With the clipping
season fast approaching, it’s a good idea to
check out existing equipment and blades, and ensure
all are in good working order. If there is any doubt
about their performance, then now is the time to send
them away for repair, servicing or blade sharpening.
There is nothing more frustrating than taking the
clippers out of the box, to find they don’t
work, or the blades are chewing up the coat having
been put back blunt after last season’s use.
This is especially annoying if you have a very hairy
horse in desperate need
of a hair do!
If its time to invest in a new machine, then its worth
doing a bit of research now, rather than leaving it
as a last minute purchase. Clippers, if looked after,
should last many years and are an expensive item,
so being ill advised or buying in a rush is not a
good idea!
If you choose to do a search on ‘Google’
for a specific type of clipper then you will obviously
come up with numerous sites offering machines at various
prices. Make a phone call before you buy, to the seller,
this will give you a good indication on how knowledgeable
they are about the products. If in doubt, contact
the manufacturer, if you know which make you prefer,
and they will be able to put you in touch with a reputable
dealer, who will also give you good advice and future
help when it comes to servicing, blade sharpening
and other accessories.
If the retailer is knowledgeable, they will ask you
questions about how much clipping you are intending
to do in a season – number of animals and type
of coats that will be regularly clipped. This will
help them get an overall picture of your requirements,
and they will then be able to recommend the most appropriate
machine for your use. Sometimes a customer will buy
on price alone and expect a £99 light duty machine
to clip a yard full of horses. So be realistic, and
honest with your expectations!
A guide to the type of clippers available falls into
four categories – Light Duty, Medium Duty, Heavy
Duty and lastly Re-chargeable.
Light duty clippers are designed to clip maybe one
complete horse or for doing part clips, generally
coping only with the shorter, fine coats. This type
of clipper is really a very large trimmer with a wide
blade on it. They are generally very quiet and particularly
good for use on young or difficult horses. Generally
they come with “snap on” blades, which
are easy to fit and require no tensioning.
(Image shown is a Liveryman Harmony re-chargeable.
RRP £180.00
Also available as a mains clipper – RRP £110.00)
The
medium duty range of clippers is the most popular
range, and appeals to the majority of private horse
owners that require up to 3 or 4 animals to be clipped
on a regular basis.
These clippers take conventional blades which have
to be tensioned, and can usually cope with virtually
all types of hair. Most machines are supplied with
a medium set of blades, but finer or coarser blades
are available as a separate purchase if the coat or
the finish needs to be closer or coarse. Most machines
in this category are reasonably easy to hold, although
there are some that are slightly narrower in the body
or shaped. These also tend to be slightly lighter
to hold over a lengthy period of time, and are generally
favoured by users that have small hands. (see image
right – Lister Star)
Lister Star
The Heavy duty machines, are designed to be used for
more commercial purposes, i.e. larger yards, where they
may have to clip upwards of four or more horses a day
or over a concentrated period. The motors are more powerful
and designed for more constant, heavy work. This however
can make the machine noisy, and the hand piece can be
quite heavy. However, recently some manufacturers have
taken this on board and there are a couple of models
that are now much the same weight as the medium duty
clippers, but are actually heavy duty and handle really
well too. (see image right– Hauptner 2000)
Hauptner 2000
Re-chargeable
clippers are the final category to look into. These
are powered by a battery and normally attached to
a belt or clip onto a waistband. If access to power
is limited or no mains power is available this would
be the best option. This type of machine is also good
for difficult and young horses and is the safest means
of clipping moving animals as a lead is not going
to get in the way or trodden on. (Image right –
Lister Liberty with power pack.)
Relying on a battery for power, there is normally
a time limit for use, but with more recently designed
battery packs, most are able to give a clipping time
up to 3 hours, normally quite sufficient for clipping
or part clipping a couple of horses at a time.
With these machines, some models can also be used
off a mains supply of power. For example the Lister
Liberty has a mains conversion kit (image right),
which can be bought to convert from battery to mains
use. This gives total flexibility and continual power
if needed.
Lister Liberty & Power
pack
Its worth noting that the use of generators is not
recommended with clippers, as it is not a constant
power, and can cause long-term problems to the clipper
armature (motor).
Within a farm or small holding environment there are
often other animals that do need to be clipped, and
this is always worth mentioning if this is a requirement.
There are only a couple of models of clippers that
have heads that can be interchanged for use on cattle
and sheep, but this does then mean it can be used
for other animals too.
Lister Shearing have designed special blades that
can also be used on sheep and cattle and for thinning
feathers on very hairy legs (Hog blade), this makes
their particular machines very flexible for a variety
of uses including clipping dogs.
Most manufacturers include good clear instructions
within their packaging, but it is worth mentioning
that the blade tensioning instructions for each type
of machine are adhered
to. Each brand of machine has a different tensioning
method and as the majority of clipping problems are
tension related it is imperative to tension correctly
to get the blades to cut properly.
It is also critical that proper clipper oil is used,
and not the “3 in 1” type of oil. Clipper
oil has been especially formulated for this type of
use and has a very light density, which will enable
sufficient lubrication without getting the blades
too thick with oil. However it is a myth that blades
won’t ever get hot. When metal is working against
metal, the friction levels are high and as a result
there will always be heat generating. By oiling and
also using a blade coolant, and making sure the blades
are correctly tensioned this will help reduce the
level of heat to the blades.
We always recommend a second set of blades as an essential
requirement, so that there is a completely cold set
ready to clip the head and sensitive areas, and also
in the event that blades go blunt in the middle of
a clip, which can be extremely frustrating!
If you are using clippers that are connected to a
mains supply it is best to use a circuit breaker for
you and your horses’ safety. NEVER NEVER dip
electrical equipment into any liquids like diesel,
petrol and water!
If there are any specific requirements needed for
a particular machine, it is always best to speak direct
to the manufacturer or an independent clipper specialist
who supplies and repairs. They will be able to advise
you on all technical aspects and capabilities of the
machine that you have or are thinking about purchasing.
This article was kindly provided by Vicky Goody,
Sales Director, Clippersharp Ltd
For Further information:on clipping, buying
a set of clippers and clipper maintenance, visit www.clippersharp.com
or contact
Clipper Sharp Clipper Services, Southwoods Farm, Culmstock,
Collumpton, Devon, EX15 3JX.
Tel: 01823 681076,
Fax: 01823 681076 or email: richard@clippersharp.com
