do you think its worth clipping and shoeing in winer if due to weather you cant ride

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thinlizzy

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Mine arnt clipped but shod I know lots of you have horses fully clipped or part clipped as well with the weather being so rubbish does it make you think weather its worth clipping and shoeing in winter ? Does it make you rethink your plans ? Watching mine slide all over on ice , itys hrd to avoid I've decided to have shoes removed to help grip my youngster was barefoot last year and was fine no probs but seems to not coping well with shoes on I have rode once in five weeks he has been shod ,younsters not rugged neither I did primarily want to do a few low key things over winter but there's not any chance school frozen and needs to dry out everyweres slippy I know other. Yards are the same so its not just me effected just wondering if your changing your plans
 
i havent bothered for the first time and i think she is benifiting much more she seems a lot happier and havent had problems with balling up
she had a clip at the start which has grown out and im not going to redo it until march i cant ride in this weather
and i also do have to worry about rugging
 
My daughter's mare got a trace clip in November because she had planned to keep her hacking, schooling as we never really get snow here til Jan/Feb time, but we all know how that's turned out! Doubt she'll get another clip though.
 
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Shoeing - absolutely but clipping - I am not bothering with my 2 while I can't ride them - no need to take off their furry coats in this weather if I don't need to!
 
Mine are always barefoot so can't comment on that but my boy was clipped in October before it was icy and he won't be getting done again until it thaws. He now resembles a camel
 
Mine is shod, as I still like to get out on the roads occasionally, weather permitting, but I didn't get him clipped this year, didn't see the point as he's not doing the work to justify it. :)
 
Shoeing yes if the horse is used to being shod. To leave shoes off on this hard rutted ground when they are not used to being barefoot would be cruel IMHO. But clipping no, not when riding is so difficult at the moment.
 
Mine has a low chaser clip. Won't be clipping again unless the weather makes a turn for the better. Would never consider not shoeing, just been done today despite the fact I can't ride! I did however get slightly reduced rate as his last shoes were barely worn due to two weeks off in snow
 
i took taz's back shoes off for the first time this year and i will never do it again, its been three weeks and they are going back on xmas eve, the grounds been so hard now the snow is away and his feet are a mess...again, he is fully clipped has been for a while, not grown in much yet as soon as it decides to stop snowing he will be getting reclipped in the new year
 
No to both for me really...my lad is always shod and doing something entirely different like taking his shoes off when the ground is hard as rock would be madness!
He is un-clipped and furry and that is how he will stay...un-rugged, warm and using his weight to keep him going through the extreme weather...no point in me clipping and then having to rug when we won't be back out riding for some time if this weather continues as it is.
 
My shod horses stay shod through the winter.
I clipped in October and the clips have almost grown out, but not going to reclip until end January when the weather warms up enough to ride a bit and make them sweat
 
ISHmad said:
Shoeing yes if the horse is used to being shod. To leave shoes off on this hard rutted ground when they are not used to being barefoot would be cruel IMHO.
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LOL a bit of a blanket statement there! My mare had her shoes off just after the last lot of snow, as I was sick of her being stuck in due to the snow balling in her shoes, and knew I wouldn't be doing any road work for a long while. ***Obviously every horse is different and if she had been at all foot sore she would have had her shoe straight back on***

Tonight she has been left out with a pile of hay, as she was warm as toast and the track in was very icy (she is normally in at night).

She had a trace clip not long before the 1st lot of snow and doubt she will need another, but will see if the weather ever improves.
 
I've just had shoes taken off of my horses and I don't think I'm being cruel. If they get footsore then I'll put Old Mac Boots on them.

To be honest, its made life a lot easier getting through the snow and ice as they don't slide all over the place and don't end up on stilts!
 
I took my horses off in October. He was bought unshod and he only had fronts on through recommendation a few months ago. He's coped fine. So much nicer not slipping all the time!
 
It's not worth clipping if you aren't riding, but it depends on the individual horse when it comes to shoeing. Some horses do very well barefoot, some don't.
 
We used to clip the pony daughter used to ride, but last year new ponies arrived end of November and weren't clipped. This year, with her being in PC I thought we would clip, but for some reason never got round to organising it (instructor clips) before the weather changed, and they're both unshod anyway.
 
ISHmad said:
Shoeing yes if the horse is used to being shod. To leave shoes off on this hard rutted ground when they are not used to being barefoot would be cruel IMHO. But clipping no, not when riding is so difficult at the moment.
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This is pretty much how I feel. Don't clip but continue with shoeing as ground is like rock, very rutted too. I imagine they would be very uncomfortable barefoot when not accustomed to it.
 
Mine are shod all year round thaty will never change, they are fully clipped and i have done it twice this year but they have grown out alot and i will not be re-doing it until the weather inproves as there is just no point!
Q
 
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