Disappointed, Despondent...Do you ever?

grandmaweloveyou

grandmaweloveyou

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Not clip your horse/pony because it is too stressful for you/them? We have tried every trick in the book. He would rather fall down than give in to the sedative and let us clip him. I am too soft to allow a vet to come and intravenously sedate him as I believe that should be for "essentials" only. What is crueller, letting him sweat or letting a vet sedate him?
 
If you are happy to change your workload so he doesn't overly sweat then you do not need to clip at all. Otherwise I would have him sedated - nothing wrong with it - its not as though you are doing it weekly
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What is wrong with sweating a little? (I am not being sarcy, I am asking a genuine question as mine isn't clipped and he sweats).
 
i guess i was asking, how many people DONT CLIP? as so many threads on here are about clipping i felt it was vital to do and i must do it but now i am thinking, must i? hairy traditional cob...leave hairy and traditional?
 
he is kept in overnight, he has tonnes of rugs but none are used as yet and he is doing less work now than he was, ridden 6 days a week (3 schooling/jumping and 3 hacking)
 
If you've got the time to dry him off when he sweats, or he always is stabled after exercise with a suitable rug on and you feed him the appropriate electrolytes then letting him sweat isn't a problem.

Most people clip these days cos they haven't got the time to brush out dense muddy coats, wash off mountains of sweat and wait 6hrs for the sweat to dry off before turning out.
 
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What is wrong with sweating a little?

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Sweating a little is natural, but if they are doing hard work in the winter with a full coat they sweat a lot - so apart from being very uncomfortable (I imagine) they can also loose weight.

Also drying of can be a big problem..
 
Even intravenous sedation may not work - I've been there (for medical reasons, not clipping) - he could still fight it, so watch out if you go this route.
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Try hand held trimmers and just do a small area at a time. Maybe at first just holding the trimmer against him without actually clipping so that he gets used to the noise/vibration. Offer a food bowl/hay at the same time to see if this helps a bit. Don't start a battle as you won't win and you won't get near him again with the clippers.

Do a minimal clip this time to get his confidence, underside of neck and a bib off his chest/armpits? (these are the sweatiest areas).

Keep your clippers clean and well oiled so that they don't overheat/jam.

Good luck - stroppy (misunderstood!) cobs are a pain.
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Well mine is out 24/7 and doesn't wear a rug. (Long story but to cut a very long story short, he thrives on this lifestyle). He is ridden most days and sweats a little. He is fine.

I would much prefer to clip him, rug him and stable him but it just isn't right for him. So I have to go for the woolly bear look and just make sure he is fed well. (He is half TB).
 
I know many many highland owners that would rather die, than clip their ponies, and they live out in Scotland all year. Whatever suits you and your horse, if you have time to let him dry out after riding, then that's fine. I do clip mine, because they're fine, but do whatever feels right for you.
 
I have a horse that I don't clip because it is not worth the stress to him or me. He would definitely need sedating and even then I could not garuntee it would work. I would hate to start it and not be able to finish.

I keep his coat down as much as possible by keeping him well rugged (within reason obviously). He doesn't really get too sweaty when worked and I think that as long as his coat is managable and he is comfortable then it is not worth the hassle.
 
I dont clip.

My horse is in full work over winter and stabled. He also competes and i have no problems.

I try to make sure he goes into winter reasonably fit so that theres no sudden increase in his work load. He's rugged very early on to keep his coat minimal also.

This is the third winter he hasnt been clipped and i have no problems at all.

Hes terrified of clippers, he shakes even if someone is clipping down the hall way and i just cant justify having him done tbh. I keep saying i'll find some time to desensitise him a bit, but ive just not gotten round to it.

However, as i said.. i ensure he's already upto fitness and he isnt allowed to grow a heavy coat.. so tbh, his sweating is kinda minimal.

I dont think its cruel to sedate at all, and if the horse is sweating a lot, there comes a point where its necessary. However its my opinion that if you plan in advance and know you arent going to be clipping, then its perfectly manageable.

There is another side to this for me. Ive posted on here before about how damn cold my horse gets. He feels the cold terribly and keeping him warm is a battle. (We had a veterinary check up and full blood works done the first winter we had him as i was convinced he had to be ill). He gets miserable and dispondent when hes cold and ends up wrapped up like an eskimo in the depths of winter. Given that... I think denying him the bit of winter coat he gets would be rather mean of me :P

ETS - RLD, i have the same problem - Jack fights the sedatives like crazy when he's so stressed. It just turns into a great nightmare for both of us and its one id do just about anything to avoid... especially when i know we'd have to go through it multiple times per winter.
 
I've never used to clip my horses, until I got hairy beasts.

My TB x ID was terrified of clippers. Hearing her neighbour getting clipped would send her into a frenzy, and she wouldn't even touch a turned off set of clippers. She started getting hairier as she got older, but we just reduced her workload over winter. My ClydexTB was probably ok to clip, but as his coat never really grew that thick I didn't clip him either, as I'd rather leave them natural if possible.

Both mine now do need clipping, Chloe was a mess back in September as a combination of thick coat, and warm weather resulted in her getting a chill, and becoming very run down.

She's always been awkard/dangerous to clip, even with sedation, so now I work around her sensitive areas, and amend my clip accordingly to a blanket-type thing.
I did her second clip yesterday (unsedated), and she even managed to eat her hay whilst I was doing her, which was unheard of two years ago. Still can't do her legs though, and we have to scissor them off every month!
 
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Not clip your horse/pony because it is too stressful for you/them?

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No. Amy used to be sedated by the vet.
 
Until you find a solution you could try arab plaiting his mane when you exercise so that his neck at least is'nt so sweaty. A fleece works quite well to wick away the moisture to help dry him off.
However this will all require time and I think a good clip now will last for a couple of months. My daughters Traddy was only clipped twice last winter although he will be done more often this year. This must be so frustrating for you, we have no problem with Rio, he loves the feel of the clippers
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Oscar isnt clipped yet. Hes not in hard work at the mo so doesnt sweat up too much. He is getting a fairly thick coat now but has to be sedated to be clipped so we want him to get as fluffy as possible so we only need to clip once. By the time hes clipped his workload will have increased.

If you dont want/need to clip Id let your horsey stay au-naturel!
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Thanks everyone I think I am going with natural now having read all these posts and I appreciate all the advice. I am going to start arab plaiting his mane, I used to in the summer so I might as well in the winter. His exercise regime has not changed at all, he is ridden all through the year 6 times a week and is very fit so I will just fleece cooler him in the stable - I did the other day when he had a bath and the YO commented on how well it was wicking the moisture off of him. Thanks again, feel better this morning
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I really understand, we had one like that on our yard (looked very similar to yours!) he was a love to do everything with but there was no way you could clip him with out full (on the floor) sedation. I think you just need to be mindful that you brush him thoroughly and make sure he is cooled off well. The horse on our yard was done every year but eventually we could do his feathers with scissors.
 
I dont clip my cobxtb mare, she is terrified and would have to be sedated. TBH I do less work with her in the winter and in general she is fairly fit so doesnt sweat a lot. If I am riding in the evening I ensure that we dont work up a lather. At weekends I will dry her off thoroughly before she goes back out. Our new TB hasnt been clipped yet, allegedly she is fine to clip, but as she will be living out and doesent have much of a coat, I am hoping we can manage without it, she came to us last year with quite bad rubs where her rug had rubbed her clipped bits.
 
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