Clipper questions now- lots of help needed please

[Coffee_Bean]

As the mare has decided the clippers are terrifying, I am thinking about buying my own.

But I have some questions please.

1. What is the difference between light duty, medium duty and heavy duty??

2. Which clippers are quiet?

3. How easy is clipping to pick up?? I've never clipped before, so don't really know how to do it, but I have people who can show me, but is it really difficult??

3. What "duty" clippers would I need for blanket clipping 1 horse about twice a year?

4. What clippers would you recommend that are good but not too expensive and prefarably quiet?

Why is my horse so difficult for everything.

 

[BigBird146]

It's pretty easy really, I think H&H have got a 'masterclass from Mary King' on their website but it's really just common sense.
I've just bought some Liveryman Harmony ones that come with an optional battery pack and 2 sets of blades (wide and narrow) for about £150, I did my horse a blanket clip with these in under an hour. They are pretty quiet and light. Not sure how many clips the blades will do but they seem a good option for the light user (i'm like you, one horse, needs blanket clipping 2-3 times so can't justify the £300 jobbies)

 

[BigRed]

The fine, medium, heavy or coarse "duty" refers to the type of blades, if you are clipping a common horse with a very heavy coat, fine blades will clog and you won't get through the heavy coat. So you choose the blades for the type of coat you are clipping. I personally have medium blades for my TB and I use coarse blades for my shetland. I do not clip their legs, but you should use coarse blades for horses legs.

Quiet clippers - depends on the make, some claim to be quieter than others.

Clipping is not hard, but it can be made hard if the clippers are rubbish and the blades are blunt, and if the horse won't stand still. Get someone who knows what they are doing to show you how to adjust the tension on the blades and get your technique right, otherwise you could ruin the blades/clippers and upset your horse.

If you can only afford one set of blades, medium is the best bet.

My clippers are Liveryman, I don't consider them to be particularly quiet, but they do a good job and they are "fast" clippers, but then I keep the blades sharp and my horses are clean when I clip them.

 

[Gentle_Warrior]

clipping is easy to pick up so dont worry there - the more you do it the easier it gets - i have been clipping H for 4 years and still have bad moments, one side is higher that the other, lines are not strasight etc !!! just dont expect it to be perfect. My moto is 'they can't look at both sides of the horse at once'

I have the heinger clippers for one very fluffy cob x they are nice and quiet

 

[loopylucifer]

clipping is really quite easy. but if you only intend to clip ur own it normally works out much cheaper and easier to pay someone else to do it ads in loacl free mags or tack shops. if you havent cliped before get someone who does clip to show you how to do.
Duty of the clippers would depend on how much you would clip so either light or medium would prob suit you. confedence is key to getting gd lines take long and even strokes not small tentative bits as said above you can only see one side at a time so as long as it matchs at the bk its fine
i have liveryman arena clippers had them about 6/7 years and clip about 20/30 clips a year and they are fab not to heavy they are a bit nosiy but quiter than my friends heinger ones i also find them smaller to hold.

 

[Coffee_Bean]

I know it would work out cheaper, but the thing is that I want to get some and spend a good few hours (over a week or so) de sensitising her to them, because I had a professional out today and she was awful

 

[loopylucifer]

i see y now!! if she is that bad could you not have vet sedate her i know this wouldn't solve the problem but might be easier if she is difficult it could be safer?
if its the nosie than recording the nosie and playing it daily is a gd way to desesitise and also cotton wool in ears can help if its the feel then thats a bit trickier amy sound crazy but hairdriers work well as nosiey and feel funny without the risk of sharp blades!!
gd luck

 

[JenHunt]

I have a pair of lvieryman harmony's and a pair of Wahl Avalon's.
the avalons are battery and the harmonys are mains. both classed as medium duty. medium duty will cope with one or two horses for what you are wanting (I clip 5 twice a year with mine). Light duty are basically just trimmers. Heavy duty tend (broad generalisation) to be noisier.
They're basically the same clipper with a different badge.

Avalons/Harmonys - light to hold, easy to use (baldes clip on/off), the battery life is enough to fully clip a (large, hairy) horse. they are dead quiet and don't run hot or use lots of oil.
The harmonys cost about £115. The avalons were more but only cos of the battery pack.

Clipping is fairly easy to pick up, especially if you've got someone to show you. try to get a copy of Michael Peace's Dvd about clipping - great tips for nervous horses.

 

[cavalo branco]

Don't get Lister Star ones if you have a nervous horse!! My new ones got hot very quickly and I now have a bust pair of clippers, a very bruised leg and a much more frightened horse. Be really careful de-sensitising your horse and always wear a hard hat, heavy boots and a circuit breaker on the flex. Once you get to the stage where you feel that you can begin clipping, keep the clippers running and keep doing long smooth strokes with clippers on the coat continuously. Dibbling about hesitantly or switching them on and off makes a nervous horse worse. This is just my experience of calming a clipper-scared horse!!