Horse Clippers

Horse Clippers & Trimmers

Horse Clippers and Trimmers are an essential part of an equestrian's grooming kit.  Good quality clippers and trimmers are an essential purchase for most equestrians, and it is important to choose the brand and type of clipper carefully.  We have a learning portal on our website to help our customers identify problems, as well as give an insight into each brand of clipper, how easy they are to tension and repair if they go wrong, as well as many other tips and guides to help if there is a problem or before making a purchase.

We are experts on horse clippers and trimmers here at Clippersharp. We stock a comprehensive range of clippers, cordless clippers, and trimmers for a variety of uses including dog grooming, horse clipping and trimming, veterinary prepping as well as within the agricultural sector for cattle clipping.

What Are Horse Clippers?

Horse clippers are handheld electrically or battery powered machines that clip horses’ hairy coats. The motor of a horse clipper powers the cutting blades. On a full-size horse clipper, there are two separate blades, known as a cutter and comb. These are kept in place with a tension set, comprising a spring, bolt and nut. By tightening the nut to the correct tension, this will then allow the blades to cut precisely. Traditionally horse clippers are connected to the mains power, or wired to a large 12v battery, but cordless horse clippers are increasing in popularity due the convenience of cord/lead free clipping, using powerful batteries in the device itself to give several hours of clipping time.

There are various grades of horse clipper blades that can be chosen, depending on how close the coat is clipped. During the winter, a medium blade may be more suitable when the coat is much thicker. In the summer, a finer blade may be more useful, to clip off finer, softer hair.

What Are The Best Horse Clippers?

This is a question that is dependent on your own needs and that of your horse.

There are many horse clippers to choose from, depending on the requirements of the owner and the type of coat that is being clipped.

Horse clippers fall into four categories. Light Duty, Medium Duty, Heavy Duty, and Cordless.Cordless horse clippers are re-chargeable or battery operated.

Reliability, performance and back up from the retailer are key points to consider when researching before purchase. Quality of build, ease of operation, including tensioning, replacing blades and spare parts for the horse clippers are also important areas to consider. Reputable manufacturers will also give a reasonable warranty period for their horse clipping products, again this is worth checking. We have a choice for all budgets for both the home user as well as professional.  We stock well known brands such as Aesculap, Andis, Hauptner, Heiniger, Kerbl, Lister, Liveryman, Oster and Wahl. As independent clipper specialists we are here to help you select the right clipper or trimmer to suit your needs.

Which Is The Best Horse Clipper For Me?

If you are looking for your first set of horse clippers, then ask yourself whether it would be more convenient to have a cordless horse clipper with no cord/lead or whether a mains operated horse clipper is just as suitable.

Consider whether the actual weight of the horse clipper is important, particularly if you have weak wrists or small hands. Clipping a whole horse will usually take at least an hour, so a heavy horse clipper may not be easy to use for longer periods if this is a consideration that needs to be made.

Which Is The Best Horse Clipper For My Horse?

If your horse is young or nervous around machinery, it would be best to choose a lighter duty horse clipper as these are quiet and have little vibration. They also tend to be lighter to hold and use and don’t require any tensioning. As a first-time horse clipper owner, these types of horse clippers are particularly popular as tensioning can be fiddly and difficult.

If you are only clipping only two or three times a year, it may be better to look at the Light Duty range of Horse Clippers, rather than choosing the medium or heavy weight horse clippers which tend to be louder and heavier when in use.

If you are clipping several horses every week during the horse clipping season, then a heavier duty horse clipper will be better choice, but it may also mean considering purchasing horse trimmers for tidying the fiddly and sensitive areas.

What is the difference between Light Duty, Medium Duty, and Heavy Duty Horse Clippers?

Light duty clippers are typically lighter, quieter, easier to use, and better balanced than medium and heavy duty clippers. They use a snap on blade system that is very easy to use, with no need for tensioning. They are designed for fine/ soft coats. If you have more than one horse to clip regularly or have a horse with a thicker coat (think natives, cobs, or cushings) then a medium or heavy duty horse clipper would be more appropriate.

Medium duty clippers are designed for owners of 1-3 horses. They can handle coarser hair than light duty clippers. There is a big range in performance, quietness, and weight within the medium duty clippers, so we’d recommend looking at our guides to find the best horse clipper for you.

Heavy duty clippers are designed for people clipping professionally or those clipping more than 3 horses regularly. They are very powerful and will make quick work of the coarsest cob or cushings coat. They are quite often heavier or noisier than medium duty clippers due to their powerful motors. Some heavy duty clippers can also be used on cattle.