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Turning Horses Into Works of Art

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Because with aMichelangelobehind the shears,a horse can turninto a dragon orleopard. Or a PinkFloyd albumcover.

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December 2, 2014BY ZARA STONE

Follow @AlmostZaraFollow @AlmostZara

When most people see Jillian Scott’s horses, they do a double take. Is that really a zebra in North

Lanarkshire, Scotland? Nope, it’s part of Scott’s art — but the canvas she uses isn’t paper or linen;

it’s the living bodies of horses. Shaving designs into the horses’ hair, from giraffes to dragons to

Batman: This is the realm of creative clipping.

And some of the designs are crazy. For customers, Scott has shaved everything from a skeleton to

the Minion from Despicable Me on a horse’s rear — a type of clip called a “bum patch” that’s

increasingly popular with people who don’t want to commit to a full creative groom — to a One

Direction logo onto a pony. But her favorite design is her leopard print. A horse groomer for 10

years, Scott, 27, started experimenting last year: She took out her clippers and carved a zebra

pattern into her horse, a job that took around six hours, with breaks to consult images on her

phone to make sure she had the pattern right. The same clip now takes her 45 minutes. Her work

started getting her local attention — some positive, some not so friendly. “Some people don’t like

new things,” she shrugged. She charges $63 for a “regular” clip and $78 for a creative clip.

Scott isn’t the only groomer using horse hair as an artistic medium. Melody Hames, 28, a graphic

design student at the University of Salford, Manchester who works at JMC Equestrian, wanted to

combine clipping with her art. After sketching her designs on paper, she clips freehand — with no

stencils. Her most impressive creation: a detailed castle etched into the side of Freddy, her 4-year-

old horse. It took nine hours.

But earning a living doing creative clipping is a challenge. Twenty-year-old Greta Alexandra

Oskolkov-Schneider, a rising star in the Wellington, New Zealand, grooming scene, transforms

horses into everything from giraffes to a winged dragon to a Batman bum patch. She’s even re-

created a Pink Floyd album cover, complete with bricks and walls. But there’s just not enough

business, “so it’s more like a hobby to me,” she says. She’ll keep clipping horses, but she starts

hairdressing school in the fall. “I’ll still be in the haircutting thing, and will learn human hair,” she

said.

Netherlands-based Maysoon Rashid also isn’t sure she could sustain it full-time, as much as she

loves how playful she can be with the clippers. When she left the stable where she learned to clip

horses to pursue her studies in human physiotherapy (she plans to study equine physiotherapy

next), she had time to experiment on her own horse. She’s even clipped a Facebook “Like” button

onto a horse’s side.

Some horse clippers can maintain a business. Scott runs Peatside Equi Custom Clipping and works

full-time training and clipping horses. But it’s not cheap: The costs of tools and blades add up.

Scott estimated $1,600; Hames said $2,200 and Oskolkov-Schneider approximated $2,400.

But some say neigh to horse clipping, calling it cruel. Hames’ response: “Anyone with sense knows

it’s only a haircut and not doing any harm.” Scott has also experienced negativity, with some

saying she’s “messing with the horse’s temperature regulation,” which she thinks is absurd. Clips

are fun, she says, but a lot are also practical: “A traditional clip has half the horse exposed to cool

air and half stays warm, while my leopard and zebra clips keep the horse at an even temperature.”

Kristin Simon, cruelty casework manager at PETA, thinks that the horse groomers are being

selfish. “Turning a beneficial treatment into a useless decoration is just human vanity,” she told

OZY. She objects to animals being forced to stand for hours during the process. “Everyone should

put their horses’ comfort and well-being as a priority, and not some kind of designs.” Simon is also

concerned that amateur groomers might attempt this without understanding how to do so safely,

which could lead to accidentally nicking the horse with clippers, or burning a horse with

overheated clippers.

For the clippers who’ve trained professionally, it’s an opportunity to channel their horsey love into

a creative outlet. But as with any artistic expression, could it ever become mainstream? Could

there be a Crufts version of equine art? Scott thinks it will, as more people see and want to try it

out. For now, “They have clipping competitions on Facebook — we just need them in real life.”

Twenty-year-old Greta has transformed horses into everything from agiraffe to a winged dragon to a Pink Floyd album cover.

SOURCE Jillian Scott and her horse

Courtesy of Jillian Scott

SOURCE

Courtesy of Jillian Scott

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Zara Stone AUTHOR

Follow Follow @AlmostZara@AlmostZara

Zara Stone is a D.C.-based journalist and videographer who specializes in reporting on the intersection oftechnology and culture.

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