Clipping/blending Necks & Front Ends

I am not an expert when it comes to clipping cattle, but after a few years of trial and error I have gotten acceptable at clipping most of the calf. My weakest area is clipping and blending necks and front shoulders and was wondering if anyone has any tips or tricks to make this job easier.

(The clippers I have are a set of Andis 2 speed clippers and Wahl 2 speed clippers and then a set of Oster Clipmaster (not sheep heads).. and the blades I have for the small clippers are 10, 10wide, x block, x blend, a super blocking blade& T-84.. but could purchase new blades if needed)

My worst part is blending the side of the neck to the shoulder and where the neck meets the top of the shoulder.

Try torching the necks.  Sure cuts down on the gouges from the clippers when they move.

Go to Sullivan supply or other show supply Co. of your choice & you can get the HT 5/8in. blade to help you. They also make a 3/4in blade. Some PPL use Blade guards to help keeping them from gauging.

I have a full set of guards... how tight should I take them?

mccannfarms said:

I have a full set of guards... how tight should I take them?

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it's blending, therefore it should go from point A to point B- smoothly...

Do you even read post in a thread or just look for a place to jump in with a smart comment?  The OP said that they had been clipping for several years but is having some trouble ''blending'' the head and neck area.

To the OP, the size guard you use will depend on the length of hair the calve has but I think 1/2 to 3/4 would be about right for the sides of the neck going down to the point of the front shoulder.  Clip the dewlap lap pretty tight to clean the front end up and then blend to the shoulder.  If I have the hair I like to clip so that a nice line can be made from the point of shoulder to mid line of brisket and then a mirror image on the other side.  when you stand back and look at them on a side profile a nice line should come out of the neck into the shoulder and brisket.  I think to often to much hair is clipped out of this area.


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it's blending, therefore it should go from point A to point B- smoothly...
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Something else you might consider is going ahead and clipping the neck down fairly close (I'd use 10 wides and go down - if you have the thicker blades or guards, that should work too)  a couple of weeks in advance of your show.  It'll still be smooth, but have enough length that it should be easier to blend to.  Many years ago we did 'em all that way,  I rarely do it anymore except once in awhile on one that just won't let you block their neck in right, but it could help out in your situation.

DLD said:

Something else you might consider is going ahead and clipping the neck down fairly close (I'd use 10 wides and go down - if you have the thicker blades or guards, that should work too)  a couple of weeks in advance of your show.  It'll still be smooth, but have enough length that it should be easier to blend to.   Many years ago we did 'em all that way,  I rarely do it anymore except once in awhile on one that just won't let you block their neck in right, but it could help out in your situation.

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What David said. I can't ever seem to get one that will stand still enough when clipping their neck. This is the easy way to do it.

First we need to ask you the question of what exactly you are clipping. Are you clipping steers or heifers? and are you clipping purebreds or clubbies! Believe it or not there is a big difference. with a heifer, the 5/8 blade works great, with steers, usually you want to block out the shoulders and front end, but if your afraid of that, I would tell you to use the 3/4 blade to begin with on steers. When you are using the guards, you want to watch how far back on the shoulder you go and and how far down. You really need to clip the forearm and point of shoulder to gradually go up into the shoulder. With heifers I have seen people take the 5/8 blade from the base of the neck forward and a 3/4 on the shoulders. If you do that, take your blending blade and make sure you blend in the line that you are going to create. If you aren't the greatest, I would advise using a 3/4 all over then using your blending blade from there. Watch going at it with a blocking blade because if you arent super experienced with it, it is the gauging king. I personally using the 5/8 blade and blocking blade, but I have done it awhile and clip cattle every weekend and have became comfortable with it. That 5/8 blade and 3/4 blade is like clipping with training wheels and Everyone loves it. your blending blade can be your best friend. If you are clipping purebreds I highly highly advise it because a lot of purebreds depending on the breed dont have a lot of yak and the hair can be nappy or fine, and that 5/8 blade cleans it up like a charm! If you are doing steers, I would say use the 3/4 blade. You want to keep that thicker fronted steer and try not to make him feminine. I advise trying to learn how to block the shoulders out. With their winter coat, nows the time to try it on some old cows that are halter broke. But I would use the 3/4 blade if you are worried and then use a blocking or blending after that. If you would happen to really really nick one, you can always put on the 5/8 and continue. Just remember if you nick one, please dont take off too much trying to fix it. clip the rest of the cow then come back if you need too. A lot of people make a mistake of trying to fix a nick and then ruining that whole area. My last advice is, A) Go around and find some good fitters and just watch them clip at these shows. I was at the ohio beef expo and saw Guyer clipping an underline. I stood there for a half hour and learned more about clipping an underline in 30 minutes than i had in 10 years. I was standing there like man that looks good, I would be done, there he is taking off micrometers of hair. Heck i bet 10 strokes he only took off one hair (exaggeration but you get the point). B) Purchase DVDS. I rewatch my clipping DVDS probaly once a month atleast. I ordered the Guyer ones from Purina and I have old ones from Steirwalt. Also take advantage of these Stock Show U Clinics. Everybody clips different and there are alot of people that are great. Watch everybody and learn what works best for you. But definitelyy pick up the 3/4 blade and the 5/8 blade. And you only get better if you practice A LOT. I hope I helped

and where the neck meets the top of the shoulder, first find your high and low spot. usually there is a low spot at the point where the top of the shoudler meets the crest. Clip this last. Clip the top of the shoulder where you need it (you didnt stat you had problems here so I assume you understand how to do that), then find your high spot on the crest. It is usually about 3 inches up from the top of the shoulder. With a blocking blade, clip it down and fairly tight if your calfs line allow for this. then, stand back and now you have made your low spot of the shoulder/neck junction your high spot. With your blocking blade, clip this spot to where they go together smoothly and in one consistent line. Then proceed to take this line you have created all the way to the poll. If done correctly, the calf with really go into its neck and make it look like it has a longer neck by making the line continue to the poll.

Some of y'all sure do make clipping sound complicated.  How many blades do some of you use to clip just one animal?  (lol)

I agree with the shaving the neck with a pair of flatheads a month before the show if you have time.  And again to my post earlier, the torch does a nice job about 3-4 weeks before the show.

I use 4 blades

ZNT said:

Some of y'all sure do make clipping sound complicated.  How many blades do some of you use to clip just one animal?  (lol)

I agree with the shaving the neck with a pair of flatheads a month before the show if you have time.  And again to my post earlier, the torch does a nice job about 3-4 weeks before the show.

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ZNT it is obvious that you are a good groomer, I have seen some of your videos and was pretty impressed. I can get by for local shows and state fair but use other professional groomers for National Shows like Denver next week. I would love to learn to torch and seen some good results but scared to death to put a torch to some of my cattle. They have alot of hair and think it will be a huge fire ball. You made it look easy and can tell you have been doing it awhile, but I have to admit I thought you were crazy when I first started watching your torching video but your finished results look very good. I'm afraid I will have burnt spots were it burnt to their skin. The other thing that amazed me was your stock did not even care that you were burning their hair. I think it would be a great thing to learn and the end results looked very good and appear to be way faster than clipping.

I get the 5/8" for my Andis 2-speeds, and if you just got against the hair, and take down their entire neck, you're left with a nice even layer of hair, which gives you a huge head start when it come to the shoulder.  I then take them and go backwards across the shoulder, NOT taking it all the way down.  Then I use a pair of medium blending blades to finish it up.  Depending on how new you are, and how confident, you could always use a plain plastic comb (not a show comb) and pull up the hair with that and cut along it, this will make sure you don't dig any huge holes. 

Big M Show Cattle said:

ZNT said:

Some of y'all sure do make clipping sound complicated.  How many blades do some of you use to clip just one animal?  (lol)

I agree with the shaving the neck with a pair of flatheads a month before the show if you have time.  And again to my post earlier, the torch does a nice job about 3-4 weeks before the show.

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ZNT it is obvious that you are a good groomer, I have seen some of your videos and was pretty impressed. I can get by for local shows and state fair but use other professional groomers for National Shows like Denver next week. I would love to learn to torch and seen some good results but scared to death to put a torch to some of my cattle. They have alot of hair and think it will be a huge fire ball. You made it look easy and can tell you have been doing it awhile, but I have to admit I thought you were crazy when I first started watching your torching video but your finished results look very good. I'm afraid I will have burnt spots were it burnt to their skin. The other thing that amazed me was your stock did not even care that you were burning their hair. I think it would be a great thing to learn and the end results looked very good and appear to be way faster than clipping.

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Thank you for both the kind words, and for watching my video.  That was a fun one to do, and still my favorite.  I need to take the time to do a couple more videos.  Funny thing is, most of the skills I learned, were learned right there in your great state of Wyoming, with a few thousand head of Angus bulls as my victims.  haha

Everybody has those people that were major influences in the skills they've learned, so here is a little shout out to mine.  Kevin Nichols, Michael Laboto, Ken Haas, Steve Snell, and Nolan Flesner.  Not every one of them taught me specific clipping and fitting skills, but some were there by my side critiquing my work and what I needed to changed to make them look better.  Thank you to them, and many others that have influenced me.

I run Limousin and Angus and am talking more heifers and bulls.
I have only ever torched one calf and that was back at the university and I currently don't have the torch head piece to go out and do that but it was easy to achieve good well blended results.