clips *rant*

moodymare123 said:
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
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Yes, and clipping can be used to CONTROL WEIGHT as the horse uses so much of its energy in keeping warm it will lose weight! That's what the poster meant.
 
Harper_Gal said:
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!!
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This :D
 
I know someone who clips her shetland pony......just so she can buy it all the lastest rugs :D
Pony lives the life of riley, she can afford the cost of all the rugs it needs, and it looks the picture of health, so what on earth is the problem? No skin off my nose either way....though you wont catch me shearing my lot just to rug them up!
 
moodymare123 said:
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
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no... you havent offended me because its not my pony. If it was my pony and you had questioned my judgement on here then i would be offended.
 
This sort of attitude is the worst thing about the horsey world.

As others have said, who cares what someone else does with their horse provided it is healthy and looked after well.

For personal preference, I would always rather clip a horse that is in work than not. Even if they are only ridden at weekends, if they're doing enough work to sweat up, then I think it is better to have them clipped [at least a blanket clip if not a hunter clip] - they get less sweaty, dry off quicker, and grooming is much quicker and easier. Where's the disadvantage?
 
My shetland has a teeny tiny bib clip. He's not in any work and never has been but I have struggled to get the weight off him so much this year. He can't be stabled as he has a problem with his back legs, and is best off out where he can keep moving around and he isn't rugged...
I'd be mortified if people thought I was doing this just for the sake of it...
There is usually a reason behind most peoples actions.
 
One of my girls has a hunter clip, she gets ridden at weekends, she`s clipped because she sweats buckets because she grows a really thick coat. Shes rugged appropriately and keeps weight on. People dont just clip for the sake of it...hte majority of the time there is a valid reason :rolleyes: If i could get near the other horse with clippers then she`d have it all off too she sweats more than my other mare and I dont think its fair her being uncomfortable and catching a chill.
 
My cobs clipped (blanket) and gets ridden on weekends we do go about 10 - 15 miles. He also gets ridden twice in the week if my sharer gets a babysitter for her 3 year old son. If he wasn't clipped he would hold onto all his weight all year round. He rugged and fed a hand full of happy hoof.
 
DiablosGold said:
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.
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I so agree. In the great scheme of things it is not important as long as he is well looked after. One of mine is fully clipped everything off and is out in all this snow 24/7. Why, because his wind is not great and if he is in it affects him. He hunts regularly, hence the clip, but he is fit, well covered and warm with plenty of grub. No doubt some do gooders think I am cruel.
 
The point of clipping is so that the horse does not get sweaty while being worked, so there is no need for them to need a wash off making them colder and not being able to be rugged up straight away.
If people want to clip their horse's (whatever work they're in), let them, what does it matter to you.
 
My girl is clipped. The few times I ride per week, she sweats up so badly that it would be cruel to leave her wet/damp in the stable...as with so much hair she just doesn't dry.... She wears an exercise rug when ridden (waterproof or thermatex) to keep her loins warm until we're warmed up and is rugged appropriately in the stable and when turned out. She's warm and in good health...so I think it is down to each persons knowledge of their equine to do what suits them, not pander to "trend" or peer pressure...
 
Right, here's the thing...every time we clip our horse the weather turns and then she can't be worked, but up until the very hour that she is clipped she is in work 5 days a week and sweats up under her neck and belly...so we get a trace clip and then *poof* ice and snow descend.
 
well I only ride once or twice a week and my mare has a blanket clip and lives out. Having her clipped means I can actually exercise her / take her to shows etc rather than spending hours washing her down every time she needs to look respectable (shes grey!). I dont clip because she gets too hot, I clip for ease of management.... Also her last clip will be a full one so I dont get covered in lots of winter coat coming out - again ease of management! Shoot me down if that makes me a bad owner. She has good quality rugs on and nice and warm.

There are also other reasons why people clip...maybe one day you may have a horse that gets too hot, too itchy, too hairy, too dirty etc and clipping might seem an option for you too. I dont see it as any different to horses having their manes short or hogged, tails banged - its a management thing and personally I like seeing them clipped, pulled and tidied. I am sure she doesnt care either way as long as she has her hay and isnt too hot, too laden down with rugs etc.
 
Actually, everyone who rants about this and s**g off people who 'only' ride 1-2 x week, it may be a case of not knowing other peoples situations - I'm about to clip mine who is in light work as he gets SO sweaty even on a half hour walk round the block that it takes me hours to get him dry enough to turn out. If I dont clip him - I cant turn him out on ridden days, than I am one of the awfull people who dont turn their horses out, If I sold him as cant ride more often due to work I become one of the horrible people who dont care enough about their horse to keep him for life ( which I will - hence I still have him - he doesnt care he isnt ridden much ). There are many perspectives - the world isnt perfect . most people just try and do their best. I have spent years worrying about doing the 'wrong' thing I'd love to ride 4-5x /week , have a horse that didnt sweat if it turns round and could live out as much as possible - I dont and neither do alot of other people.

Sorry rant over. get stressed by there always being stuff about everything being 'wrong'. better now.

mince pies and hot chocolate to those that bothered to read my rant.
 
Amusing thread! Funny how some folk appear to know better than nature what coat, natives especially, should have? I ride mine when weather permits and I no longer clip mine. If I do it's bib only as I only hack. Also I'm not impatient and can wait whilst horse dries before rugging etc. I think most who fashion clip do so to save grooming and to keep up with peer groups.
 
I really don't see the problem.....

my horse has a blanket clip and is worked once or twice a week right now due to time and weather, he's not an amazing doer but he's rugged accordingly, fed good forage and hasn't lost a lot of weight

I prefer clipping personally, I think management is much easier and when they are worked it's far easier to keep them comfortable - plus they look smarter

I also don't think people need to justify what they do with their own horses
 
I reluctantly gave mine a full clip this year, mainly as she gets very hot during work, and last year had lots of scabs where she sweated under her saddle. Not impressed, but it was a necessary evil.
 
I'm in the 'if it's not causing any harm, crack on' school. There's the sweetest little mare at our yard who gets walked slowly round the indoor once or twice a week and hacked slowly at weekends and, bless her, she's got a trace clip. But she is warmly rugged and her owner has a cute little exercise fleece for her and life is dandy.

My lad grows a very fine winter coat and, although he does sweat when worked very hard, dries off quite quickly under a thick fleece, so I really cba to clip him. I trace clipped him last year and he went and did his stifle a week later and was on box rest for 3 months (what a waste of a £35 clip that was!).

I don't really understand why people want to go through the hassle of clipping and rugging if you don't absolutely have to?? You get covered in hair, it is a good afternoon's work by the time you've cleaned up everything behind you, you are constantly then trying to decide what rugs to put on etc. Until I absolutely HAVE to get the clippers to my boy, I've got better things to do - like riding!! :)

But maybe I am just unutterably lazy LOL... :D
 
It is fine to work an unclipped horse too, nothing cruel about that, as long as one takes the time and effort to dry it and/or rug it before turning it out in the cold.

It is pretty clear that people clip for different reasons, which could for example be
- making it easier to dry of the horse after training
- aesthetic reasons, because they think it looks better

I agree that it is harder to understand why people clip if there is no apparent practical reason for it, just a looks or image thing. One could probably have the same debate about many other things, for example pieces of tack that are in fashion.

But at the end of the day, if the horse is happy and well cared for, it probably isn't that important if things are done precisely one way or another. People will be people and have their own approaches to things.
 
I don't see any problem with clipping a horse whether it's ridden 7 days a week or 2... as long as it's kept rugged and fed properly. Mines full clipped when I could quite easily get away with a trace or blanket but tbh I do it for my convenience. It's much easier to keep a clipped horse clean that a big furry teddy bear :p I would rather spend my time doing something else rather than brushing thick mud out of thick coats :cool:
 
If a horse is not ridden very much and therefore not v fit, a clip can be a good idea as that horse is likely to sweat more. As long as the animal is well rugged then I don't think it matters. Unless the pony is looking poor/not well rugged etc I really wouldn't waste my time worrying about it!

I will probably be fully clipping my miniature this weekend to try and help with lice/itchy skin issues. He's only 1 and obviously not worked at all. If he's a small hairy then could it be for these reasons.

I also clip my retired pony all through the summer. so shoot me! ;-)
 
I t dosnt bother me what other people clip/unclip thier horses as long as they are cared for there is a good mix on our yard clipped /unclipped/part clipped no problems
 
Our two are full clipped and in light work most of the time. However, I don't often exercise until 8.30 - 9 pm and I need them dry at the end or able to dry off very quickly so I can put them back in the stable. Stinky even when full clipped sweats up as when he works he is a very hot little horse.

I am a terrible person, I trace clipped Stinky at two - he was coming out of the school soaked with sweat after running around playing with Cairo and I would rather he was clipped so he did not get soaked, have a little rug on and go back in his stable warm and dry. I also have clipped out horses all summer when they have thick coats.

As long as the horse is kept warm with rugs and food, I really don't see the problem or why it seems to offend people on here.

Finally I happily admit, having full clipped horses makes my life a lot easier in keep them clean in winter and I don't have to deal with two very hairy animals moulting for months in the spring and leaving me covered in hair every time I go anywhere near them.
 
Do be bluntly honest if you don't know the pony you've no right to judge.

My connemara has a clip and isn't being ridden at all at the moment. I did it because he's 4 and I felt it would be beneficial for him to gain experience of being clipped. I had my reasons and he's none the worse for it.
 
skint1 said:
Right, here's the thing...every time we clip our horse the weather turns and then she can't be worked, but up until the very hour that she is clipped she is in work 5 days a week and sweats up under her neck and belly...so we get a trace clip and then *poof* ice and snow descend.
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So this weather is YOUR fault then???
 
I work full time so only get to ride in the week after work at 5.30pm, this is before going home to sort out my own dogs and the numerous rescue dogs in the kennels that need tea and cleaning. SO I only have a quick window of time to exercise, muck out, feed and check over my 2 boys before throwing them out for the night. Therefore even the smaller cob who isn't in full time work is clipped otherwise I wouldn't be able to ride him at all because I don't have time to wait for him to cool off. So guess I'm one of those that does it for my own convience and not for the horses welfare. :rolleyes:
 
JLD said:
Actually, everyone who rants about this and s**g off people who 'only' ride 1-2 x week, it may be a case of not knowing other peoples situations - I'm about to clip mine who is in light work as he gets SO sweaty even on a half hour walk round the block that it takes me hours to get him dry enough to turn out. If I dont clip him - I cant turn him out on ridden days, than I am one of the awfull people who dont turn their horses out, If I sold him as cant ride more often due to work I become one of the horrible people who dont care enough about their horse to keep him for life ( which I will - hence I still have him - he doesnt care he isnt ridden much ). There are many perspectives - the world isnt perfect . most people just try and do their best. I have spent years worrying about doing the 'wrong' thing I'd love to ride 4-5x /week , have a horse that didnt sweat if it turns round and could live out as much as possible - I dont and neither do alot of other people.

Sorry rant over. get stressed by there always being stuff about everything being 'wrong'. better now.

mince pies and hot chocolate to those that bothered to read my rant.
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I read it all and totally agree as I could have written this !!

Want my address to send the pies & hot choccy to now ?? ;)
 
Flicker said:
I'm in the 'if it's not causing any harm, crack on' school. There's the sweetest little mare at our yard who gets walked slowly round the indoor once or twice a week and hacked slowly at weekends and, bless her, she's got a trace clip. But she is warmly rugged and her owner has a cute little exercise fleece for her and life is dandy.

My lad grows a very fine winter coat and, although he does sweat when worked very hard, dries off quite quickly under a thick fleece, so I really cba to clip him. I trace clipped him last year and he went and did his stifle a week later and was on box rest for 3 months (what a waste of a £35 clip that was!).

I don't really understand why people want to go through the hassle of clipping and rugging if you don't absolutely have to?? You get covered in hair, it is a good afternoon's work by the time you've cleaned up everything behind you, you are constantly then trying to decide what rugs to put on etc. Until I absolutely HAVE to get the clippers to my boy, I've got better things to do - like riding!! :)

But maybe I am just unutterably lazy LOL... :D
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Lol your not the only lazy one here (:
 
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