Clipping Practice

[cowgirlxupx1034]

I feel embaressed to ask this but I will anyway....

What can I do to practice clipping besides clipping on my cattle? I'm not sure exactly how to do everything yet. Last year a beef project advisor clipped my steer but I'm not still sure.


Here's what I know:

Head and Neck-
clip up on the nose and forehead
clip down on the cheeks
clip up on the brisket and neck

Loin area and rear quarter-
the entire loin and back area should be trimmed flat on top with hair left on the loin edge

Hip-
The area closest to the top of the tail is trimmed closely and in an outward motion, leaving most of the hair on the hindquarter edge
Leave as much hair as possible on the rear quarter
Hair in the twist is shaped to give the desired effect of more muscle development
Hair should be blended in on the belly to give a straight and deeper appearance
Trim hair tightly around the sheath

Rear Leg-
Tightly trim the area directly above and in front of the hock
The outside area of the hock is shaved down almost to the skin, in approximately a 3 inch area
Trim the longer hairs off of the rear leg and leave hair longer

Tailhead and Tail-
Extend the hair in the tail head area
The tail from the tail head down to the switch is shaved closely to a short "v"
Trim the rump hair tightly on the back of the hip and go outward
Blend the hair outward toward the outside of the hip

What I don't understand:
How to blend
How to extend the hair
How to clip when the calf's hair has styling mousse and adhesives in the hair.

Thanks so much!

 

[Moocow11]

ok not sure what you mean by extend the hair? when you are clipping with mouse in you have to have a real steady hand. i never clip with mouse. i just use ez-comb adhesive on th elegs, tail head, and things like that. so go and spray some adhesive in the hair and fit it like you would to show with out the finisher and just use a set of clippers and get all the hair the length and shape it how you want it.

 

[Moocow11]

with blending it just varries. depends what you are clipping. like say you have a heifer and you are blending in the neck. you would go and clip to a little ways in front of the shoulder. and then take a bti of adhesive and spray it in and then take a comb and pull the hair up just enough to make it stand up. then just slowly start to to make to cut less and less hair as you go back and you should have it blended in by the time you get to the middle of the shoulder. not the greatest explanation. best way is to have some one show you once or twice

 

[AAOK]

with blending it just varries. depends what you are clipping. like say you have a heifer and you are blending in the neck. you would go and clip to a little ways in front of the shoulder. and then take a bti of adhesive and spray it in and then take a comb and pull the hair up just enough to make it stand up. then just slowly start to to make to cut less and less hair as you go back and you should have it blended in by the time you get to the middle of the shoulder. not the greatest explanation. best way is to have some one show you once or twice

GREAT EXPLANATION on blending!!

Just throw out all your notes. There is no right or wrong way to clip a calf, and there are no musts, such as up the forehead, or down the cheeks. Every calf has to be clipped differently. The only way to get better is to practice. It's like hitting a baseball, or shooting a basketball; you can't learn by reading or watching. Watching others will help you see what to do, and how to do it, but you will still have to practice over, and over.

I would say that if you are clipping a calf every couple of weeks for a 6 month show season, the average person will be a pretty good clipper in about 2 years.

The whole point of clipping for show is to accentuate the positive, and hide the negative. On a thick necked, coarse shouldered calf, you will have to clip real tight in those areas, but almost make a long haired point at the top of the shoulder/base of the neck. For a round butted calf, you have to clip down close in the middle, and leave lots of hair at the pins, and toward the stifle and twist.

Just start clipping, and you will develop your own style.

 

[skcatlman]

Knowing where to clip is good but every animal is different and has to be clipped accordingly inorder to diminish flaws and accentuate strong points.
As for practice what kind of pratice are you not steady and need to practice to get more steady to leave a smooth fit or is it practice to get to know how much to take off.
If you need to practice blending just run some old cows up the chute peel the neck and the blend them. As for doing a show clip with glue in do the same thing glue up some old show cattle and clip thru it. on the legs. I guess what i am trying to say is the only way to bet better at clipping is practice and it builds confidence in your clipping. Letting someone else do it for you is a short cut that won't help you in the long run. You have to figure out for your self whether you want to win with someone elses fit or your own.

 

[SKF Show Cattle]

You can go to Sullivans show supplies and they sell the Kirk Steirwalt clipping video and it will show you how to do everything. You can go along with the video as you clip.

 

[Angus Cattle Girl]

I strongly recommend the Kirk Steirwalt videos. I am only 16 and have watched that video 3 times through and through. I brought in some of our old show heifers and after clipping 5 heifers for about 2 months, I'm finally getting the hang of it. My dad still has to help me at some parts but most I can do myself.

But it would be best to try to get a hold of that video and just watch and take notes. It helps a bunch.

Best of luck,

-Angus Girl