clips *rant*

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moodymare123

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Sorry guys but this a complete rant but there is a little 10hh stallion pony up our yard who gets riden about once a month maybe two by the little kids and using a lead rope not very fit at all and gets riden b like a 3st child , they have given him a blanket clip, it is soo annoying :@ do any of you have people up the yard who ust clip for the sake of it ?
 
Oh yes. Horses that are ridden lightly for 2 - 3 times a week being clipped out left right and centre! Having said that, Genie has a hunter clip, but she is worked 6 times a week and would sweat too much otherwise.
 
My horse has always been fully clipped out including legs, mane and tail, because it looks smart and he can be a hot, itchy horse (probably because he has always been clipped out). He is hairy and naked (bib clipped) at the moment for the first time ever, but I will continue to fully clip when spring arrives.

There are worse things to worry about than what clips other people choose to give their horses - as long as he is rugged and fed correctly he will be plenty warm enough.
 
You are made to feel you have to clip to fit in ! - i have not clipped out my big lad this year - he is 20 - is still worked - lightly 5 to 6 times a week - and we have a couple of sessions at my local riding club and a couple of lessons in the month - now

a) i probably annoy the hell out of my instructors as i do will not push the horse too hard in winter lessons, and when i think he has had enough i call an end to the hard work and ask to refine some areas lateral moves, or even do the old pony club - lift your legs and positon work, the riding club is brill - they take the mick out of me, but love me to attend the clinics as i make everyone laugh, and we really enjoy doing everything correctly first time - we do pole work - and then keep to the inside track out of everyones way, until the next excercise needs to be done - any youngsters are given to me to baby sit - and it works well over winter. Come the summer its a different kettle of fish and i expect my horse to work hard - but then i put myself out to make sure he is fit to do what i ask.

b) i am seriouisly looked down on by the "full clip" "gosh hes scruffy" brigade and made to feel i should not go to the local indoor shows

but should i clip to please everyone or should i consider my lad is getting on, we only have an outdoor to ride in and at the end of the day were not on the fast track to the olympics-
 
yes this annoys me too! theres a woman at my yard who rides her horse once a week (if your lucky) and has a trace clip?! so many folk are like oh i better clip my horse and i dont understand it? i am one of the most regular riders at the yard and mine is not clipped, she doesnt get that sweaty
 
Yes - our pony is clipped out and only worked at weekends. However, she has incredibly sensitive skin, and if left with her huge full winter coat she gets scabs and sore patches all over - and I can assure you that it is not from trying to keep her skin & coat healthy with a winter coat. However, she is always stabled at night from October to May, and is always rugged appropriately. She will also stay in if the weather is bad.

By having her clipped I can spot wash her regularly to keep her skin clear and healthy.

She is well looked after - and much more comfortable having been clipped.
 
How well do you know this pony?

There may be reasons why he is clipped which you do not know about.
My mums mare gets scabs, itchy and grumpy (bites) because of it, has been checked by vet, they found she has some allergies but injections didn't work to stop it, the only way we have managed to control it is to clip her, she is not worked every day of the week but would sweat up with all her hair depending on what work was done. She is rugged as/when necessary so is not cold.

To others it may seem she is clipped for the sake of it, If pony is still well looked after and rugged to keep warm then is it really doing him any harm?
 
A horse I ride is fully clipped and only ridden lightly by the owner maybe once/twice a week. He may look like a healthy, slightly fat cob...but last winter when left fluffy his skin became very irritated. He was fully clipped by the vet and poor cob was covered in horrible little scabs...he is now fully clipped all through the winter so he can be washed and his skin treated appropriately.

I think a some people do clip just because everyone else does. Some people may also give a small clip to help with weight loss/prevent weight gain. If the horse is rugged appropriately then I don't have much problem with it being clipped.
 
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Mine's clipped and I don't ride her at all!! :rolleyes:

Seriously, stop and have a think about what you say before you post it. Does the pony have a rug on? Does he look like he's freezing to death? No? Then he's fine.

Mine is clipped because I am not leaving her dripping wet when she does sweat up (I'm actually lunging her, so she is working... :p ).

I think any horse ridden over winter needs a clip because leaving them sweaty is cruel, whether it's once a week, or twice a day, that they get ridden!!
 
I would consider having a small clip on my girl (who is only ridden 2 or 3 times a week) just because she does get pretty sweaty when we have lessons. I do know of some minis which are clipped though and are rarely worked which I think is a bit ridiculous to be honest. I would only have a horse/pony clipped if I really thought it beneficial (because they are working or have a skin condition etc.)... and I don't see what is beneficial about clipping off their winter coat which is designed perfectly for this time of year and is the best protection they can have.
 
Yes - my son just hunter clipped my pony when I asked for a basic neck and underbelly off. I was extremely angry. IT WAS NOT NECESSARY! I even left him a sketch, but he thought it would be funny. I should make him go out and about in a tee shirt til the pony's coat grows back
 
Just thought I also know of some minis which are full clipped and not in work at all, their coats are so thick if we have a warmer sunny day they will sweat up so they are more comfortable clipped are rugged when needed.
 
Well if it wasn't necessary to clip the pony then it was a bit daft of the owners to do it. They might have a reason you don't know about: he might sweat even with light work, or have a skin condition, or need to lose some weight, as people have said above. Maybe the owners just like to see their pony looking smart! If he is rugged and fed suitably then I really dont see the problem.

My horse is retired but might get a bib clip later this year. Firstly because it means we can sponge the mud off under his belly where he is prone to mud fever, secondly because it helps control his weight without restricting his fibre intake too much. On the surface there is no reason to clip him, but in fact it has some big pros!

And yes, I get a bit sick of people asking why I've bothered. He's my horse, he's happy, and he'd rather eat than be 'toasty warm'.
 
I work my horse, but he could've easily gone with a trace clip. I only work him a few times a week.
We are on a strict fittening plan at the moment though :o Schooling twice a day, but if someone came up to me and said "You shouldn't have clipped your horse, you don't work him enough, it's cruel." I'd tell them EXACTLY where to shove it, failing that I've got a good swing on me.

I think clipped horses look better and if I wasn't working a horse, I'd clip it anyway. If it had rugs and isn't going cold or hungry, what's the problem?
 
My horses both have a blanket clip and only get ridden twice a week in the winter, due to working full time and not having a school. They are both chunky woolly cobs and get so sweaty when ridden it is much worse IMO to have a sweaty horse in this weather than to turn them out with rugs etc. Also, they could both do with loosing a few pound so I don't think it hurts them.
 
Don't see what's wrong with clipping a shetland. I clip mine and she doesn't do any work! She gets super hairy though (as they do) but because she's so messy, I always clip her tummy or the hair simply never dries meaning it goes into disgusting clumps - very unhygenic. I also give her a hunter clip in the spring as she takes so long to loose her winter coat - she absolutely loves it when I do, she gallops around as if she was weighed down by all that hair!
 
I'd consider getting my pony clipped- even though she only gets lunged anywhere between every 3 weeks to most days when I'm home. She's a very hairy welsh mountain pony and she sweats up very badly. She lives out 24/7 but I would give her a bib clip, she'd be lightly rugged and she has enough fat to keep her warm. I don't see the problem- there is most likely a reason they do it. It doesn't matter how often he's ridden, he is still going to sweat up and be uncomfortable.
 
I was always taught that you never clipped unless in hard work as the horse would lose condition through sweating and risk catching a chill. Back in the day though we didn't have the hi-tech rugs we have now, just those heavy old canvas and jute rugs with blankets. I used to think it was terrible that my neighbour clipped out her retired horses, but now I can see that it does have benefits for the horse as well as the owner in certain circumstances.
I've just high trace clipped mine, only for me to be confined to barracks with the snow, so she is clipped and totally unridden at the moment!
 
how many people read this post and thought ... 'my god im glad i moved my horses away from other people'
What on earth has it got to do with you if someone else wants to clip their horse or not.
 
mcnaughty said:
Could it be something to do with weight control too?
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oh god no no no he is the most fattest thing ive seen! and no he never sweats when riden and all he does when he get riden is up to the commen and back and sometimes a few circles around the school , last time he was riden was i think about 2 weeks a go x
 
Steorra said:
Well if it wasn't necessary to clip the pony then it was a bit daft of the owners to do it. They might have a reason you don't know about: he might sweat even with light work, or have a skin condition, or need to lose some weight, as people have said above. Maybe the owners just like to see their pony looking smart! If he is rugged and fed suitably then I really dont see the problem.

My horse is retired but might get a bib clip later this year. Firstly because it means we can sponge the mud off under his belly where he is prone to mud fever, secondly because it helps control his weight without restricting his fibre intake too much. On the surface there is no reason to clip him, but in fact it has some big pros!

And yes, I get a bit sick of people asking why I've bothered. He's my horse, he's happy, and he'd rather eat than be 'toasty warm'.
Click to expand...


Nooo he doesnt have any health issue's he is a healthy around 10hh stallion
 
luckyoldme said:
how many people read this post and thought ... 'my god im glad i moved my horses away from other people'
What on earth has it got to do with you if someone else wants to clip their horse or not.
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Im sorry if this has offended you in any way but i was ust wondering wether you lot agree.
And they are the yard owners so no , they can not move away
 
I am another one with the view of why are you ranting because someone has clipped their pony?? Provided the pony has had his natural coat replaced with a rug, what is it to do with you?
 
I fully clip all of my horses whether they are in work or not - for ease of management; hot cloth instead of spending hours trying to remove dried in sweat and mud, no hair flying everywhere and they look smarter, too.
 
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