clipping query

[MontyandZoom]

I have already asked this but I need some reassurance!!

I am planning to hunt my 15hh argentinean tb all season this year. She lives out 24/7. She is a tough little mare and last year she had a chaser clip and even on the coldest days she only needed a MW turnout. She is very fizzy and sweats up easily and when I took her hunting last year, within minutes her hairy bits were soaked!

My thoughts are that it is kinder to fully clip and then rug her more than to leave her hairy and risk her getting cold when standing around. She is quite a good doer in the sense she holds her weight but is never fat, always lean and fit.

Now I had decided that she would have a hunter clip but I have come under fire from people at the field who say that no tb should be clipped and live out. Surely the extra rugging would make up for it? My other tb feels the cold so I would never clip him but she is quite a warm pony.

Advice?

 

[j17bow]

Im sure she will be fine with a full neck rug on, if you clip as soon as you can she will get a bit of a coat back anyway. I fully clip my ISH, just leave the face on and rug up to the ears, bring her in when its blizzards and she is always fine on that.

I think its better than having her sweat too much and take ages to dry out.

 

[3Beasties]

Will she need more then one clip? Maybe you should give her hunter clip now and then when it has grown out a bit give her a blanket clip, that way she will have more covering on her back but it won't be as thick as normal so should dry out quicker.

 

[Raven616]

I always prefer a hunterclip for the reason that if the horse gets wet when ridden I can dry it off easily. I think it's harder on the horse to stand round feeling damp and chilly than to shiver for a few minutes while you rub them down then throw warm coats on. As long as you have a good combo rug - the best you can afford (which isn't necessarily the most expensive either) and put a quilt or something underneath if needed you'll be fine. Remember your horse is used to living outside, it's not as if you're throwing her out when she's used to a stable. And it's worse for a horse being too hot than too cold. As long as you make sure you feed her well where's the problem. A horse is an animal designed to live outside. It's just us wimps of humans that like to put them in a stable in their pyjamas

 

[posie_honey]

mine will have a high blanket clip and live out 24/7 - only because i personally like the loins to be covered in hair - you'll soon know if shes' cold as she'll loose condition and fluff up again pdq - but sounds to me like she'd be fine

 

[marmalade76]

I have kept horse out 24/7 and hunter clipped and intend to do it this winter. If the horse is used to living out and is well fed and well rugged, then it should be fine. They take ages to dry with a long coat and they are most likely to feel the cold when they are damp.

 

[MontyandZoom]

Thanks for all the advice. I know my horse and think she'll be absolutely fine, you just know what it's like when other people's opinions make you second guess yourself.

I also didn't mention that last year she was only fed once a day on a handful of chaff and sugar beet with her ad-lib hay so if I up the feed and rug her up I think she'll be fine.

Thanks all!

 

[Darkly_Dreaming_Dex]

All 5 of ours live out with a hunter clip. I only do a half head (under the jaw and upto the cheekpieces) and legs are left on (feathers trimmed). They have Premier Equine 450gram rugs and are in better condition than when they lived in.

 

[R2R]

I am going to hunter clip both of mine, leave them out as long as I can, and rug them up to the eyeballs. They are a tb and a tb x.

 

[star]

both of mine live out full time with hunter clips and lots of rugs.

 

[suzysparkle]

I always say stables are no warmer than fields unless they are heated providing your field has shelter from the the wind. I remember a few years ago my mare was out with her field mate in seriously bad weather (snow and wind). They ignored the field shelter and stood out eating hay. I felt thier ears and they were toasty....all the stabled ones were cold to touch despite extra rugs. Outside they can move about and providing they are rugged and with hay they'll be just fine. Mine lives out, is quite exposed, with a field shelter, blanket clip and rugged. He's fine.

 

[ofcourseyoucan]

clip it out and rug well. feed well, plenty hay/ haylage. they live out fine like that. get colder standing in a 12 by 12 stable!!if you get a good breathable rug like a fal or rambo they can be rugged damp and will still dry off. i think they get colder stuck in a stable with little room for movement.