Sorry, I know you're all going to hate me for this...clippers (Wahl Avalon).

[Cedars]

My boyfriend wants clippers for his birthday/xmas.

I saw the Lister Liberty ones today but they're more than I could possibly afford, really. However, the woman in the shop couldn't recommend the Avalons to me enough, says she uses them all the time and absolutely adores them.

We want to do full clips on my OHs irish cob with a medium coat, and eventually my hairy yak.

Or, other recommendations please!! xxxx

 

[Stinkbomb]

I have them and use them for clipping my miniature. wouldnt recommend them for anything too hairy though tbh. I clip in regulally in summer and if i leave his coat for about 6 weeks it becomes difficult for them to get through. I clip about every month from feb to October and ive been through about 8 blades i kid you not

 

[TequilaMist]

God 8 blades!!
We use avalons and I like them.Clip the 16.2 warmblood no probs.Also clipped friends hairy cob ok BUT will say hair made the resharpened blades blunt pretty quick.On new blades it was fine even hogged him and he had a thick mane.

 

[Louby]

Ive got them too, had them about 6 yrs now and theyve been great, sounded a bit ropey this year tho
I was advised by the shop that they werent suitable for course hairy beasties as someone had sent some back saying they wouldnt clip her horse which was a cob. They do my ID x Shire x TB fine but his coat is dense and soft. Ive got 2 sets of ceramics and a steel set of blades and the ceramics do blunt quicker but I prefer the clip they give. It isnt as close as 'normal' clippers, say like a No 1 in human terms. Im happy with mine.

 

[Cedars]

Anyone else?

 

[martlin]

I have them, they're on their 4th or 5th winter now, I clip hunter clips on a yard of 6-8 horses and they have been great. I also like the not so close clip they give, hides a multitude of clipping sins .
Can't recommend them highly enough!

 

[Winklepoker]

Does everyone who has them use the 1.8mm blades or the 2.6mm?? Obv the extra wide ones, but I have avalons and have clipped IP twice with them, the first time with the 2.6mm blades that came with the clippers and I was not impressed at all and secondly with the 1.8mm that I bought, with a much better result. Although, I would highly recommend bathing before you do it as they struggled through her greasy rump and the finish was not as good. Other than that, they are quiet and a good price.

 

[joeanne]

If I can't be arsed to drag the box of heavy duty clippers out, I use the little cordless liveryman flare.
I have been known do a full clip on a 15.2 with these.....had to have a couple of hours break though, as the charge ran out!

 

[Spinal Tap]

I'm not wildly impressed with my Avalons. They struggled to get through my old cob's thick coat and although they clip my fuzzy mare OK, she is left looking rather 'buttered' The ceramic blades went blunt in no time after resharpening, I'm awaiting some steel ones so my horse is currently looking like a yak! They are a good choice if your horse is clipperphobic because they are so quiet, there is no scary snake & you can wander about with them & clip in the middle of a field if that's what you want. I wouldn't bother getting them if your horse tolerates mains clippers though.

 

[Miss-rose]

I've had mine about 3 yrs now and I've never had a problem with them. I've done rose and my last horse both shire x's also done friends horses who have all been 16'2" and upwards although as said above you really need a clean coat for them to work well, I also use the steel blades.

 

[PucciNPoni]

A woman on my yard had these - and she wasn't getting along with them. She asked me to have a look, and I played about with them - and even took them to my dog grooming shop (they actually use the same snap on blades as I do for grooming) and couldn't even get it to cut CLEAN dog hair! I even stuck a brand new blade on. I realise that these could have been defective, but I just wasn't impressed. At all.

 

[frannieuk]

I've had a set for about 5 years and think that they're great for the price, although definitely geared to the 1-2 horse owner. I do find that they struggle a bit if the coat is dirty, but have 2 sets of blades and usually get 2-3 clips out of each. I also use them on my dog and they're great for that too. I haven't had mine serviced at all and they still sound fine, although might get around to it this year!

 

[canteron]

I bought these clippers primarily because they were the quietest least intrusive clippers I could find for a difficult horse. The battery pack also holds a good charge so I can get the whole clip done in one go. The horse is quite hairy and we are OK.

If however you can have mains powered ones, they are generally much better - if I dared to I would always go mains powered!

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Ive just bought the Liveryman Harmony (battery back-pack) and have just started using them really.

I've only ever used mains clippers which I've hired before so the pressure was on to the get the horse clipped and tidy all in one day; also you really need an assistant with mains clippers I think, for safety reasons if nothing else.

I like the quiet running of the Liveryman Harmony; my boy let me clip his legs without dancing around like a ballerina, with mains he wasn't at all keen on having his legs done, so this was a refreshing change.

I also like the convenience of a back-pack; out of necessity I have to clip on my own and with cordless you can just chunter on and if its raining outside (where you couldn't use mains), you can just get on with it inside no problems. At the moment I'm clipping for about 20 minutes a day, maybe a bit longer if doing well, but definately not rushing, but I think these clippers are certainly taking more time to do the job than the hired ones did!

I think I'm getting the hang of the clippers, not being experienced I needed to get the hang of them, hopefully am getting there!

My boy's a traddie with a really heavy coat, and on occasions I've wondered if these clippers are gonna be man enough for the job. He was clipped 6 weeks ago but its grown back really quickly, however I'm doing his legs at the mo and it did get through the coarser hair OK, to my surprise.

The thing that is totally irritating about the design of the clippers is that the on/off switch is just under your hand, so when you're clipping you can very easily switch it on/off by mistake, which is mega annoying.

Other than that, I am reasonably happy with them, especially enjoying the fact that there are no mains cords to fall over/trip over/get horsey tangled up in and step on!!! aaaargggh