Sam Taylor equestrian-services.co.uk

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Sam Taylor equestrian-services.co.uk

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22/11/2023

Lovely Mr. Flynn slowly waking up from his sedation for his clip.

My Xplorer clippers glided through his coat with ease today. They are so quiet with hardly any vibration meaning that we even managed to do a half head, which previously we haven't been able to even under sedation. They really are like no other cordless clipper I've ever used before. Even the vet commented on just how quiet they are when I first switched on. No more popping down the road to borrow electric from the neighbour when I clip this guy now.

Big thank you to Sam from Paton and Lee Equine Veterinary Surgery for our dose of sleepy juice and for also volunteering to be chief holder of Flynn's very heavy head.

Heiniger Equine UK

22/11/2023

Guess who was naughty last week and grabbed a bargain from the sale at Mole Valley Farmers Mole Valley Farmers Equestrian?

I only went and added the Heiniger Xplorer clippers to my ever growing clipping kit. They are quiet, cordless, powerful and the excellent quality that only Heiniger Equine UK know how to produce.

I got them set up and running last week and checked all was perfect with them by clipping a horse on my own yard. Today they are heading out to work with me to clip for a client with no electric. I'm super excited to be using them.

19/11/2023

I've been super busy the last couple of months with holiday cover and clipping, but I've also been busy teaching too.

Teaching is by far my most favourite service that I offer. There's just something that truly makes my heart sing when I am teaching. I love seeing people improve their ridden relationship with their horse, bringing out the best that I can in both horse and rider.

The days may be short right now, but I'm certainly enjoying helping my clients to make the most of them in each and every lesson.

12/11/2023

A full clip for the beautiful and perfectly behaved Arti this morning 🤎 She has gone straight to the top of the best behaved horses list, standing perfectly and not moving a muscle unless asked.

Thank you to her lovely owners for providing me with a clean, thoroughly groomed horse and a safe and tidy working area. You are definitely one of many on my top owner's list.

08/11/2023

And just like that this little four year old had her very first clip last week.

I had Lila booked in for holiday cover recently. Her owner jokingly said to me that if I had time I could attempt her first clip. Well, I did find myself with 20minutes to spare so that's exactly what happened as my Heiniger Saphir clippers were in the car and had a full charge.

Lila was stood quietly outside her stable as I started to fuss her, my clippers switched off in my other hand. Quietly turning them on and just holding them next to her as I scratched her back, I then moved the clippers closer and rested them on my right arm as my right hand continued to scratch her.

I recognised that I needed to move the clippers away once, but she instantly relaxed and allowed me to put them straight back on my arm. Stroking, scratching and fussing her still over her back, shoulder and neck the clippers slowly moved down my arm until they were resting on the back of my hand.

A few minutes later I was holding the clippers in my right hand and on Lila's body, moving them all over the areas I had just been fussing with my hand.

Focusing on the underside of her neck as that is the area I wanted to clip I slowly turned the clippers around and took off the first patch of hair. As it fell to the floor she eyed it suspiciously but then relaxed and took a piece of apple from me. A treat that was well earned by her. Continuing to carefully and quietly clip within a minutes she was sporting her first little bib clip.

I just love my Saphir clippers for first timers. They are small, low noise and incredibly low vibration. A good first positive experience puts this sweet little mare in a good place for one day having me use my mains Heiniger Xperience clippers.

Very soon Lila will recieve her second clip. I'll not take much more off of her, just take it back to behind the girth area and turn it into an apron clip in the same manner that she had her bib clip. I might run the big clippers next to her so she can hear them. It's so important that she feels comfortable and not over faced in her early clipping experiences.

Heiniger Equine UK thank you for producing fantastic clippers that I use year after year. Nothing beats the quality of your products.

31/10/2023

Wow. What a bonkers month October has been for my bespoke cover services.

All these horses, ponies and Kerry the sheep were booked in for varying lengths of time this month from five days to almost two weeks. Many of the covers overlapped meaning I had several in one day. If all that wasn't enough to keep me busy I've also been doing my normal teaching and clipping too.

I just love providing cover for my clients. There's something so special about one to one time with the horses meaning I really get to know and connect with them. I'm often quite sad on my final day when I have to say goodbye. It's never goodbye for long though, as many of these bookings are long term returning clients who use my bespoke cover service time and again💖

I've got a steady stream of cover bookings for the rest of this year, and next year is filling up too. So if you have dates in mind it's never too early to give them to me so I can ensure I can fit you in.

15/10/2023

Proud Instructor moment coming up🥰

I love it when my clients take the time to let me know how they got on at a show or clinic. Today while working on this gorgeous autumn day I checked my messages to find one from a lady who had gone to Topthorn for Dressage today.

It was her first ever competition on her little four year old mare, who with my guidance has been backed and produced by her owner at home. They have gone out to a couple of clinics prior to today, so we had a pretty good idea the mare would take it all in her stride as she'd been super at each clinic.

Well, take it in her stride she did and she even went on to win her test with a score of 67.83% which is fabulous for her first time.

My client and I have put a lot of hard work into this little mare and it feels amazing to see it starting to pay off. I feel certain this combination have a lot of fun ahead of them in the coming years.

01/10/2023

Does your clipper person use corded clippers? If so, do they use a circuit breaker plug? If not, why not?

My circuit breaker plug decided it needed to go into retirement not too long ago. After over 15 years of keeping everyone safe while clipping it just said no one day. Well I didn't hang about when it came to replacing it. Electrical safety while clipping is not something to be cutting corners with, ever.

This clever little piece of equipment constantly keeps a check on the electric supply to my clippers while I'm working away. If an earth current fault is detected it will shut off the power supply within 40 milliseconds. That's less that half a second and is fast enough to prevent a fatal electrical shock.

No matter how well maintained my equipment is wires can and do come loose through wear and tear. This piece of kit also helps to protect me should water exposure occur, as well as the biggest risk when clipping with corded clippers which is the horse standing on and cutting through the electric cable.

The consequences of not using a circuit breaker just don't bare thinking about.

Just for a bit of fun, who can tell me another name that might be used for this circuit breaker plug?

28/09/2023

A super smart blanket clip with half a face for the very gorgeous Rusty today.

I've clipped Rusty for many years now. She is a very ticklish girl and not always the easiest. In the early days it could take over two hours to get this clip done, and we'd often need to call for an extra helper. Occasionally I'd also need to use a nose twitch at times which I don't tend to use unless absolutely needed.

Every single year though this girl has just got better and better with time, patience and understanding. Last season her owner and I said she was the best she's ever been and we were thrilled. Today she had her first clip of this season and she was even better still.

I've got a little routine that works for this girl after so many years. I say hello and make a fuss then slowly set my kit up. The outline of the blanket clip and all her ticklish bits of which their are many get clipped first. I use my Heiniger Saphir clippers for this job as they are incredibly low vibration which is perfect for getting accurate lines and sensitive areas clipped without fuss. Then the bulk of the hair gets clipped off with my Heiniger Xperience clippers which glide through her coat with ease.

This girl is never rushed when it comes to clipping, it takes as long as it takes. Today though she was done in just under an hour, the nose twitch was not needed and she made very little fuss. We had a little break half way through as she'd been so good and I wanted to give her a few minutes to herself, it is so important that this girl doesn't feel rushed. Then we continued with clipping the other side. She was even relaxed enough to eat a little hay during her clip today, which really did make me smile.

Heiniger Heiniger Shearing UK

16/09/2023

Just a tiny note about clipping.

Those of you that have had or are going to have an early clip please be aware that the clip is likely to have grown out with in four to six weeks at very best. It's not because I've done a dodgy clip, and piling the rugs on will not stop this, plus it's still too warm to pile those rugs on.

The days are constantly getting shorter now. It is less daylight hours that makes your horse grow a winter coat, as well as temperatures getting lower. If I clip your horse now their winter coat will still come through as normal. It's natural, you can't stop what happens naturally.

So if your horse really does need clipping I'll happily take their coat off and then see you again sometime in October for another clip. If you're wanting to clip for your own vanity reasons only, I would strongly suggest you hold off a few more weeks so you get a bit more out of your pennies (I'm way too honest and will never be able to afford to retire😂) and your clip will likely last a little bit longer. The clips done from mid November onwards tend to last the longest on most horses.

15/09/2023

I couldn't resist a bit of a fun Friday post while seeing to my gorgeous holiday cover girls earlier.

I stood back once I'd picked up the last poo and thought that what I was looking at summed up the cycle of grass quite nicely.

In the mouth, out the bum, on the fork and into the wheelbarrow🤣

07/09/2023

Ok, I've had enough of sweltering September already! I literally feel like the last couple of days have been constantly making sure everyone has enough water - horses and humans alike, dunking my head and wiping my face with baby wipes.

On average a 500kg horse will drink between 30 and 50litres of water a day. That's on an normal day, not a sweltering day like we're having at the moment. This weather looks set to continue well into the weekend and beyond. Please make sure you keep yourself hydrated and definitely provide ample, clean, fresh water for your horses around the clock. They can't just pop to the fridge and grab a cool bottle of water, they are dependant on us.

My own girl is just over 15hands and weighs in at 540kg. On a normal day she will drink about 35litres, the last couple of days she's definitely been drinking nearer to 50litres. I'm making sure her feeds are extra wet, she's getting salt added to them and I'm trying to make sure she gets cool showers during the day too when I'm able to pop in.

What are you all doing to try and keep yourself and your horses / other animals cool and hydrated during this weather?

Remember folks, water is a basic requirement that we are responsible for providing, there is no excuse ever to not provide ample amounts.

03/09/2023

If you need to book your horse in for clipping then don't hesitate to pop me a message. When making contact it's really helpful if in the first message you could provide me with some useful information.
▪︎Location.
▪︎Type of clip.
▪︎What the horse is like to clip - be honest.
▪︎If I need to tie in with the vet.
▪︎If you will be using oral sedation.
▪︎Dates and times that suit you best.
▪︎If you must be clipped by a certain date.
▪︎Additional extras - mane and tail tidying etc.

The above information helps to speed up the booking process massively. The most common type of message I recieve simply asks to book a clip. I then have to reply asking for the above info and then wait to recieve it. This sometimes can take an entire day, or more.

My diary is filling up fast with clipping appointments. If you know you need an early clip, or to be clipped by a certain date please get in touch as soon as possible so I can make sure I can fit you in. September and October have limited spaces left, and I'm booking into November already.

Please remember that if you do clip early the clip will not last you as long. As daylight hours continue to get less the winter coat will continue to grow regardless of if you've clipped early. Clips done towards the end of the year will always last the longest.

26/08/2023

🪄 Abracadabra - Spiky mane be gone! 🪄

This chap is being fully clipped at some point in September, but his mum wanted that spiky mane to be gone sooner than that. It was making him look just too untidy.

Instead of hogging him short I opted to use my Heiniger Saphir clippers and a longer blade length than normal. By leaving 9mm of hair instead of taking it right down to the normal 2mm length, his hog blends in perfectly with the rest of his body hair making him look super smart until his full clip. I also ran the clippers along his jaw line and underside of his neck to get rid of any unwanted long hairs.

Address

Colchester

Website

http://www.equestrian-services.co.uk/

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