I know, I know, we have one of these threads every year.
But I now have 6 horses I need to clip. One grows the densest, thickest hair ive ever seen; the osters I had wouldn’t even get through. Another already looks like he’s preparing for the endless winter. And also, now I have a draft.
So I need recommendations for the biggest, baddest, hardiest clippers out there. The ones that literally can shave a mammoth. Or a yak.
Which Osters do you have? I have the Clipmasters and have never had an issue even with the Cushings ponies.
Lister Stars. They are meant for shearing sheep. They do as well on my Irish Yak.
Trade out the fine blade they come with for a medium (I use Premier1’s blades- they are compatible) and be prepared to brush out the vent every time you stop for oil, as it tends to get clogged a bit faster than you’d expect and that makes the clippers run hot.
My horse is double coated like an overgrown Shetland and he has Cushings. These things just breeze right through. I can do him in an hour, legs and all, clip the cheeks but leave the face, and they don’t blow hair so I can go get lunch after.
Oster Clipmaster Variable Speed Horse Clippers. I actually returned them because I thought maybe they had something defective.
The Lister Legends are one step up from the Lister Stars. They are a bit heavier, but make the Stars look whimpy. I did 7 full body clips with a pair of Legends today, they powered through some serious Yaks and never got too hot. I did this on one set of Premier 1 medium blades, and will probably get another 10+ (clean) horses out of this same set of blades.
Is there a magic trick to using the Stars? Because I just clipped my barely hairy pony and had a terrible time with track lines and uneven cutting. I didn’t realize they come with fine blades installed, though. FWIW I’ve clipped with Clipmasters for decades and never had problems with lines, so I don’t think it’s me 
OP, want some Lister Stars? Only used once 
Yeah, take the sheep blade off. 
Will try that in a few months when I clip him again He looks fine now, it was just laborious having to go back over him every which way.
Another vote for Lister Stars with a Premiere medium blade, although I’ve used the included Lister fine blade in a pinch (clip looked decent in a week). The Premiere blades seem to last forever, IME.
The Stars are relatively lightweight, for their power, and I can easily use them – important to me, as I have small hands. I’ve used a friend’s Clipmasters in the past, so I’m familiar with the competition.
I’ve always had horses with some version of a dense plush coat, with long guard hairs and an undercoat.
Should I get the stars or spend the extra 50 bucks to get the legends though?
I’ve been using Stars for about 15 years now, but I still have 30 odd years of sunbeam muscle memory (aka the original clipmasters). I can’t describe it, but you have to hold them at a slightly different angle against the skin. It’s not radically different, but it’s not quite the same is my best description. As I recall, it was the second time I used them before I thought I was back to “clip to class” in the same day quality…
I too recommend the premier1 blades, hands down the best blades I have ever used
Ok, so it’s not just me then. I’m willing to give them another shot next time with the medium blades, but you’re right - there seems to be a very particular way of holding them.
Ok, just an update. I ended up buying the leister legends. They were only $20 more than the stars and I figured I’d need the extra power anyway. I also ordered a medium blade since it comes with a fine blade.
I used them on Friday and loved them. I Clipped my wooly mammoth in no time! And he even looks decent, which is the most amazing part since I SUCK at clipping.
Much better than my osters. I love that the air intake is at the back and it doesn’t vent hot air at my hands, like the osters do.
Bonus; they came in a very nice case and came with an excellent instruction manual. I’m always afraid I’m greasing the wrong thing when I do end of season maintenance and the manual even has pictures to tell you what to do.
I am looking for new clippers as my Andis Progress died last week. (I have a thread about it somewhere here…). Where does the motor blow the hair on these? I am a lefty, and the smaller Oster A5s I have blow hair right at me. Secondly, do the blades with slots rather than holes on the big one fit on these (I have two brand new sets from the Progress…)
You know, I didn’t notice them blowing hair at all. I’m also a lefty. I’ll look tomorrow.
I’m not 100% sure what you mean, but my Andis blades don’t fit on these. You have to screw them on instead of sliding them in and locking them down.
I’ll try not to go too deep into detail on the fit of insanity that led to this purchase, but These Amazon Clippers are actually pretty great.
I would say they’re basically the same as my old lister stars were and they take lister blades. They did leave some lines but I assume that has a lot to do with the blade quality of something that comes included with an 81 dollar paid of industrial grade clippers. I bought them just trying to get me through finishing my small pony x tibetan yak hybrid until I could get a nicer pair and I don’t feel any need to replace them at this point. Clipped the aforementioned beaver pelted small pony and also the 17.3 big boy that I ride and they didn’t heat up for either.
Edit: According to the ad they have a much more powerful motor than the listers stars (500 watts on these versus 45 on the stars), and upon reviewing, I also realized they have variable speed which I am certain I did not adjust at all, so that could have had something to do with the lines but not heating up. I will experiment and report back.
Great thread. My 30 year old Clipmasters gave it up this weekend. It’s sad but time to upgrade even if I do have a zillion pairs of blades.
I have a pair of Lister Stars and have previously body clipped with Oster Clipmasters. You do have to hold the Stars at a certain angle, but it’s not hard to get used to. They are lighter and do heat up less.
I have to clip my Appy/TB cross this weekend. We still get up to 90 during the day and his coat is getting quite thick. He really needs clipping. He has a short, but very dense coat. Can’t wait to see what Appy spots will come out in the clipping. (He just has some snowflaking and a few dark spots on dark areas. No white blanket.
I’ve had good success with the Lister Stars as well, with a medium blade. Instead of cutting directly against the hair, using a slight angle allowed the clippers to glide through and leave no tracks. After a good oil buff after really made a difference too.
What is the trick with the lister stars? I bought two medium blades and oiled every 5 minutes as per the manual. Swapped the blades. They got BLAZING hot the poor creature I was working on couldn’t stand it. She also did not look as good as either my clip masters or andis ACGs.
I’m ready to return them because they were so horrible to deal with.
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