Advice on clippers - are they tough enough??

[Fiona]

I have had my Wolesey Swift clippers for about 15 years and they are regularly serviced and the blades sharpened about every three clips.

However I am wondering are they powerful enough for the horses I clip (one welshie and one ID cross) as even when the blades are on their first clip after being sharpened and are correctly tensioned, they still seem to get 'stuck' in the hair at times and not cut.

I clipped Ben the welshie today, and bits of him were easy to do (neck, shoulders, flanks) and bits were v difficult tummy, bum) with the blades sticking in the fur a lot making me very slow.

It has occured to me that these are the areas with the thickest coat and especially his bum is quite greasy. Is this what is making him difficult to clip, and what is the solution.

Could I...
1. give horse a dettol/hot water rub for a few days prior to clipping to try and get rid of the grease
2. wipe the blades/or take the clippers apart and clean the blades mid clip with some alcohol wipes to shift the grease
3. wolesey swift clippers are not powerful enough - need to buy a new set of the more powerful clippers (the type advertized as for the large yard or professional - wolesey do more powerful ones as do Heiniger and Haupter I think)

Any advice would be very gratefully received.

FIona

 

[druid]

I'll only clip wahsed horses....2 buckets of hot water is enough to get them clena and use a proper grease stripping shampoo anywhere you're going to clip (There are a few in tack shops but wahsing up liquid suffices..)

 

[S_N]

Just out of curiosity, when do you bath them Druid? The day before? You can't clip em when wet surely...?

 

[Fiona]

So when do you bath them?? the day before or something like that. Sophie the IDx mare is like a wooly mammoth at the moment, when she is sweaty and sponged off it takes most of the night for her to dry, so bathing her would be the same. Do you really think I should bath her before I clip?? I will do if you think that will make a difference to the clippers working!!!

Fiona

 

[star]

my wolseley swifts did that in my welshie's mammoth coat. sold them now as need some cordless ones for new yard but planning on buying more powerful ones this time i think as it was really frustrating when they did it and pulled the coat which upset the horse.

 

[madgirl]

I washed major today after cubbing and he was going to get fully clipped when he dried off or tomorrow!

 

[Fiona]

The thing is...last year they shorted out 1/2 way through a clip, so we borrowed a pair of OH's uncle. I am sure he doesn't get sharpened v often as he is v disorganised, but they were great and definitely did not have the same problem.
TBH I am thinking of finding out what make his were (poss Heiniger) and buying a new pair. Could put present ones on tack shop noticeboard, or ebay perhaps as they would be OK for horses with finer coat.
What do you think of the bathing idea Star???

 

[druid]

Nigth before, walk dry in a thermatex - rug from head to toe (literally) and clip next morning

 

[druid]

Yes...I won't clip unwahsed horses and i have heavy duty heiniger clippers!!!

 

[Fiona]

Will try washing the wooly mammoth then, but looks like I may be shopping for new clippers (could you send me a photo of yours sometime if you get the chance)
fiONA

 

[star]

i think perhaps i should try washing my wooly mammoth as well - he will takes ages to dry though with his huge coat.

 

[druid]

Lol, I will but it'll be of v.little use to you...mine are wrapped in black electrical tape due to heavy usage & age. They are the old heavier duty version of the Heiniger Handy's...which is what I'd recommend to anyone buying now!

 

[JACQSZOO]

Hot water, splash of vinegar and hot towel. Not as hard going as bathing at this time of year but removes grease from the coat a treat.

 

[ExRacers]

2 things spring to mind here - are the blades sharp enough and was the tension tight enough? These will definitely affect the cutting performance.

 

[K9Wendy]

Have PM'd you

 

[Fiona]

As per my initial post.....
"even when the blades are on their first clip after being sharpened and are correctly tensioned"

I can confirm that the blades were on their first clip after being sharpened, and were correctly tensioned. Given the above, I am after some advice as to why they STILL do not clip well!!

Fiona

 

[Fiona]

Have found the Heiniger handy's in ride away catalogue for £245. They are listed as being 120 watts (compared to my woleseys at 75 watts). However a quick scan thru catalogue (Ride away and derby house) shows a couple of even more powerful ones ie liveryman arena plus (200 watts), liveryman bronco (250 watts), hauptner 2000 (400 watts) and wolesey harrier (300 watts) - all at approx the same price (about £250-300).
What wattage are your heinigers??
Any thoughts??
Fiona

 

[druid]

Will have a look at mine tomorrow - they're in OHs jeep!

 

[JLav]

I have a set of Lister Laser's and reckon they would clip woolly mammoths all day as they are so powerful. They don't get hot though they are quite a handful to use.
I also have a new set of the Lister Liberty cordless clippers which I bought last week. They are also brilliant and have clipped 4 woolley ponies with really thick, greasy coats with no probs at all although they do get a little warm so you need to give the blades a chance to cool for a couple of mins about 3/4s of the way through a clip. They are really light and easy to handle.
Would definately recommend them for someone like Star with no power points on the yard.
I got them on e-bay for £279.

 

[sherwood']

I have the new wolsey swift ones and i clipped yesterday with blades that had alreayd been used 3 times and was grand altho his coat not too thick. Maybe more powerful clippers would eb the answer for thick coats

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

I've got Wolseley Swift clipers & I clip without any trouble at all. New blades certainly hold an edge longer than resharpened blades. I clipped twice as many horses with a set of new blades than I can with resharpened ones. I've just clipped a couple of horses with them without any problem.

This site should give you all the information you may need:

http://www.peasridge.co.uk/clipperadvice/buyers_guide.php

Good Luck

 

[Happy Bird]

I have a set of Liveryman Mustang clippers which are the old version of the Bronco - they are extremely powerful but my mare won't let them anywhere near her. I will probably sell those as they've only been used about 10 times - do clippers come under the freebie secion in H&H ??

I bought a set of Moser Avaline cordless clippers to clip her with instead, but to be honest they are not really powerful enough for woolly mammoths.

The lady at Clippersharp recommended Lister Liberty cordless clippers. Does anyone have those and are they any good for full clips ?

p.s. For any of you following Angel's mane saga, I tried one of those smart tails from Clippersharp and have managed to thin it out considerably. I need to let it grow a bit longer to do it again as it shortens it too and I had already previously shortened it. I do think bits will stick out though when I plait so have bought some super strong gel !! Will let you know how it goes.