# Help with tirmming horses feathers with scissors



## faye (Oct 13, 2010)

Use clippers! I cant do Trimming with sissors without leaving a horrific stepped look but with clippers you can reverse the blades and blend!


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

What kind of horse? Drafts are different, unless you want to show them in an English discipline, in which case I clipped them off so they looked like a "normal" horse......but even so, I use the clippers to neaten them up in length. Turn the clippers the opposite way you would normally clip with them. makes a pretty good line. 
"Normal" horse-use clippers.


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## MHFoundation Quarters (Feb 23, 2011)

I'm with Faye, I've rarely used scissors and couldn't without it looking like a hack job lol! Mine all get introduced to clippers as weanlings so I never have to worry about it. If you don't have clippers, I would consider a razor comb (like a hairstylist uses to create layers) and slowly razor it out, it wouldn't be as blunt of a cut as you would get from standard scissors.


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## roxxy (May 4, 2011)

I think i do need to invest in some clippers, will make trimming a lot faster and easier i think! I trimmed his front feathers yesterday with thinning scissors.. and to be honest they looked ok, theres no "steps" or anything  Just his back ones to do now.. but theyre even fluffier


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## PintoTess (Aug 18, 2010)

Clippers all the way! WAHL are a good brand down here and they cut well.


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## brandilion (Aug 23, 2010)

My new mare is pretty sure every new thing is a horse-eating monster, plus I don't have electricity at my barn, so I haven't yet introduced her to clippers. Baby steps... So I used scissors on her & her legs don't look too bad. 

I chose a day when I had no plans or other things to rush off to and just set aside plenty of time. I kept her on a halter and lead, but mostly let it drag the ground while she grazed. It worked for me, but it just depends on your setup and horse. 

Just trim down the leg, with the direction of the hair, and take your time. I started around her knee area. Lift a small section of hair between your index and middle finger and trim downward, picking up the next section along with a bit of the previous section. Like your hair stylist does. I tend to work on one area only for a little while, then move to a different part of that leg or another leg altogether to keep her from getting to frustrated with attention to one area. Make sure you look at it from all angles. You will probably need to stand on the left side of your horse and reach across to trim the inside of the right leg, and reverse for the left leg.

Now it doesn't look as good as if I had used clippers but it doesn't look like the hack job I thought it might.

Good luck.


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## faye (Oct 13, 2010)

brandilion you dont need power for clippers, you can get cordles clippers and rechargable trimmers.


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## vanna (Apr 2, 2011)

Agree with the cordless clippers. Let her smell of them turned off and then turned on. After she checks them out, then try to clip. Horses usually aren't bothered by having their legs clipped. Ears and bridle paths can be another story.


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