The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1899-08-30
HORSE CLIPPING
Done Nowadays in Far Quicker Time
Than Formerly at Less Cost.

Than Formerly at Less Cost.
In the old days, with comb and
shears, 1t took man eight hours to
clip a horse, and he had to be an ex-
pert to do 1t In that time. With the
introduction Of the hand clipper, such
as is used for clipping mems hair, into
this use, the time required for clipping
a horse was reduced to half day.
Later these clippers came to be oper-
ated with hand power, by use of a
crank, and then the time required for
clipping a horse was still further re-
duced
In one of these hand-power clippers
the clipper is attached to the end of a
flexible shaft, which is made up of
short links of steel wire linked together
like a chain. To keep this flexible shaft
from linking and twisting when it is
turned it is incased and carried in a
flexible tubing. The shaft is made to
turn by attaching one end of 1T to the
axle of a wheel which is turned by
means of a belt from it to another
wheel, which is turned by a crank
These wheels are supported, the larger
one to which the crank is attached. on
standard resting on the floor; the
smaller one, to which the flexible shaft
is attached, at the end of an arm sup
ported by the standard. Turning the
wheel turns the flexible shaft within
lis flexible tubing. The shaft is at
tached to the clipper with an eccentric.
When the shaft turns the eccentric
works the clipper just as an ordinary
clipper with handles would be worked
by hand, only many times faster. The
operator simply holds the clipper and
guides it over the surface to be clipped.
Nowadays this sort of clipper is oper-
ated also by machine power, a gas en-
CINE being used for this purpose, and
with power clippers horses are clipped
in less time still
In a housekeeping establishment
J where machine power Is used the gas
engine is belted to a shafting made
fast to the ceiling from which the
power is transmitted by belts to two
pulleys, one on either side of the room,
attached TO the ceiling by hangers in
the usual manner. Hanging from each
Of these pulleys is long, flexible shaft
within its flexible casing, with a clip
per at the end. These flexible shafts,
the tubes that inclose them being an
inch or two in diameter, and about as
deXible as rope or hose of like size
would be, are each perhaps eight to
ten feet or more in length; long enough
to enable the operator to go all over
one side of the horse with the clipper
hanging on that side without shifting
the animals position. The operator
throws the clipper, on whichever side
he starts, into gear at its pulley and
begins work with it. When he has
finished one side Of horse he shuts
off the power from the clipper used on
that side and goes around on the other
side, throws that clipper into gear, and
with shat clipper begins on that side of
the horse.
How long 1t takes to clip horse now
depends very much on the horse. The
majority of horses take kindly to clip
ping, but some do not. If a horse
doesn't like to be clipped it may take
hours to clip him, but ordinarily in
these days, with power clippers and
the horse willing, the clipping is done
In forty minutes to an hour. A horse
has been clipped in twenty-four min
utes, but probably about an hour would
be the time usually required. In the
old days it cost 500 to $50 to get horse
clipped; it is done nowadays for $3.50
to SO.