amage
Well-Known Member
Get off your high horse!! Mine have legs clipped if necessary...it is necessary for two of them due to previous issues and vet advises keep them clipped.
Clip legs? Why?
- Thread starter appledoberman
- Start date
Get off your high horse!! Mine have legs clipped if necessary...it is necessary for two of them due to previous issues and vet advises keep them clipped.
Pedantic
Well-Known Member
He's not a high horse, he's a 14.2 pony.
rhino
Well-Known Member
This is why I initially clipped my horse's legs out. Funnily enough, ever since I have done so he has NOT had mud fever
Plus I'm rubbish at clipping lines
Roasted Chestnuts
Well-Known Member
My boy gets his legs clipped as hes shown as PB Welsh, so clipped out legs are true to type.
End of, those who claim its vain or cruel are just showing their ignorance and making an @rse of themselves to be honest
End of, those who claim its vain or cruel are just showing their ignorance and making an @rse of themselves to be honest
SpottedCat
Well-Known Member
Afraid I think the bandaging legs being worth a rug is an old wives tale, sorry. There is so much research out there showing that overheating tendons does serious damage that unless required for some injury related reason I am extremely reluctant to bandage legs. As far as I can see the potential for harm far outweighs any good it might do, and as even small temp rises can damage tendon fibres I would be very wary personally.
lauraandjack
Well-Known Member
Just to add to Spotted Cat's sentiment, bad bandaging can cause severe and catastrophic injuries if bandages are too tight and/or left on for too long.
Plus, thick, wet, muddy leg hair is NOT going to keep a horse warm, more likely it will make them colder!
Plus, thick, wet, muddy leg hair is NOT going to keep a horse warm, more likely it will make them colder!
Prince33Sp4rkle
Well-Known Member
the one thats competing is fully clipped including legs as it looks smarter, so call me vain.
he wears thermatex wraps and magnetic pads overnight, but nothing (bar overreach boots) in the field as i worry more about slipping/rubbing than cold legs!
if ive got the time to clip them out, and the means (wraps) to keep them warm whilst he's stabled and cant move then who are you to tell me i shouldnt,jeeeeezus.
the one that is only hacking has a chaser clip with legs on, for ease.if he starts to get mud fever or anything similar, they will be clipped out as for my soil type, clipped legs, washed daily and towel dried seems to work best, so far however, he's ok with hairy trousers!
green bean new boy is totally unclipped as not in hard work, but if he gets clipped this year, it will be a full clip as he will be off out to clinics/lessons in the spring and i dont like lines...again he has wraps and magnet pads for overnight.
he wears thermatex wraps and magnetic pads overnight, but nothing (bar overreach boots) in the field as i worry more about slipping/rubbing than cold legs!
if ive got the time to clip them out, and the means (wraps) to keep them warm whilst he's stabled and cant move then who are you to tell me i shouldnt,jeeeeezus.
the one that is only hacking has a chaser clip with legs on, for ease.if he starts to get mud fever or anything similar, they will be clipped out as for my soil type, clipped legs, washed daily and towel dried seems to work best, so far however, he's ok with hairy trousers!
green bean new boy is totally unclipped as not in hard work, but if he gets clipped this year, it will be a full clip as he will be off out to clinics/lessons in the spring and i dont like lines...again he has wraps and magnet pads for overnight.
Devonshire dumpling
Well-Known Member
whats wrong with clipping a horse's head now?
She was a very fine TB, recovering from losing twins and with a really heavy worm burden, basically a hat rack, was 2C and the owner felt I would like her better if she clipped the entire horse including the face, she had no protection from the elements whatsoever, this was bad husbandry! Over clipping is always bad husbandry, you clip for their workload!
Megibo
Well-Known Member
i never clip legs out, she needs protection from mud in the winter which her feathers give.
at end of Jan she'll have her last full clip, hog and i'll trim her feathers and tail etc
she's native but has sweet itch. plus she looks better all trimmed out IMO
at end of Jan she'll have her last full clip, hog and i'll trim her feathers and tail etc
she's native but has sweet itch. plus she looks better all trimmed out IMO
Pedantic
Well-Known Member
Never see why faces need clipping, if all the rest of the horse is clipped, just how sweaty can a "head" get, but then it wouldn't look pretty would it, like to see the owners with a bald shaved head stand out in the driving wind at -7 with no hat, or do they bandage the horses head as well as it's legs, don't tell me, the horse has no blood in it's head so doesn't get cold.......
Yes I agree, you should clip for the workload, not clipping and sweating up is just as bad as over clipping, clipping for the horses benefit yes, clipping for the owners convenience or to look pretty, no.
Count how many horses you see out hunting with clipped legs to check for thorns blah blah.....
Prince33Sp4rkle
Well-Known Member
oh for gods sakes,mine, as do plenty of other peoples horses im sure, wear snuggy hoods in the field if faces clipped,and if VERY cold a fleece hood in the stable too.
happy now?!
happy now?!
diggerbez
Well-Known Member
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
I don't really have a problem with it.
hahahahahaha...i was just about to hit reply and say the same thing
diggerbez
Well-Known Member
actually horses do get very sweaty heads if they are hairy and they are doing a fair amount of work. my horse is part bog pony and gets very hairy if unclipped. he currently needs clipping and after riding he is sweaty to the point of foamy where the straps from the bridle go- behind the ears, back of nose etc. now this can't be comfortable for him...much better to have it clipped off and (if necessary) wear a snuggy hood to keep him warm the rest of the time.
you are clearly trying to be all "holier than thou" about this and making everyone who does things differently to you sound vain and uncaring about their horse....has it occured to you that 'different' is not necessarily 'wrong'? I also think that if you compete at a decent level then you SHOULD present your horse appropriately so that it doesn't look scruffy- and if that means taking legs and heads off i would- and do! clearly that wouldn't matter and you would turn up looking (what i would consider to be) scruffy- which is fine.... if thats the look you are going for
marmalade76
Well-Known Member
Have to say that the vast majority of hunting folk don't clip legs and it has never occured to me to do it. I can understand those with real hairies clipping legs, especially if they hunt, go XC, etc (wet, muddy feathers must weigh a ton!), but I really don't understand why someone with WB SJers who are not at all hairy bother to clip at all, let alone that legs aswell! I know someone who does this, and if my horse had as little hair as her's, I wouldn't clip at all, hateful job!!
diggerbez
Well-Known Member
not related to hunting but often sjers will clip the front of their horse's front legs to make them more sensitive....
Pedantic
Well-Known Member
not related to hunting but often sjers will clip the front of their horse's front legs to make them more sensitive....
Ahaaaa, so they do feel pain hence will feel the cold.
SpottedCat
Well-Known Member
Pedantic noone said they didn't feel cold on legs, what they said was that legs are not a place the horse can lose significant amounts of heat from, because they do not contain the relevant mechanisms for heat loss to any great degree.
I do wonder how some people have so little idea of how a horse works sometimes!
I do wonder how some people have so little idea of how a horse works sometimes!
diggerbez
Well-Known Member
i don't think its about 'pain' as such as just more 'aware'...clearly they will feel pain in their legs as they have nerves there- so am sure if you kicked your horse really hard in the leg it would feel pain....but i don't think that having cold legs makes that much difference to the well being of the horse in the same way as leaving a fully clipped horse unrugged on the body would- for all the reasons spotted cat gave- they don't have the muscle mass there....
.... i also think that its used more when they are putting (ahem) 'substances' of some kinds on the horse's leg....to make them more....effective... not saying i agree with it though