Clipping as a fashion statement??

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FrankieBoy

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I overheard a conversation at the yard today, about clipping which I have to admit suprised me. The girls were discussing which clip is 'best' and the work load etc of the horses didnt seem to come into it at all... One girl said the only thing that looks good is a full or blanket clip, and everything else looks shabby. Two Section A's and a shetland (all un ridden) are now expecting full clips in the next week... for ease of grooming and to look 'neat'
Is this attitude to clipping common?
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Must confess I am looking to clipping my chap this winter, he is working, not every day, but is working, he does sweat up easily and does live out as much as possible, so, yes, I will be clipping him. But i will balance what I like against what is practical for him - he needs his legs taking off fully, so will either be a high blanket or a full depending on how I go. The tempation IS there to clip something rude onto his rear to make cars following me think about it - as he is generously endowed on his posterior, i think I could easily get a 'slow down' on there at the very least ;-)
 
I give my horse a full clip because he needs it.

The highland doesnt really- he's not in hard enough work...but last year he was sooooo goddam hairy and it was a pain to get off him in time for shows....I was 'furminating' like a mad woman every day...so I have to confess I have thought about giving him a clip.......but then the thought of more rugs to mess with and the increased cost of hard feed and I decided not to bother.

I can see why some people do though.
 
My boy sweats even on his buttocks, so has had a full clip even though he does 20 mins 5 x weekly.. thought about a blanket but as his bum sweats thought damn it and lopped the whole lot off... fully rugged so what;s the probs?
 
Hm, I watched someone clip a horse that is out of work, has been for a few years I think and pretty well retired. Full clip. I couldn't understand for the life of me why.

However, my horse is sidelined at the moment. She was fully clipped beginning of September as she has a coat like a yak. At the time she was in work and sweats profusely.

Now she's out of work due to injury, her coat is coming in, her rugs are lighter and MY GAWD does she ITCH! She's going nuts with the scratching. I handwalk her twice a day and we barely get a circuit round the school and she's got to stop to scratch. And I'm kind of thinking I should clip her again....
 
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My boy sweats even on his buttocks, so has had a full clip even though he does 20 mins 5 x weekly.. thought about a blanket but as his bum sweats thought damn it and lopped the whole lot off... fully rugged so what;s the probs?

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yes...my lad gets a sweaty bum too....there I was navigating his bum-crack and underbelly with the clippers last week...luckily he is as good as gold....when daughter (aged 7) came around the corner...she could not believe what I was doing, bless her
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I have to be totally honest, I did not need to clip Bob. I did so as I wanted to know if he would be clipped and I did actually want to see what he looked like.

He looks very smart - but that's probably because it wasn't me wielding the clippers.

So I think I probably do fall into the 'fashion statement' category.
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ETS - he has a blanket clip!
 
I fully clip my mare as she is mostly welsh and grows the worlds largest coat and is out competeting, hunting etc. However i dont need to clip her legs, but I do as i think she looks so much nicer!! They get SO hairy and fetlocky in the winter yet she has fine little pretty legs underneath it all so i take em off just so she looks pretty!
 
Yes I've known someone who barely rides once a week if that and then not for very long but yet gives their horse a high trace which personally I don't think he needs, he's quite fine and getting on. He really struggles at the end of the winter to grow his summer coat back through, takes him ages and she spends her entire winter layering him in rugs because he feels the cold so much. I gently tried to explain last winter that usually the clip chosen is dependent on amount of work being done and how comfortable the horse is but she was going for the "look" of it I think. And she loves rug buying.

I ride 3-4 times a week in the winter and my very hairy native will just get a neck/belly clip as the only time he really gets very sweaty is during our fortnightly lessons. Consequently I only have a handful of rugs and a bit more money than some others on our yard!
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I'm perfect obviously!
 
My TB has a full clip and is not worked particularly hard, ridden about 6 days a week for anywhere from 45min up to 2 hours at weekend. He does a mixture of hacking, schooling and we usually have a lesson once a week. He did need clipping this Autumn more then ever before as he he quite unfit (had summer off) so was becoming very sweaty just walking. Even now after a long hack he needs completely washing off!

Last winter I must admit Millie was clipped even though she wasn't in proper work, she was lunged or lead of another horse a couple of times a week. This year she has a hunter clip again but will hopefully be hunting
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Both of them are rugged and fed accordingly.

My cob yearling is very hairy and during the summer was dripping in sweat just standing in the field, next summer if the sun looks like it will make an appearance for more then a couple of days I may clip her purely to make her more comfortable.
 
I am guilty of this
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I clip my little grey welsh sec B and she is not worked, but I do have an excuse. She lives in the sand school because she gets laminitis with even a very small amount of grass and she ends up with lots and lots of sand in her coat and no matter how much I groom her it wont come out and she gets really itchy, so I clip it off. But she is always very wrapped up. She will have a stable rug when in and a stable rug and outdoor rug when out and on really cold days (below 0) she will have two stable rugs and an outdoor rug on. So will be very warm indeed.
 
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haha

Beat that for fashion statement
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under the rug however he does have a blanket clip, which I decided would be best suited to his work load xx
 
i fully clip both of mine for different reasons, my mare gets a full clip because she i work 6 days a week for 45mins -1 hour at time and she competes most weekends. she gets very hot very quickly even fully clipped. my gelding who does the odd plod here and there is also clipped because he gets itchy and angry but clipped he is more than happy.
 
Strange people around, I mean, I know it looks smarter than a masssive winter coat but I would feel sorry for the pony / horse if it really isn't necessary. My lot live out all year and the NF in particular gets a very thick coat. I've never clipped them before, but probably will this year and within half an hour of walking / trotting on a hack they're soaking. I'm only going to do a bib clip on them both as I can't stand thinking they're cold. What it looks like isn't a huge factor as I think they look quite sweet wearing their winter coats
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I clip half my horses head, as it looks better. BUT only due to the fact that he has a horrid thick yak coat, so looks really stupid going from nice smooth neck to a horrid hairy head.
 
It's not a fashion statement, just whatever you feel like doing, and want. As long as the horse is happy then why shouldn't the owner want to full clip, even if it is just to impress everyone else with their mad clipping skills.
 
I full clip my horse all year round, I suppose as a 'fashion statement'. He has always been clipped. I like cobs that way rather than hairy.

He is a very hot horse and is still only in a light turn out during the day, as when I tried putting his medium one on he was cooking in it.

He also gets very itchy legs if they are not clipped, and yes it does make grooming easier.

I don't really see the problem.
 
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Yep. BUT if the horse is rugged and fed accordingly, I dont really see the problem tbh!

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As KatB said earlier, as long as they are suitably rugged etc, then surely being clipped is better, than say, for example, a horse that lives out, not clipped but sweats during exercise, then gets a chill as cant be dried off properly!

My boy gets a full clip - he lives inside at night and on really bad days. He is only ridden a few times a week at this time of year as I work full time and have no facilities, but sweats very heavily when ridden.

One of the other reasons he is full clipped is because he looks smart. However, he is never cold as is rugged up according to the conditions etc.
 
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I overheard a conversation at the yard today, about clipping which I have to admit suprised me. The girls were discussing which clip is 'best' and the work load etc of the horses didnt seem to come into it at all... One girl said the only thing that looks good is a full or blanket clip, and everything else looks shabby. Two Section A's and a shetland (all un ridden) are now expecting full clips in the next week... for ease of grooming and to look 'neat'
Is this attitude to clipping common?
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YES! The only horses that need a hunter or full clip are those that are hunting or competing every week, so those in full work. I would say the majority of people clip for fashion rather than need.

I compete my horses all winter, ridden 5 times a week, hunt once a month, lessons, etc and they have never needed more than a blanket clip.
 
I am going to give my warmblood a clip this afternoon. I will do a blanket, and i do have to admit, she would probably be fine with a trace but it makes her shoulders look funny
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She has had it the last too winters and has a large (much bigger than my own anyway
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) wardrobe.
I also clip my shetland ponies. I would probably be shot by a shettie breeder but it works for them. Neither build a proper waterproof coat (both have been mistreated, i dont know if that would have an affect) and that way i can control there temperature for them. The last thing i'd want is for them to colic. They do live in at night like my mare though and have just as bigger rug selection each
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hehe
They have a bib this winter and had a chaser last winter.
It works for them so thats all i really think that matters.
As long as people dont do like a certain VET i know that fully clipped his daughters pony and left him out all winter without a rug to try and make him lose weight
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He didnt lose a pound!!!
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Elle
x
 
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