Liveryman Black Beauty horse clippers review *H&H Approved*

Liveryman Black Beauty clippers

Having happily clipped horses of all shapes and sizes for the best part of 20 years with another brand of mains-powered clipper, the Liveryman Black Beauty clippers have completely converted me and they are now my clipper of choice.

These clippers are lightweight and easy to use with tension and blade fitting being very straight forward. They are ideal for a professional as they can cope with clipping multiple horses in a row without the blades getting hot. They are supplied with a2 medium blades (2.5mm), which provides a good finish, but they also take an a22 fine blade (1.5mm) if needed.

I’ve clipped all types of horse with these – from Shetlands to thoroughbreds – and the finish has been excellent in all cases. They really do just glide through any thickness of coat.

I particularly like that they have the option to adjust the speed they run at, so if you’re clipping a horse with a particularly fine coat, or doing around the head or legs, you can slow them down, which also reduces the noise slightly if you’re dealing with a sensitive horse. Then you can set the speed back up to full for a hairier horse with a thicker coat or while you are clipping the horse’s body.

The clippers come fitted with an A2 blade, with oil, brush and instruction manual in a robust carry case that is ideal for keeping everything you need at hand, whether that’s in the back of the car or stored in the tack room between uses. I think they are great value for money.

I would be interested to try them with the optional litium-ion battery pack to see if they are equally powerful when not running off the mains – I have no reason to assume they would run any differently, but it would be nice to test it. Having the flexibility to turn these mains clippers into a battery-powered version is an added bonus (clippers complete with battery pack RRP £479), as not all stable yards have mains power and the ability to move around without trailing live cables is be very useful when dealing with nervous horses.

Verdict

H&H Approved – I absolutely love the Liveryman Black Beauty clippers. There is nothing about them I would like to change. They are my first choice for all horse clipping tasks when mains power is available.

In the UK? View now at amazon.co.uk, viovet.co.uk, gsequestrian.co.uk or ebay.co.uk

Who tested these clippers?

Lucie Holt is a professional groom based in Hertfordshire who specialises in all types of “equine hairdressing” through her horsehairdressing business. She has more than 15 years experience in clipping, plaiting and pre-show turnout, including using horse hair extensions to improve manes and tails for competition, film work and advertising photo shoots.

• Find out more about how Horse & Hound tests products

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