Clipping a Gypsy Cob??

[trefnantblackknight]

Hi alll!!

Iam planning on clipping my gypsy cob either next week or early the week after.

I have never had to clip a horse in the summer and i am a bt worried about him getting cold with all this rain we have been having on a 'normal' horse i would put a rug on him but he is no normal horse and due to being very fasion concious he can't be seen dead in anything i put on him - he wrigglesout of them - so i was just wondering will he be ok?? All my other horses have there summer coats on and no rugs and there fine but i'm just worried about him getting chilly?

 

[Ceris Comet]

I'm no expert but won't clipping him make him colder ?

 

[Kadastorm]

how come you are planning on clipping him?
Cobs are pretty hardy and can usually deal with it, even though its wet, it hasnt been cold (not here anyway) so he should be ok but that depends on his condition. has he got a good weight on him? is he fit? has he got somewhere he can shelter from the rain?

 

[You Wont Forget Me]

If it was me i would put at least a no fill more likely a l/w on but seeing as he's a cob he might be okay, i think this should be more your own personal opinion as everyone's rugging 'techniques' are different!

 

[trefnantblackknight]

He sweats very badly when ridden as he has a very very long summer coat - poor pony - i would like to puta no fill on him but he just gets out of them and i dont want him hurting himself trying to get out of the rug .... i think he will be ok but i just dont want to come up and see him shivering - we have masses of shelter in our fields trees/hedges some places dont even get wet but he is very strange and i likes rain and mud so tends to gallop around rolling etc

He is very fit atm but he just gets so hot he is uncomfortable and he has to have buckets thrown over him to cool him down.

 

[splashgirl45]

can you just do a low trace clip? i assume he has a lot of coat and you are riding him. my mare has cushings and i am still riding her and she is getting very sweaty so i have just clipped a bit off the neck and shoulder and girth area and she is out with no rug as she is overweight and would be too hot in a rug. if your cob is a good weight and you dont clip all of his coat off he should be ok...i wouldnt do a full clip and leave mine without a rug unless it was very hot at night as well.

 

[You Wont Forget Me]

Sounds like he would be fine then, and if there's plenty of shelter for him if he's cold he'll use it and like i said he is a cob so he should be okay!

 

[RunRunReindeer]

Does it have to be a full clip? A trace or blanket clip would leave him some protection from rain etc.

 

[trefnantblackknight]

Does it have to be a full clip? A trace or blanket clip would leave him some protection from rain etc.

It does really... i was going to give him a hunter clip leave his legs/saddle patch and ifi cando his face i was going to clip that as well he has about 1inch of furr and he gets so itchy he gives himself sores i trimmed hisface with sciccors last year - i know i know very naughty - but that stopped his itching he did look very strange though ;D x

 

[Snozzo]

I fully clip my irish cob all year for the same reason as you - he gets really sweaty and uncomfortable working and then takes ages to properly cool down. He is a "warm" horse anyway so only has minimal rugging all year. He manages fine during the summer and doesnt get cold, though he has had a rain sheet on a few days during our lovely summer weather this year. Mine is dark bay, but if yours has any pink skin and you clip him out, watch out for sunburn - my friend has to be really careful when hogging her piebald cob due to this.

Hope this helps

 

[Korwa]

you should read the gypsy cob handbook a little closer. if your horse is fashion conscious, you cant clip his feathers, how would he ever hold his head up high around the other horses again!?

 

[tiga71]

My cob has a hunter clip and is out at night. He only usually has a rug on if it is wet when he has just been clipped - after 10 days or so he is fine if light rain. If proper rain he wears a rug as no shelter really.

If he has shelter I would think he will be fine.

 

[Mongoose11]

I have just clipped my cob mare as she was too hot in work. With the rain she has needed her no fill turn out on. When she escaped from her stable (by busting her lock) she was found scoffing her face on the front paddock, extremely hunched up, cold and shivering (she is a heavy weight mare). So, he may well need a turn out on in the rain. She is wearing a cotton sheet in her stable at night atm but wont be within a couple of weeks when she has got a little growth.

HTH.

 

[coloured_c0b]

If u do fully clip make sure he has a rug on if the sun comes out either that of plaster him in sun cream for the first week or so. I use to clip my boy in summer as he gets a really thick summer coat he retired early this yr do he's out with his coat on thus yr think he's enjoying not been clipped n I'm enjoying not applying sun cream every 8 weeks!!( his coat grew as fast as his hooves))) good luck don't worry about him there tougher than they look!! I'm sure he'd appreciate being comfortable wen ridden!! He just might have to take a bit of stick from his field mates re his fashion sense for a while!! Could always tell them it's the new trend!!! X

 

[Highlands]

My cob is better now she is fitter, why not go for a fly or sweet itch rug, otherwise he might get badly bitten

 

[Fantasy_World]

I agree with some of the replies on here. If you are clipping your horse and he is very fit ( ie not carrying much condition) I would be inclined to either clip him when we get another dry spell or else fully clip as it is and rug him up with a no fill rug until the next dry spell. I say this because clipping will be removing his coat and also most of his natural grease that goes with it. Even if the horse has access to shelter his coat could become saturated if his natural water repellent has been removed. Add to this the weather being a little colder at the momeny and depending how exposed his field is he could get a chill. I would rather err on the side of caution even though cobs are naturally hardy as you are removing his natural defence against the weather.
I also echo the comments about the sun too and depending on the colour of your cob if he has any pinky bits that get revealed due to the clip or if the clippers go a bit close to the skin then either fly rug up against the sun or apply a sunblock.

 

[tiga71]

Definitely be careful if he has pink skin as a few others have said. I have to put a UV rug on mine if it is hot when he has just been clipped. He is fine after about 7-10 days of hair growth.

 

[Goldenstar]

My Clydesdale / welsh section d is fully clipped and is fine unrugged I bring him in in really awful weather but I never seen him shivering .
I bring him because he's very slim and fit at the mo and I don't want to risk his muscles getting cold.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Agree with what "Snozzo" has said about hogging a gypsy cob if they've got pink skin & white hair; probably better to leave the mane intact.

My traddie cob has sweet itch and gets very itchy, so I clip him out summer and winter. If I didn't he'd grow a really long coat and would sweat up and get really uncomfortable.

I also do his legs - for the same reason, he gets very itchy and its just so much more comfortable for him that way.

He wears: in the summer he always has to wear his sweet itch hoody, so then if its foul weather like tonight, he wears a "mackintosh" - lightweight summer turnout - and he's fine with that. These cobs tend to be quite chunky and you don't want to go over-rugging them.

In the winter he wears a normal winter turnout rug - and if its midgy his SI hoody underneath as in the summer months.

Go for it! Clip and be damned! You'll never look back and wonder why on earth you didn't do it before. It will be so much easier; when horse gets hot you can deal with it so much easier, plus horse will be so much more comfy and would thank you if he could!