Clip legs? Why?

[appledoberman]

Just a question, why when some people clip their horses do they clip their legs too? Makes no sense to me, ive always full clipped leaving legs on, surely it helps protect them while riding through woodlands etc? Plus you can rug everywhere else, do people that clip all legs leave bandages or boots of somesort on overnight to keep their little leggies warm? So why do people clip legs?

 

[Pedantic]

Because they are vain don't care if their horse is cold and it looks pretty.

 

[traceyann]

Please we are not all vain i clip my cobs legs because he gets feather mites and its easier to deal with the scabs cuts and i do use pig oil and i also have him out in boots as i feel guilty he has no hair.

 

[Django Pony]

Because they are vain don't care if their horse is cold and it looks pretty.

Not always! I have had to clip Jasper's legs due to mites, he had a nasty bacterial infection from them. His feathers are just SO thick it was impossible to treat and keep an eye on otherwise.

His old owners never treated him for mites so he has quite a lot of scar tissue on his legs, i.e. lots of lumps and bumps and crevices for nasties to hide in! This makes it damn near impossible to keep him feathered, at least for now.

Believe me, I would like nothing more than to have him fully-feathered again, but for now it's just not practical.

I find it quite insulting that just because I've clipped my horses legs you would consider me "vain" and that I "don't care" about him!!

He is stabled at night and appropriately rugged to ensure that he is warm. If necessary I would bandage his legs for warmth, but have not needed to as yet. I can assure you he does not suffer for having his legs clipped!

 

[Dizzydancer]

A lot of hunters around me have legs clipped out. IT is because we have a lot of big hedge country with lots of black thorns. You need to be able to see one if it manages to get stuck with hair this would be even more difficult. However yes the ones i no with clipped legs have bandages or stable boots on whenever they are in and some have boots on when turned out.
I have had to clip my old boys legs regularly as he got mites- i generally didn't bandage as he had them clipped all year but if i did do them in winter they were bandaged dog a few days.

 

[miss_c]

Genie's feathers are growing back now, but she had very bad mud fever that simply wasn't treatable until the feathers were off and you could get to it.

 

[SpottedCat]

Anyone who thinks their legs get 'cold' should probably invest in a decent anatomy book - there is no muscle mass to speak of on the legs and very few blood vessels. Therefore vasodilation and sweating (the primary cooling mechanisms) don't really occur on the legs.

If you're hunting or showing or competing, it is much easier to check for injuries, much nicer not to have to hose off with cold water (for the humans principally, but still ) and you're much more likely to spot thorns etc.

I don't really have a problem with it.

 

[Luci07]

Anyone who thinks their legs get 'cold' should probably invest in a decent anatomy book - there is no muscle mass to speak of on the legs and very few blood vessels. Therefore vasodilation and sweating (the primary cooling mechanisms) don't really occur on the legs.

If you're hunting or showing or competing, it is much easier to check for injuries, much nicer not to have to hose off with cold water (for the humans principally, but still ) and you're much more likely to spot thorns etc.

I don't really have a problem with it.

SC talking sense again. OP if other people choose to clip their horses legs, that is their business. Your opinion is only that! I clip my horses legs for the last clip of the season and heels are out all year round. I also, shock horror, trim, clip and pull manes and tails. My horses, my choice!

 

[Devonshire dumpling]

I think the OP was referring to non feather type breeds! I had a TB on loan and the day I went to view it the owner clipped the whole horse including legs and face I just didn't get it, poor thing was underweight anyway and was really bad husbandry to do that,she said she wanted her to look smart for me!!!!

So no I don't get it for the non hairies..... for the feathery type I can see good reasons to clip them all off, its as pedantic said!!

 

[Shay]

I know some odd opinions come up on here from time to time but thinking that we only clip because we're vain - or that clipping legs makes horses cold - is probably one of the daftest I've heard in a long time.

Clipping legs does not make the horse any colder than clipping some or all of the rest of it. It is certainly much nicer than having to hose off cloying mud at night and leaving them standing with driping legs all night.

My boys compete year round and hunt. They have to be clipped in winter or they would sweat so much it would harm them. One is totally clipped and hogged, one has a trace and one a blanket.

We clip one set of legs becuase he is prone to mud fever. If I didn't have to for his welfare I would not. But I do. We clip to hunt because excess feather will hide minor injuries. Long feather can get caught in wire, catch thorns and cloy up with huge balls of mud. I do have one boy whose legs are not clipped just now- but he is fine skinned with very little feather and it presents him with no difficulty.

As Luci07 says - it is our choice. But more commonly it is a welfare choice - not vanity!

 

[debsg]

Luckily my cob/yak mare doesn't suffer from feather mites or mud fever, so she has thick feathers in winter, come the spring and the whole lot comes off for the show season.
My TB has very little hair on her legs (the rest is a fluffball - they live out ) so I don't do anything with hers.

 

[vickyb]

It is so much easier to keep them clean if their legs are clipped, especially if they are the hairy sort. I don't have a horse at the moment, but when I did I always used to have a full clip, then when they are muddy it is so quick and easy to wash them off and they dry quickly too, and it's easier to see and treat any minor cuts etc. I never have known a horse be cold because of clipped legs - they were always toasty under their rugs. The only thing I hated about it was actually clipping the legs themselves, I always found it was time consuming and fiddly, but perhaps that was just me and my dubious clipping skills!

 

[hessy12]

Anyone who thinks their legs get 'cold' should probably invest in a decent anatomy book - there is no muscle mass to speak of on the legs and very few blood vessels. Therefore vasodilation and sweating (the primary cooling mechanisms) don't really occur on the legs.

If you're hunting or showing or competing, it is much easier to check for injuries, much nicer not to have to hose off with cold water (for the humans principally, but still ) and you're much more likely to spot thorns etc.

I don't really have a problem with it.

Thank you for injecting some sense! I half clip my lad's legs, to ensure he can be cleaned after hunting and checked for cuts etc, and also of course make him look pretty!! (that's a joke)

 

[ljohnsonsj]

SC talking sense again. OP if other people choose to clip their horses legs, that is their business. Your opinion is only that! I clip my horses legs for the last clip of the season and heels are out all year round. I also, shock horror, trim, clip and pull manes and tails. My horses, my choice!

I clip fully out faces and all,CUT manes and pull tails...shoot me now.

 

[Tr0uble]

Because they are vain don't care if their horse is cold and it looks pretty.

Thay's a bit of a generalisation! And also a bit bitchy!

 

[ew0855]

Because if pony brushes/had an injury/needs to wear boots for any reason its not OK to just put them on top of wet muddy legs - much better to put boots on legs that can be washed off and got dry first

 

[Mithras]

Because you can see whether a horse prone to mud fever has developed it or not, and treat it accordingly, without it being disguised by loads of hair.

Because its easier for a showjumper to feel good about themselves and compete well in winter without big hairy legs weighing them down and making them feel clumsy.

 

[jedge]

I take legs off. My horse hacks on roads and works on a surface during the winter (after his holiday) so he doesn't really need protection against thorns etc like the hunters do. It looks much smarter and its easier to manage as others have said!

 

[lula]

I think the OP was referring to non feather type breeds! I had a TB on loan and the day I went to view it the owner clipped the whole horse including legs and face

whats wrong with clipping a horse's head now?

 

[Ella19]

I take everything off for hunting, boots and all the other reasons mentioned. Her mane and tail are trimmed and her head clipped out as she sweats badly in her head and,starts head shaking as the dripping sweat annoys her. WORST of all I leave this mare out 24/7 in just 1 rug, oh my I am s cruel mummy!

 

[BonneMaman]

Anyone who thinks their legs get 'cold' should probably invest in a decent anatomy book - there is no muscle mass to speak of on the legs and very few blood vessels. Therefore vasodilation and sweating (the primary cooling mechanisms) don't really occur on the legs.

If you're hunting or showing or competing, it is much easier to check for injuries, much nicer not to have to hose off with cold water (for the humans principally, but still ) and you're much more likely to spot thorns etc.

I don't really have a problem with it.

Actually I don't agree - I have always been taught that bandaging a horse's legs is worth a good rug on it's back in cold weather.

Having said that if someone wants to clip a horse's legs it is there progative and quite frankly does not make them vain. Hunters are very often clipped right out to make grooming, drying and checking/treatubg for minor wounds much easier.

 

[appledoberman]

SC talking sense again. OP if other people choose to clip their horses legs, that is their business. Your opinion is only that! I clip my horses legs for the last clip of the season and heels are out all year round. I also, shock horror, trim, clip and pull manes and tails. My horses, my choice!

i was only asking.......

 

[LouS]

I take everything off because they look better and its much easier to clean, simple as that. I hardly think clipping legs off amounts to cruelty, good grief.

 

[Stinkbomb]

God shoot me down now...I clip my mini at the end of january, not because he is working hard or hot. January is when i start his exercise ready for the shows. I clip to see his body condition so i know how to feed and exercise him accordingly as he has had the winter turned out and left to get fat and hairy. I leave his legs on for the first month but then they come off. otherwise he will be left with clip lines and vain or not, thats wont do for showing. He is never cold and is rugged sufficiently.

Some might not agree with what i do but to be honest i dont give a rats chuff what people think!

 

[sakura]

my mare is hunter clipped and has her legs left on, come spring I'll clip off what little feather she does have

my friend has her tb type fully clipped including legs, he is rugged appropriately and not bandaged - he has lost no condition at all and hasn't got cold once so far

each to their own, I really don't see the issue with it

 

[Stinkbomb]

sorry to digress but Indiangel what a lovely coloured horse you have!

 

[stencilface]

Actually I don't agree - I have always been taught that bandaging a horse's legs is worth a good rug on it's back in cold weather.

Having said that if someone wants to clip a horse's legs it is there progative and quite frankly does not make them vain. Hunters are very often clipped right out to make grooming, drying and checking/treatubg for minor wounds much easier.

You can not agree all you like really, you can't really disagree with the physical make up of a leg

I feed and rug my horse, I'll do with his hair what I want

 

[sakura]

sorry to digress but Indiangel what a lovely coloured horse you have!

thank you, she's my horse of a lifetime

 

[china]

i take the backs of mines legs of otherwise they look like yaks!

 

[Stinkbomb]

thank you, she's my horse of a lifetime

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