Wahl & Lister Shearing Horse Clipper Buying Guide
Buying a set of clippers is an important investment and there are several factors to consider. While the price of the clipper may be appealing, spend time researching the features, assessing the quality and considering the longevity of the product.
In this horse clipper buying guide, you should consider some of the following:
- How often do you clip?
- Which type of clip do you do most often?
- Will you predominantly be trimming and/or touching up the coat?
- How is the horses temperament? Are they nervous?
- How much experience do you have clipping?
If you have a yard filled with horses that need to be regularly clipped, you will need a
heavy-duty clipper that can handle the workload. If you have one horse or pony that's clipped a few times during the year, you won’t need as much power or drive to clip quickly, so can opt for a
medium duty clipper.
The majority of clippers can be segmented into three categories:
Light Duty/Trimmers
Light duty machines are perfect for trimming and part-clipping, generally better suited to clipping shorter, finer coats.
Typically, trimmers are very quiet and lightweight, well suited for introducing a nervous or young horse to clipping. Usually they come with smaller, ‘snap-on’ blades that do not require tensioning and are easy to fit and remove for trouble-free cleaning.
Wahl trimmers are ideal for owners and riders that need their animals to look smart at every occasion; perfect for tidying or touching up the coat before a show, detailed and artistic clipping or for veterinary work.
Product recommendations:
Bravura, Pro Ion, Figura
Medium Duty
Medium duty clippers are capable of clipping all coat types. While larger than trimmers, clippers in this category are favoured for their combination of power and handling, as they have the power needed for steady general clipping, yet are light and easy to manoeuvre.
Clippers in this category take conventional, full-width blades which need to be tensioned to set the cutting pressure.
Product recommendations:
Lister Star, Avalon
Heavy Duty
Heavy duty clippers are suitable for professional users or those that have to clip multiple animals regularly.
Designed for durability, heavy duty clippers are favoured for their ability to cut through particularly coarse or difficult hair without wavering under pressure. The clippers will tend to incorporate more powerful motors designed for regular heavy work, making them well suited to a multitude of applications and coat types.
However, due to the power and drive needed, some models can be heavier to handle and manoeuvre, so it’s important to consider balance in the hand and compare weights.
Clippers in this category take conventional, full-width blades which need to be tensioned to set the cutting pressure.
Product recommendations:
Lister Fusion.