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| Headless yak, it's a special variety. |
YOU TURN IT BACK INTO A HORSE!
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| There's a pony under there! |
We got an unexpected 70 degree day yesterday, so I took a couple of hours off work in order to bathe:
Dry:
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| When I started the drying process, it looked like this and was quite warm. |
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| 10 minutes later, the clouds rolled in and it got chilly. Perfect timing. |
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| "Not sure why I got a bath, but I like grass." |
And clip:
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| About half of the hair I took off today, which is about 1/3 of his total winter coat for the year. |
(Remember this? This is the "Hair Shelf" as Austen called it when we clipped him together the first time, with a fully grown in winter coat.)
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| Hardy northern breed = epic winter coat. |
I always enjoy clipping, but this year I enjoyed it more than usual:
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| Partially a birthday present from my mom, partially thanks to Smartpak's 15% off sale. |
I spent Nick's two un/under-employed years researching this decision while making non-body clippers work. I knew it was going to be Listers after borrowing my trainer's Oster Clipmasters (loud, annoying fan, heavy) and reading all the good reviews for the Listers online. Stacey almost had me convinced to buy the Lister Legends, but in the end, the extra cost plus the many reviews I read that talked about the heat, plus the fact that I just don't have that much surface area to clip, led me to the Lister Stars.
I went ahead and used the fine blades that come with the clipper, which cut really close. I'm okay with this, because the rest of his winter coat comes in so fast, may as well take as much off as I can now. I won't be able to get away with this for his third clip in early 2015 though, I'll need to get the medium blades before then.
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| "Hey, uh, I'm pretty naked." |
The Stars were fantastic. Pretty quiet for a body clipper, less vibrating than the Clipmasters, so light my arm didn't hurt when I was done, and POWERFUL. They also got warm, as all clippers do, but never hot. Two thumbs up.
Besides bathing, I also used this on him after he was dry and before I started clipping:
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| Found it on clearance at Rural King for $3.99, why not? |
It says it helps the clippers cut easier, stay cooler and makes clipping more pleasant for the animal. My animal doesn't mind clipping, (I can even do his flanks and sheath area without a reaction) and the Listers cut his partially grown winter coat like butter anyway, but it could have helped.
In the end, it took me two hours to bathe, dry, and clip him. Clipping itself took about 45 minutes, but I was clipping as sections of his body became dry (and stopping to oil the clippers), so he got two small breaks and one big break wearing a cooler, eating hay and peeing in his stall.
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| Dapples! |
Oh and I got to clip in spandex shorts and a t-shirt, which when combined with clippers that don't blow hair at you, means zero itchiness. I have found the holy grail of clipping!
Sooooo glad you got the yak shaved! I wonder if those clippers would be tolerated by His Majesty Himself...
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing he'd tolerate them as well as he does yours. Compared to other body clippers they're quieter and have less vibration, but they're still body clippers with a big motor, they're always going to be some measure of loud and vibratey. You can give them a try if you want though.
DeleteHa! I might. I have to drug him (for his safety and mine!), but even drugged he takes offense to clippers. Silly thing.
DeleteVery nice! I certainly don't have the patience to clip, LOL
ReplyDeleteIt all depends on what you have the patience for! I don't have the patience to cool him out for an hour at 8:30pm after my lesson on a work night, so to clipping we have turned!
DeleteI would be interested to know how these compare to my andis... Hmmm not sure about clipping this year yet :)
ReplyDeleteI've never used your Andis Progress ones, but Andis were second on my list after the Listers. Maybe someone will chime in who has used both - Aimee maybe? I'll try to do a more thorough review of the clippers themselves the next time I clip him - probably late Novemberish.
DeleteExcellent review - thank you!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
Delete45 minutes... damn, I am slow.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it fun to uncover dapples under the winter shag? Lots and lots of dapples!
Winter shag! That made me laugh so hard.
DeleteI am willing to bet you have a lot more surface area to clip than I do. I also don't do legs or head, which are the most time consuming things.
He looks great! So jealous of your listers!
ReplyDeleteThanks! They were worth the two year wait for sure.
DeleteI full body clip 3x a year. And I love my Lister Stars. They are the bees knees.
ReplyDeleteThat's good to know. I do believe I have joined both of those clubs.
DeleteAwesome! Thanks for the review. That's what I want to get when I have to head back to body clipping.
ReplyDeleteThey're the best choice you can make in clippers, I'm pretty sure. I did some touch ups today and was just blown away by how quiet they are compared to the clattery Osters.
DeleteOh man it's nearly time to start clipping my fluffy animals... they're getting furry and it's still in the 80s-90s every day here. They're not getting hot yet (I guess they feel as though this is a nice cooling off from summer or something) but I know that day is coming!
ReplyDeleteI'd kill for 80's-90's right now! I'm betting that was the last day it's okay to bathe up here. I know I was early this year (well, I didn't beat Jen J and Paddy), I guess I'm just here to remind people that clipping is coming!
DeleteI love my Lister Stars too. I bought them used 4 years ago and have probably done close to 60-70 clips with them by now and they're still fantastic. SO MUCH BETTER than Clipmasters.
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad you posted that and that they last. I can't believe how popular the Clipmasters are when the Stars are basically the same price! They're just better in every category.
Deletehe looks good!! i haven't had to dip my toes into the world of clipping yet... but i'll eventually have a horse that needs it...
ReplyDeleteA lot of people complain about it, but I find it pretty fun.
DeleteHOLY SHIT. I love this post, holy grail of clipping. if you love clipping come do my creature! :D
ReplyDeleteWith all the frequent flyer miles my husband racks up now, that might be a possibility for next year. ;-)
DeleteLISTERS FTW
ReplyDeleteSeriously. Love this post.
Great post! Good to know there are so many Lister Star fans out there. I have just started to research clippers of my own.
ReplyDelete