Do you clip your horse? Since I compete, I body clip my horse(s) at least once a year. I do try to keep up on clipping their bridle paths and whiskers in-between, but during the off season I tend to let them grow.
Clipping can help make your horse look show-ready, and it can also help horses with Cushings disease that have a hard time shedding their coats, or it can help rid of winter coats in one session – a convenient and useful way to clean your horse up in one afternoon session.
Because I body clip my horses regularly, I have had experience with several types of clippers. Here are a few types I have used, and why I like them (or not).
Happy Clipping!
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The Body Clippers
Let’s start with the Body clippers! This thing is a MACHINE and I am so glad I purchased it. This is the Oster Clipmaster body clippers. They cut fast and smooth and I clip my entire horse’s body in a couple of hours with these. They are heavy though, and sometimes I alternate between these for the body and a smaller pair for the legs and face. The Clipmaster cannot be used on the face at all – they are much too bulky and the blade is too wide.
I balked at the price initially, but finally took the leap and purchased them. I’m so glad I did! They are fast and my horses don’t seem to mind them or their sound. They get the job done quickly and efficiently. I sharpen my own blades including the blades from the Oster Clipmaster. If you want to read more about how I do that, you can do so HERE.
Oster Turbo A5
These are my go-to clippers for legs and face. They can also be used for body clipping if you don’t want to take the plunge on the Clipmasters mentioned above. They are sharp, fast, and the two-speed option on the body of the clippers helps cut through thicker, denser hair.
The only downside that I don’t care for on my Turbo A5’s, is that they get hot quickly. I do have a cooling spray that seems to help and I oil the blades regularly as I clip, but they still get warm. I find that alternating between the Clipmasters for body clipping and my Turbo A5’s for legs and face, I can get a nice clip job completed quickly without overheating the clippers or letting the blades get too hot.
Other than the clippers getting warm quickly, these are a favorite of mine that I went and purchased after trying out the next pair of clippers I am about to talk about.
Oster A6 Clippers
After my pair of A5 clippers died after YEARS of use, I decided to try out the newer, A6 model. I was sorely disappointed. They run well, clip well, but there is one crucial flaw in the design of these clippers. Afterwards, I went back and read the negative reviews, and they all said they same thing about what I too had discovered.
The A5’s have metal pieces that hold the clippers together. This can be seen when you remove a blade and place a new blade or replace the previous blade back onto the clippers.
The A6 model, which is this model, has a PLASTIC piece that the two small screws are are screwed into. This plastic piece broke after three uses. I duct taped my clippers together, but even then they were not able to clip as well as this piece was broken. The warranty only covers the repair of these clippers, and NOT a replacement, so this item will continually have to be repaired unless a metal piece can be used instead of the plastic.
After my snafu with the A6 clippers, I got fed up and went back and ordered the A5 clippers instead. These have held up well and I will continue to use my A5’s instead.
There are many other brands to choose from when clipping a horse. I have tried the Wahl and Oster cordless, but had too many problems with the charging of the cordless clippers. I prefer Oster and the large (yet heavy) Clipmaster clippers are probably my favorite.
I do sharpen all my own blades now rather than sending them off, and you can read that post here if you would like:
How to Sharpen Your Own Clipper Blades
Hopefully this helps, and buyer beware when purchasing clippers! Make sure the parts that hold the clippers together (under where the blade rests) are metal and not plastic. Plastic parts simply don’t hold up when clipping animals.