Clipping: Why? Please explain the point?

[Witchy]

I don't get it - horse has summer coat, weather gets cold, horse starts to grow winter coat, owner shaves the whole lot off, horse gets cold so owner puts rug on!! URGH?

Why do you clip the coats, alot of you seem to be doing it now their winter coats are coming through?

I need to do Joe's feet for medical reasons and maybe tidy his tash and beard so he don't look such a scruff but, I must be being really thick as I dont understand why, when they need a thicker coat for the winter, you take the whole lot off!

 

[AmyMay]

Most people wan't their horses to be comfortable if they are working them through the winter months - and clipping helps with this.

A horse with a thick winter coat takes and age to dry off, so you take some of the hair off to help keep them cool - or to aid in the cooling of the horse generally after ridden exercise.

Each to their own, and I don't clip just for the sake of it. But my horse is happier, comfier.

 

[soph21]

Because if you are hunting/winter sj'ing ect, horse sweats, horse gets wet from sweat, takes hours to dry out and prob catching a a chill in the mean time!
And they look smart

Simples

 

[Gooby]

I thought it was to do with the horse sweating during exercising with thick winter coat. However I have never clipped so stand to be fully corrected by some more knowledgable (sp?) person! . Also is a good excuse to go rug shopping! lol

 

[SilverSkye]

I clip as i hunt and work my horse probably harder through the winter than through the summer, when she has a full coat she sweats really badly and as her coat is so thick it takes hours for her to cool down which in turn is bad for her.

 

[kellyeaton]

Because if you are doing alot of work the horse gets really sweaty and sweat can cause cold so if you clip and wash off quickly they dont get cold coz the clip stops them from sweating!

 

[Madam_max]

So they can still be worked without sweating up after 5 mins of work. My girl is fit, but her coat has come through already and it will all be coming off very soon.

 

[MagicMelon]

Because some of us compete. I clipped my horse last week (although only minimal clip as he is having his usual 2 month break in Nov/Dec). He still has another BE event to go in a fortnights time and is also doing BSJA regularily so basically he gets way too hot with a winter coat to do these things! I dont want my horse overheating on the XC course for example. And also he lives out 24/7 so try drying off a sweaty unclipped horse, it takes forever!! I just chuck on a cosy rug and out he goes.

I also have been known to clip for non-riding reasons. I clip my old shetland! In the spring she gets done because she takes soooooo long to shed it all and is dripping in sweat and breathing hard on a warm day otherwise. And I clip only the lower half of her tummy in the winter as she lies down in poo all the time which then makes her thick tum fluff permanently wet which then goes into horrid tufts which can't be healthy.

Can I ask what medical reasons your horse has that he needs to be clipped? (can only think of cushings?).

 

[Shilasdair]

Are you from New Rider?

Horses grow winter coats to keep warm.
People (not Parelli types, but cruel others) want to ride horsey, often in paces faster than walk. :O
Horse gets hot and sweaty.
Rider finishes.
Horse gets cold and sweaty.
Horse loses condition/develops skin diseases/smells bad.

So those evil uncaring riding types do this
Horses grow winter coats to keep warm.
Rider clips coat off.
Rider rides poor horse, in walk, trot and even canter!
Horsey doesn't get so hot or sweaty.
Rider finishes.
Rider puts rug on.
Horse keeps condition/avoids skin disease/no longer smells like wet dog.

Hope that helped
S

 

[k1963]

Because the horse will sweat during work ( esp. hard work ) so the horse is clipped to make him/her more comfortable .Depending on the type of work , the clip could vary between a full / hunter type clip or horses in lighter work might only need a trace clip - that's the way I see it - others may disagree !

 

[Hippona]

2 of mine are hairy natives...they dont do enough work to get sweaty so they stay as they are and dont get rugged.

The other one tends to get very sweaty when ridden...he egsts excercised a lot....so its a pain in the butt afterwards ...he gets a full clip and is rugged then according to the temperature, stays comfortable when excerising and as a bonus in spring I dont get lost in a mound of white hair (only dun and black.....

)

 

[Scheherezade]

You try working out in a fur coat, and then let us know how you get on!

 

[Hippona]

[ QUOTE ]
Are you from New Rider?

Horses grow winter coats to keep warm.
People (not Parelli types, but cruel others) want to ride horsey, often in paces faster than walk. :O
Horse gets hot and sweaty.
Rider finishes.
Horse gets cold and sweaty.
Horse loses condition/develops skin diseases/smells bad.

So those evil uncaring riding types do this
Horses grow winter coats to keep warm.
Rider clips coat off.
Rider rides poor horse, in walk, trot and even canter!
Horsey doesn't get so hot or sweaty.
Rider finishes.
Rider puts rug on.
Horse keeps condition/avoids skin disease/no longer smells like wet dog.

Hope that helped
S

[/ QUOTE ]

Prefer your explaination Shils

 

[Kenzo]

With correct rugging a fully clipped horse will never get cold during winter.

When your keeping horses fit through winter and there in hard work, they sweat, some horses sweat more than others, some horses get thicker coats than others, so can't turn a damp horse out on a cold day if there sweaty, they will catch their death, you can't wash down, cool off and dry off a horse with a winter coat, but you can with do this with a clipped coat, quickly wash off with warm water, towel dry and before you now it the horse is dry, clean and warm and rugged up. Also some horses have certain skin conditions that can be made worse with thick winter coats.

I agree many horses are clipped just for the sake of them looking smarter and having fancy patterns on there bottoms but in most cases I'd like to think that horses are clipped and have the correct clip for the type of work there in and the way they are managed.

 

[milliepops]

Well, my horse grows a full on cob-coat, but she is working reasonably hard as we are still eventing. If I left her coat on (a) she'd be boiling and (b) she would take forever to dry in the evenings. Even clipped out she gets quite a sweat on when we are doing our canterwork and I hate putting a horse to bed when it is still wet.

It's just easier for me to loose the fluff and rug accordingly.

 

[hldvs86]

I clip because my lad sweats like crazy sometimes....especially when hacking....and he would get cold....we clip off the long coat...and replace it with rugs..so when he gets worked hes comfy and dries 10 times as fast, also makes him alot more comfortable when being worked

 

[ester]

I likes shils explanation

particularly the one about smelling bad that is very important.

Unfortunately as I own neither a horse wash box or a solarium to dry the hairy monster off when finished its a damn sight easier to clip it off to keep him comfy and stop his skin going all scabby when he sweats, and if he isn't doing enough work to sweat then he isn't doing enough work.

It also minimises the girth rubs that he tends to get when changing coat, hence he has been blanket clipped already.

 

[spookypony]

I didn't clip last winter because he didn't seem to sweat enough to warrant it, but if he looks like he needs it, the fur will come off and the rug will go on. I like Shils's explanation!

 

[Witchy]

Thank you, understand now

 

[Hippona]

Yeah....my dad doesnt get why we 'shave' 'em then rug 'em....he was used to the old hairy carthorses on the farm....I think he thinks mine is a flighty fancy poof. He's probably right

 

[chestnut cob]

Because when my horse goes hunting he gets very sweaty and if he isn't clipped, he stays wet which is bad for him. If he's clipped, the sweat evaporates straight off and keeps him cool. He will also sweat if he works hard when schooling or jumping. Much better to clip him as his coat doesn't get soaked, plus I don't have to wait 2 hours for him to dry. When you only have a limited time at the yard, it isn't feasible to wait around for 2+ hours for your sweaty horse to dry so that you can then put a thicker rug on (when it's -2C I can't leave him in his soggy fleece cooler!).

 

[Bossanova]

My horse, who lives out, does BE intermediates in March with a very low chaser clip.

I have to say, I'm all for appropriate clipping and not for taking the whole lot of unecessarily.

 

[Shilasdair]

[ QUOTE ]
My horse, who lives out, does BE intermediates in March with a very low chaser clip.

I have to say, I'm all for appropriate clipping and not for taking the whole lot of unecessarily.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agree
The key is to start clipping the smallest possible clip type - so neck only, then maybe bib. If horse still sweating, bib and shoulders, then onto a low chaser etc.
Oh, and if your horse is difficult to clip, do a bit on the left, then even it up on the right, do a bit more, then even up etc.
Don't ever do one whole side....

Can you tell I used to clip nutters for cash?
S

 

[CBFan]

As a kid I would think the same however, you will find that if a horse does any proper work - even just half an hour of propper schooling, it will get hot and sweaty, if you then turn said horse out like this or leave it to stand in it's stable, it will get cold. Clipping and rugging avoids this scenario. saves time (waiting for the horse to dry off) and keeps the horse kooking and feeling healthier.

I'd only do a full clip if absolutely necesary. in a lot on cases a trace or Blanket will do.

 

[Hippona]

My mate found this out the hard way...her horse was a git to clip, booted the lass clipping him who refused to do any more.......so last year he had a fetching cock-eyed ragged semi-trace-clip on one side and a full clip on the other he he he.....very fetching

 

[MrsMozart]

'Cos otherwise hairy Little Cob falls asleep in the school in the winter, and if he gets excited in the winter he'd be a walking pile of sweaty icicles

Dizz might get clipped just 'cos she's a warm horse and I don't get to play with her twenty-six rugs enough during the warmer months

 

[*hic*]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
My horse, who lives out, does BE intermediates in March with a very low chaser clip.

I have to say, I'm all for appropriate clipping and not for taking the whole lot of unecessarily.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agree
The key is to start clipping the smallest possible clip type - so neck only, then maybe bib. If horse still sweating, bib and shoulders, then onto a low chaser etc.
Oh, and if your horse is difficult to clip, do a bit on the left, then even it up on the right, do a bit more, then even up etc.
Don't ever do one whole side....

Can you tell I used to clip nutters for cash?
S

[/ QUOTE ]

That approach also helps if your battery is likely to run out. I have vivid memories of being cold shouldered by several PC mums last year when I dared to send my daughter to a rally with a horse with a full clip on one side and a blanket on the other. It looked fine from either side but front and rear view was a bit odd. Clippers ran out of steam and there wasn't enough time left to recharge them. Personally I thought the training was more important than the look of the horse but apparently it shouldn't have been seen in public like that

 

[MrsMozart]

Lol JT - you should have seen what I was threatening to send out the other day when the clippers decided they didn't want to play

 

[Theresa_F]

Mine are big very hairy beasts and due to my work/life/horse balance I have to exercise often after 8 pm and they need to be dry before going back in the stable or they could catch a chill from standing for hours with a wet coat and being very hot. Strangely I don't want to be staying there until gone midnight waiting for them to cool down and dry off.

I don't clip until end of October - they get 6 weeks a year of no rugs and being horses (they are rugged all spring and summer with snuggy bodies for their SI). As they are living out, I am not so bothered if they are a bit sweaty as they can roll and keep moving to keep warm.

I then do a chaser clip and in January they are full clipped - this is for looks as I show and want a nice coat with no clip lines for the start of the season.

I have plenty of rugs so can use them according to the weather so they are not kept too hot or cold.

I even clipped Chancer with a trace as a 2 year old - why - because he would race around in the evening with Cairo playing and come out dripping with sweat and steaming.

Finally I do admit it is easier to keep them clean - I can quickly hot towel them if they get smelly and greasy and I do hate having to deal with a moulting clydesdale - you end up looking like a yeti if you get within 10' of them and it takes weeks to get the coat out.

 

[soph21]

Bear never has any more than a trace clip as he winters out in a med rug, with a fleecy vest

But we dont do loads in winter, he gets so hairy its unreal!

I love Shil's explanation