Tips for using the Lister Star Clippers
Lister Star clippers are heavy-duty clippers for horses and livestock. The wide blades and powerful motor make body clipping fast and provide the strength to tackle thick and long coats.
Using the Lister Stars
You can certainly body clip any horse with the Stars! Their power comes through when presented with dense winter coats or horses that have Cushing's disease with excessive hair growth. The Stars are also great for roaching manes and trimming down heavy feathers on the legs.
Pick the best blades for your clipping needs.
You have several options of large blades for use with the Lister Stars. Included with the Stars is the Fine A2F/AC Fine Blade. The three-inch wide set of blades leaves 1.4 mm of hair, roughly equivalent to a #15 blade of body clippers.
You have other options, too, all with the wide three-inch cutting surface! The Medium A2/AC has 35 teeth and leaves 2.5 mm of hair, roughly equivalent to a #9 blade. The Coarse A2/AC also leaves 2.5 mm of hair, but with 18 teeth to do a rough cut of muddy horses.
If you would like to leave about 5 mm of hair on your horse, opt for the Covercote and its 24 teeth. The Covercoat blade system is ideal for heavily coated horses with Cushing's disease or just trimming down a little bit of the winter coat.
Surgical styles are also available for veterinary use.
Prep your clippers before use
There are a few things to check before you start clipping. Make sure the vent towards the back of the Stars is clear of hair. You should be able to see through it.
If your blades are not brand new, consider taking them off for a thorough inspection, removing any hair with a soft cloth. Reassemble and oil! Avoid using spray lubricants and cooling sprays on the blades; the ingredients may damage the metal of the clippers.
When you pop the blades back on, tension the clippers accordingly. Rotate the tension knob clockwise until you feel a crisp distinction between the ease of turning. Then unscrew the knob counterclockwise one and half times, using the notch on the knob as a guide.
How to oil the blades of your Lister Star
There are 10 locations to oil the Stars! Use Lister oils, specially designed to work with the blades and clipper body.
The first three are on the teeth of the blade. Place one drop of oil on each end and one in the middle.
Turn the clippers to a side view. Add a drop of oil where the cutting blade and comb meet.
Lastly, oil the two holes to the left and right of the tension knob. There's also one last opening just below the tension knob to drop some oil.
As you are clipping, stop every five minutes to wipe the blades and apply more oil!
More tips for using the Lister Star clippers
More powerful clippers, like the Lister Stars, may create more tickling for some horses. Stop frequently and brush or scratch your horse if that makes him feel better. You may want to jump to another section of your horse and return to ticklish parts later.
Avoid the more intricate areas of your horse when using the Stars, too. Faces, fine-tuning of lower legs, elbows, throat latches, and ears are places to switch to trimmers or body clippers. The blades are just too wide to maneuver in those areas easily!
Just as you stop every few minutes to clean your blades, check the vent and shake out any hair that's collected there.
Lister Stars are equipped with an overload switch on the clipper body, which will turn the clipper off if needed. This switch is at the bottom of the clippers, and will pop out when activated. Before pushing it back in, check your blades, the tension on the blades, and the vent. Use something other than your finger to reset the motor.
It won't be long before you're an expert at using these clippers!
For more great tips and tutorials from Liv, check out her website Pro Equine Grooms.
