This message is from: Barbara Sollner-Webb <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
re. clippers, i recommend oster's clipmaster (model 610; 170 watts; $215
from www.valleyvet.com). there are two clipmasters, but the extra $10 for the
variable speed (i.e., model 610) is really worth it, especially to initiate a
horse new to clipping. don't waste your money on the oster A5 as i did (it is
claimed to be perfect, but is only 45 watts and gets stopped by thick fur, and
it costs 2/3 as much as the 610). most cheapie clippers are less than 15
watts, so useless for furry guys. although the double k clipper seems neat
'cause the noisy motor is many feet away from the actual blades, it is
relatively low power and seems to work well for fuzzy guys only if you clip
them quite often, so you are not trying to remove an arctic circle amount of
fur at once.
be sure to clip only a dust/dirt-free horse, though, or the blades wear out
real fast. since washing a fuzzy guy, and keeping him from rolling until dry,
is pretty much of a fairy-tale, i recommend getting one of those cheapie
dust-beater hand-held vacuums at a local hardware store. [you can get them in
some horse catalogs, but the bag then has horses printed on it and the pricetag
is increased about 4-fold!] these vacuums have a rotating brush, that you can
run upward, beating against the grain of the fur, and even the deep dirt beats
out very easily. i have now clipped 9 iceys (real fuzz-balls) with a single set
of blades, and they are only now getting ready to be sent in for sharpening.
also, they make a blade that leaves 3/16th of an inch fur, so you can do a
trace clip in the winter without the guys freezing (at least here in maryland).
happy clipping!
yours, barbara
