse flying backwards.

Subi 2, Me/clippers 0.

But, see, I don’t give up, even when holding a fire breathing dragon. Dammit, this horse is getting clipped, even if it kills both of us.

Enter, lip chain.

Enter pissed off, FIREBREATHING DRAGON.

Enter more stubborn human.

Enter screaming horse who lives up to his, er, NAY…me. YOU AREN’T HELPING.

Score: Subi 2, Me/clippers 0, Nay Nay 0. Last round was a draw.

Goal: stepping on driveway. I win! Goal: Walking past clippers (they’re off), BUT THEY BITE. Eventually, SUCCESS! Then walking past them on. We got there.

Subi 2, Me/clippers 1

Then I picked them up… Shit.

Then it was ok. Until I held them up to him. HAHAHA.

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Because everyone ground ties horses while clipping

Then I held them to my face of all things. And my arm. And suddenly he was OK? And next thing I know, he lets out a breath and I’m clipping him.

 

Subi 2, Me/clippers 2

If life was kind, I’d end here. Once we started, Subi was actually fabulous. While I kept the lip chain on the entire time, after about 10 minutes of clipping, Subi ground tied and let me clip him that way.

Except then my Andis clippers decided that they wanted to die on me.

Subi 2, Me 2, Andis Clippers 1

And I had to pull out my freaking Oster Clipmasters which I have because they are the only thing that I can clip Jiminy with. And thankfully Subi accepted his fate because these things are loud and clunky… Except I didn’t have a sharp blade so we struggled some because I wasn’t planning to use these….

Subi 2, Me 2, Andis 1, Clipmasters 1…

img_3800Still, I managed to get him clipped between both pairs (I saved the Andis for his legs/smaller places but I’m pretty sure the motor might be shot thanks to Jiminy…). And Subi was a saint once he accepted his fate. It’s not a perfect job (I skipped his head and there are a lot of lines), but he’s definitely cooler. But at least I know I can clip him!

I wonder what Nay will be like to clip…

Final score? Subi 2, Me 3 (hey, I succeeded!), Andis 1, Clipmaster 1, Nay Nay 0

Yak to cow pony.

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It’s that time of year! Well, a couple months late, but…

Jiminy got clipped this weekend!

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Before!

He turned from a mini horse into a yak. His coat was about 4″ thick and he was miserable.

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Mid clip….

He briefly turned into a pony with boots.

Thankful for my clipmasters! Those are the only things that get through his coat.

And a mini who is a saint for clipping!

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Begging for cookies. 

Then he got his brand new sheet on and turned into a cow!

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Cow print!

People always ask WHY I clip my mini.

His brothers checking him out! lol

Multiple reasons.

  1. When I first got him, my farrier suggested it. It is SO hard with the minis in the winter to figure out just how fat they are with their coats… Clipping allows me to actually see just how much he weighs.
  2. Despite his coat, he gets REALLY cold backed and when he’s cold backed, he turns into evil, devil Jiminy. You don’t want to meet Mean Jiminy. With a blanket on, he’s an angel. So, clipping allows Jiminy to wear a blanket and be nice. Sounds strange, but come pony sit and you’ll see the difference. Until you’ve been kicked by Devil Jiminy…
  3. Weight control. I’ll be honest, if has to use some calories to keep himself warm, he has a few extra pounds to spare.
  4. He’s just happier.
  5. He runs warm and can’t handle warm days without being clipped. I should have clipped him 2 months ago but I failed. He can’t handle warm days with his coat.
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Looking good!

Anyway, he’s very proud of himself now. He’s marching around the paddock with extra confidence these days!

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So. Much. Hair. 

 

Because what’s better than a half clipped mini?

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I seriously have the world’s BEST luck with clippers.

Seriously.

My. Luck. Sucks.

This past fall I did a bib clip on Jiminy with my Andis AGC 2 Speed Clippers before he turned into a yak. This was fine until we hit the 70s in November and he started sweating to death. The other thing about Jiminy is that even though he grows a yak coat and SHOULD be able to go blanketless, he  hates being cold and wet and LOVES his blankets. He would also love living in a stall all winter. Being a mini, I wouldn’t mind him using some calories to keep warm though…

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Fall bib clip (his first clip ever, such a GOOD BOY! seriously this pony is amazing!)

So, in November, I decided I’d clip him (my farrier actually had been pushing me to body clip and finds it really helps with mini management) since he was a ball of mini-yak sweat. So I pulled out my Andis clippers and found his yak coat had grown way too thick and, after an hour and a half, I had a mini with a destroyed coat. For the sake of the life of my clippers, the lack of daylight, and my sanity, I gave up.

The next morning, I purchased brand new pair of Oster Variable Speed Clipmaster Clippers. I stood in Tractor Supply debating between those and the Lister Star Clippers and ultimately ended up with the Oster at the recommendation of someone else in the aisle who owns both and preferred the Oster. Plus I read lots of reviews on Amazon, Dover, Smartpak, etc. I did NOT buy Tractor Supply’s 3 year extended warranty because, at that point, I didn’t have an extra $100. Cue regret.

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I fell in love way too soon… 

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Such an adorable clipped pony, even if he is giving me the stink eye…

So, Jiminy got clipped (minus face/legs because why bother? He’s hanging out in my backyard). I meant to clip him a few more times, but I never did. He’s been looking raged lately and it’s been super warm and he’s not shedding out so I finally got around to clipping him again on Monday. Body, legs, and all. He’s not a yak, but definitely needs a clip. It’s been in the 70s and 80s during the day so he’s been hot and sweaty, poor guy!

So, imagine my surprise when I start clipping with my clippers that I used 1x back in November and halfway through part of Jiminy they sputter and DIE. They never got hot. His yak coat wasn’t a yak coat. That was this fall. They didn’t even struggle this fall. Monday I clipped for MAYBE 25 minutes with breaks to clean the hair out and this happened.

So, now my poor 36″ miniature is half clipped. If it gets cold, I have to come up with some crazy blanketing solution.

Such a pathetic state. Terrible pictures courtesy of my husband. Breakfast
remains courtesy of Batts…

I spent $30 to send the clippers back to Oster and I can only hope that they will honor their limited warranty because I cannot imagine I did anything to ruin these clippers in 1.5 uses. Even the lady in the Oster warranty office was shocked. She asked me 4 times how many times I used them. She kept repeating they’d take care of me. I can only hope. If not, I’ll be posting something on their social media accounts… She felt I’d have something back in 2 weeks.

So much for clipping Batt this week… He’s shedding out, but… He looks gross. I can use my Andis clippers on him, but they’re so slow in comparison… I got spoiled in my brief time with my Oster clippers… But I can’t afford to buy a new pair…

Weekend Trail Rides (or, Batts and Bailey take on Fair Hill)

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Nothing too exciting to report. We had a really nice weekend weather-wise (in other words, unseasonably warm), so lots of trail rides. Saturday, I took out a nice couple down at Marsh Creek and on Sunday, Batt and I explored Fair Hill with a friend of mine.

Saturday was just my usual Marsh Creek excursion. I didn’t bring Batts down due to the warm temps, not having clipped him yet, and 2 new horses who had arrived the evening before from auction. I figured they needed some quarantine before I exposed Batts to them. So, I took out Sam instead. (For those of you who don’t remember, Sam is the 17.1 Belgian-TB cross who is pretty much dead quiet despite being 6).

For size reference refresher, here’s Sam…

Anyway, I like taking Sam out on trails as he’s slow, steady, and keeps up with his slow and steady buddies Poe and CT. Batts has no issues leaving CT behind… Despite his long legs, Sam doesn’t actually mind moving at a snails pace…

Needless to say, Sam was less than impressed by the whole thing. But, it was a beautiful day and he was a good boy. Hunting season has started in the park so we all wore our neon vests, but thankfully no hunters were hidden in our path. Nothing like a 17 hand fraidy cat jumping in place… We only did that once, walking back to the barn when we spooked at the barn pickup truck pulling in behind us carrying grain. How can you spook at dinner?

Sunday morning I finally got around to clipping Batts and Jiminy. Batts has been super fuzzy this year and Jiminy is always fuzzy. I hate  how sweaty both have been. I decided to try a bib clip with Batt and a chaser clip with Jiminy. I may end up with a chaser clip on Batt and a full clip (minus head/legs) on Jiminy, but we’ll see… Thankfully, both are good about clipping, unlike a certain other chestnut… (I’m pretty sure Jiminy has never seen a pair of clippers before but like a good mini, he takes everything in stride).

Instant Pony Weight-loss Technique! Batty, on the other hand, was less than impressed…

Later that afternoon, Batts and I headed out to Fair Hill to meet my friend Terry and her horse Bailey for an afternoon trail ride. She leases one of the barns out in the park, but despite that, we rarely ever get out to ride together. We were planning a short ride as Bailey is 28, but we sort of got lost and ended up staying out for a good 2 hours. They horses had a good time though. Unfortunately, while Bailey knows the park really well, we can’t give him his head as he’ll take us back to Fair Hill Stables as that was home base for a long time for him. As for Batt, Batt never likes going home so he’s no help. We eventually just turned around and took a longer route back and were find, but our cross country efforts were interesting… Bailey decided hills were meant for galloping up (seriously, you’re 28…) while I’ve learned that Batty is seriously the most incredibly amazing trail horse every. I’d have no issue with him galloping his hills or really anywhere, but I know Terry isn’t necessarily comfortable and was just trying to keep Bailey in hand so I figured I’d help out by NOT cantering up those hills, as tempting as it was for both of us. Bailey was good for Batty as well. All our bridge issues we faced in the past when out alone? No issue! He followed Bailey over without hesitation.

I seriously love this horse!

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Best Batthorse Ever!

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Batty and Bailey returning home

weekend roundup

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Nothing too exciting to report. Pretty uneventful week filled with lots of migraines and a fun work trip to Dover, DE (note, I don’t like Dover at all). Fun, right?

In non-migraine news, it was ridiculously warm all week with temps near 80 which is not normal for the mid Atlantic in October. So, of course, everyone was miserable with their fuzzy coats. I’m still debating weather to clip Batts and Jiminy, but if I’m going to I should probably get to it sooner rather than later. I waited until Thanksgiving last year for Batts which was way too late. Hopefully I get to it soon. My farrier was out on Monday and encouraged me to clip the boys. I certainly won’t do a full body clip (I was thinking about it for Batty, but i’m too lazy and cheap to buy another new blanket with hood) but some sort of trace clip should be fine. Though a hood was tempting to help grow back his missing mane. But, money. But, I have enough well fitting high neck blankets for Batty that I’m not going to bother with anything new. So trace/chaser clip will need to do.

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Diet may be needed soon…

As for Jiminy, he hates being cold, but he’s so hot right now with his coat that I don’t really have a choice. Plus, he loves his blankets so… Seriously mini. You were supposed to be the easy one!

As for Subi, he needs all the coat he can grow. And blankets. I did order him a new discontinued Rambo for super cheap on Wednesday while stuck in Dover so hopefully I can retire his 10 year old Rider blanket to an emergency spare. It’s still waterproof and holding up, but after 10 years, it’s seen better days. I’d rather not use it as a spare anymore and just hold onto it for emergencies.

I cancelled my lesson on Thursday (migraine) and rode Sunday on the Ranger horse. We sort of picked up where we left off with the gate around to the triple (after flatwork and sitting trot which I sucked at this week). Thankfully the triple started out as well as we ended with and my brain didn’t get overly involved which is always a good thing. After that, however, we introduced the evil 2 stride. My issue with this was that I had to canter in the first time (fine, no big deal) and no nothing (much bigger deal). Thankfully, unlike a normal person who cuts corners, I usually go to wide which helped me with the 2 stride where I needed to be wide to come in straight. It was actually fine. Of course, instead of just doing the 2 stride, we needed to continue to the triple which sucked the first time since I failed to add enough leg and the first jump was ugly. The next few times were much better. We may have done another line in here but I don’t really remember. Overall, it was a short, but productive lesson. Sometimes I feel lessons might not be the full length, which would bother me, bit I didn’t feel I were getting so much out of the lesson? If that makes sense? We’ve also gone way over when I’ve sucked so… Anyway, I just love this perfect horse who makes me look like I know what I’m doing. I’m sure i don’t but it’s nice to feel that way sometimes!

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Other than my lesson, the Batthorse worked hard all weekend. On Saturday he came down to Marsh Creek for lessons and a trail ride. One of my adults hopped on him for a lesson and he was a good boy though completely took advantage of her at times. His opinion? Good boy= Whoa. Yeah. But, he trotted around like a champ, trotted his poles (though when she had super long reins the first time he did canter over them and was VERY proud of himself), cantered around like a perfect pony, and even popped over a crossrail a few times (happily walking over it several times first). He hasn’t been a lesson horse for years, but he didn’t seem to mind the light lesson work.

After the lessons he joined me on a trail ride in 40 mile/hr winds. Not that Batty cares about no wind. He had a bigger issue when one of the horses tried to take the lead from him… Anyway, despite the wind and cold, I think he was happy to be out in the park. I tried to do 2 point on the trail ride which was a little interested, but managed about 15 minutes….

Sunday after our lesson I pulled Batts back out of the paddock for another ride to time our 2 point. He was none too impressed. I guess 2 days of work in a row violates our contract… Anyway, we just walked around the woods while I timed 2 point and listened to a podcast. Seriously 2 point is easy on Batty thanks to his downhill nature. Grabbing made/touching his neck pitches you forward so it’s actually easier NOT to hold on. Batty was happier to learn he didn’t need to work so he happy to walk forever. Anyway, we hit the 25 minute mark (finally!) and I’m surprisingly not sore today. I feel a lot stronger doing 2 point after lessons so jumping must be getting me stronger.

Anyway, no lesson next week. I work Thursday night (normal lesson time) and trainer is a show all weekend. So, instead, it’ll be a weekend of trail rides. Saturday at Marsh Creek (assuming a bring Batty again) and Sunday at Fair Hill. I’m hoping that the ‘on location’ riding will help with contract violations…