Don't understand why you clip horses in light work

Brightbay said:
But I do wonder how much of the sweatiness people see is due to horses (a) standing in a stable a lot over winter and losing fitness and/or (b) horses being rugged up to the eyeballs and losing the ability to regulate their own temperature. Just an observation, and I await the evidence to show I'm wrong and own a freak of nature :D
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or you don't have a loveable, but neurotic Welsh D mare ;)

Mine sweats for fun - often when standing still, great big foamy stiff under her bridle and saddle just because something sets her adrenaline off.

I was once preparing to tack her up at XC schooling and someone asked us if we'd had a nice time - she'd just sweated up at the thought of of it! Embarrasing much.

Normally she is fit, in regular work over winter where the weather allows (I work full time and we have a school that freezes) and has a minimum of 12hrs turnout every day (ofen lives out) - in all weathers and I rug minimally as she is a fatty and it helps keep the weight off (lived out in -15, hunter clipped in a medium weight).

So I clip because she is a sweaty minger, and due to my working hours & being on DIY I can't stand around until midnight waiting for her to dry off. I get home at 9.30pm as it is.

Do you want to swap ;)

Edited to add - she also requires sedating for clipping, so really wouldn't do it if I didn't have to. It's not pleasant! Good job I love her
 
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amymay said:
But if your horse gets even a little hot and sweaty - clip him. So much more comfortable for them and easier for you.
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This, 100% :)

stargirl88 said:
I did used to amaze me though, a horse I shared when I was a teen was fully clipped every winter. Hacked around the block a few times a week and then had a duvet put on under his (sometimes two) rugs. I never, ever understood the point of it all.
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There are some strange folk around. Moomin1 on here will vouch for me, there was a lady on our yard who used to clip her elderly TB to rug it! Seriously. She never rode the poor lad. Don't ask me how her mind worked as I could never profess to know.
 
turkana said:
I usually clip in the winter even if they are in light work because I often exercies my horses after work (only lunging for 20 minutes or so), they sweat a bit & I don't want them to have a wet coat just as the temperature is dropping for the night.
Even at the weekend when I ride in the day it's still a pain having to wait for ages in the cold for a horse to dry off before I can go home.
A clipped horse drys quickly so I can put the rug on, go home & get in the warm.
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Exactly what Turkana said, if I were to leave my horse unclipped I wouldn't be able to work her at all during the week as I don't get to the yard until 7pm. I'm not going to leave a sweaty horse to its own devices overnight. If I didn't work and could hack during the day, spend an hour or so pottering about while she cooled off and do all the rug changes necessary, maybe I wouldn't clip but those aren't my circumstances.
 
I don't need to clip my chestnut mare because her attempts at growing winter coats are very, very poor indeed. ;)

I will probably have to clip the grey though because she resembles a white musk ox in the winter. :p
 
Munchkin said:
Because, a horse ridden twice a week isn't going to be particularly fit.

Unfit horses sweat.

Sweaty horses get cold. As do washed horses, when it's minus 5.

Clipping keeps them comfortable in work and saves time - how is throwing on a rug more work than washing, drying, removing coolers etc?

Also, my horse, my rules. :)
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:) All of this ^
 
Do you want to swap
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Nah, you wouldn't want to swap :D Firstly, he is (mostly) so laid back that my OH has nicknamed him Don-Key Otay, you would need to feed him a whole sack of competition mix to get him to do anything approaching XC - even when REALLY fizzed up (beach ride with lots of strange horses and galloping) he doesn't sweat (but he does prance and buck...).

And secondly - probably the main reason I would consider clipping in the future - the process of shedding a really really thick winter coat is hideous :D He and I choke for weeks on handfuls of hair, and it gets on EVERYTHING (I have even found shed horsehair in my knickers :eek:).
 
Munchkin said:
Because, a horse ridden twice a week isn't going to be particularly fit.

Unfit horses sweat.

Sweaty horses get cold. As do washed horses, when it's minus 5.

Clipping keeps them comfortable in work and saves time - how is throwing on a rug more work than washing, drying, removing coolers etc?

Also, my horse, my rules. :)
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He is fairly fit at the moment however, come winter his fitness will decline.

But that's my whole point Munchkin if you were working them to the point of them breaking into a real sweat then I can understand clipping but light work or should I say very light work 2/3 times a week for me or him doesn't warrant a clip. Maybe I need persuading.....

As for the saving time aspect, I mean the day to day care of rugging.

But like you say "your horse, your rules"
 
Brightbay said:
I don't know what I need to do to get him to sweat. Even after a longer hack mid summer with lots of cantering, the most we will see is damp under the girth. Damp under saddle - in 6 years, I've never seen it, but maybe the lambskin pad absorbs it? Damp around chest? Seen it once in 6 years (a hack with galloping where he decided to race another horse).

In winter, it's the same. He develops a thick coat (he's IDx probably with TB, 17hh of chunky hunter type) and never sweats. A two hour hack with a fair bit of trotting up hills, and after removing saddle you can see no evidence a saddle's been on him other than a slight dust mark.
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Ever considered your horse may have anhidrosis? Lethargy, especially in hot weather, not sweating, thick coat...

Sweating is a normal function :) My old boy is a sweaty beast so if I want to have him in any work at all over the winter he has to be clipped. Not really an issue IMO :)
 
With a full coat they can sweat where the saddle is, regardless of how fit they are & what work they do.
And I can rug & groom a clipped horse a lot quicker than grooming or drying an unclipped one.
I will also hold my hands up & say I have clipped in order to rug. First trace clip daughters pony had last year was purely to rug her. Only young so by 2nd clip was in more work. Reasons being:
-too wet for daughter to groom half the time. And when you watch your 6yr old doing all the jobs, am & pm without being able to do much hands on with the pony, you try your best to change it.
-not mad keen on putting a saddle on wet mud plastered backs.
- daughter wanted her to be clean & smart, rather than wet & muddy.
 
Mine is being retired for the winter due to on going injury. His coat (even when rugged) grows about 2 inches long and he looks like he is 50. I hate him being unclipped and have had him fully clipped for the past 10 winters as I also hate grooming it out again in the Spring. Logic tells me not to clip him this winter as he will literally be in no work. But I know I am still going to want to... I am used to my pretty smart boy and am not ready for him to look old and retired / a once grey now covered in mud brown mess on a yard full of smart horses in work... what to do what to do.... :-/
 
I probably seem mad but..

.. my oldie who is in very light work will def be clipped
... my 6yo wont be

but .. the oldie grows lots of coat and then gets sweaty when ridden.. and needs lots of rugs anyway because he feels the cold plus he is an angel to clip .. and the 6yo.. thinks clippers are utterly terrifying and makes a very feeble attempt to grow fur so I can get away without doing it.

mum clips her retired one because she's grey (white) and super itchy
 
Ned will be, he gets sweaty at the slightest excuse, even when he's really fit (He's fit at the moment, but could be better). With him, I think it's trying to contain nerves, more than actual work. With the farrier, he was literally dripping before he'd even done much.
 
littlelegs said:
Lots of reasons. I'd still fully clip mine if she was in light work, for several reasons;
- she'd still need rugging unclipped as she's a wuss. So might as well be clipped & easier to give her a groom before rugging than when hairy.
-she's grey & connie x tb, long coat like a natives but very fine, so difficult to keep clean unclipped.
- even on a 30min slow hack, she'd sweat under the saddle.
- clipping takes less time than faffing about grooming/cooling down.
- I like her to look smart.
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This - having a grey horse is a nightmare
 
Ever considered your horse may have anhidrosis? Lethargy, especially in hot weather, not sweating, thick coat...
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I am certainly aware of anhidrosis (a friend's horse in the US has suffered from it and it's very scary). Mine, on the other hand, is just an unclipped, unrugged, normal horse :D Even in the summer he will complete a 20k pleasure ride unsweaty, and we have no problem passing vetting with normal heart rate and breathing. Just not lathered in sweat :D

It does make life a lot easier, tbh - and even turned out without rugs, grooming is minimal as he only mud wallows once every few weeks, the rest of the time it's just a quick flick with a long bristled brush. He's very very low maintenance (in that respect at least :rolleyes: we won't mention the ongoing wonkiness due to leaping around in the field thinking he's a fully trained Lipizzaner...)
 
Depending on the weather, the cushings pony will be getting a bib clip like he did last year. He's already a good 2cm into his coat and is starting to resemble a little fluffball. When darkness sets upon us, yes he will only be worked once maybe twice a week along with the cob but I'd refer him stay comfortable rather than overheating. He comfortably managed with a big bib clip last year and didn't have a sheet put on him till it was minus temperatures AND wet.

Personal preference all round. As long as his back and bum remain woolly, it hardly affects my choice of rugs!
 
See, mine doesn't get a thick enough coat to keep him warm enough on it's own.

So whether he's in work or not, he gets clipped over winter, as if he has to be rugged, then I'm a firm believer that if you rug them whilst still unclipped, flattening the coat makes it not too dissimilar as obviously you lose the 'poofed' layers of insulation. So, while he still may be unclipped and in a lighter rug, he could still in theory get cold yet equally, will be too hot in a rug of heavier value. So, I would much rather clip him, and have him a few layered rugs/heavyweight one.

But that's just me :)
 
Mine will hopefully end up in more than light work before the end of the year, but at the moment isn't.
He will have a blanket clip to start with, then when he is doing more around Christmas time, it's all coming off!

I'll be riding in the evenings so won't have the time to dry sweat off before he's turned out, plus selfishly, he's white all over and I want to keep him that way!
 
Like others have said, my horses my rules.

First off can't stand grooming muddy yaks to ride and then cooling out sweaty horses for hours.

4 will be clipped as they will be in work. The 2yo won't be clipped as she's not working obviously and the broodmare does a little lunging but still won't be clipped. They do wear rugs of course. Med's. They go out all day everyday in all weathers. I don't have good shelter in the fields so keeps them dry. It's the cold wet, not the cold that gets them. The clipped ones get a med plus a liner of 300 at night. Less of a liner during day with full necks. They don't need 4&5 rugs. Don't see how they can move. No one has ever started shaking and or been cold.

Terri
 
In the winter daylight hours are always short: which is why I'll be clipping my two this winter.

Big Man (traddie cob) needs doing anyway, coz he's got sweet itch and gets very itchy indeed if not done. If left to nature he'll get a coat which would shame a mammoth, plus his legs need doing as he gets feather mites. So its a full clip for him.

My (loan) mare doesn't get such a heavy coat, but with both horses, when they're ridden, we tend not to hang about so they do get quite sweaty, so will probably do her a trace or poss a hunter clip, we'll see.

Have been there done it with muddy hairies in a wet winter: never again!
 
Mine will have to be clipped to my unique and usually poorly executed pattern - she sweats like a navvy on her neck but is a complete pig to clip. Last winter we sported a full neck clip that ended 6 inches short of her ears (ears are a no-no even with an elephant dose of sedation) and a sort of chaser on her body; it works for us. I'm sure people sniggered but not to our faces.
 
pansymouse said:
Mine will have to be clipped to my unique and usually poorly executed pattern - she sweats like a navvy on her neck but is a complete pig to clip. Last winter we sported a full neck clip that ended 6 inches short of her ears (ears are a no-no even with an elephant dose of sedation) and a sort of chaser on her body; it works for us. I'm sure people sniggered but not to our faces.
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Snap! We have same issues, I take all her body off as she mings, but leave legs on (I have no death wish) and we stop very short of head - and this is sedated and clipped. Fortunately the unaff dressage judges have kept their sniggers hidden too date (as did the hunt) :o
 
My boy isn't in especially hard work but I shall be clipping him because he does get very sweaty even just working in walk and if he gets ridden for an hour with maybe a bit of trot and canter thrown in there as well it has been known for him to take in excess of two hours for him to cool down and dry off enough for me to be happy turning him back out. I would not wash a horse with a full winter coat even with warm water in the depths of winter (esp as most of my riding will be done on an evening when temperatures are dropping) and also would not want to turn a horse out that is drenched in sweat so my boy is clipped to keep him comfortable in work. The being able to put a neck rug on to keep him dry and limit the amount of mud he can plaster himself in is an added bonus.
 
My two will only be hacked 2-3 times a week and maybe less than that if work and weather get in the way,but both will be clipped.

My appy x get's a very thick coat and sweats loads,even with a blanket clip so am even considering taking off more this year;)

Cob will start off with a low trace and go from there (my first winter with him so unsure how he is coat and heat wise as yet).

They both live out and TBH I have never found any extra work from being clipped.They have about 3-4 rugs each of various weights (that's how many they own each not how many they wear at once lol),but i would use that amount anyway over the course of a winter I suspect regardless of being clipped.

Far more work grooming a field kept horse enough to ride that isn't clipped!! Far more time spent washing and waiting to dry afterwards as well!!

I have done clipped and unclipped over the years and personally I will take clipped everytime for convenience and horses comfort.
I am itching to do mine already TBH (pardon the pun:o),but am resisting until weather turns as still too many flies around and will get eaten alive with no coat for protection (marsh land,we get evil bugs and lot's of them:().
 
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Yep I'm another who does it for my convenience. HOWEVER loan pony is VERY sweaty even now we did an hours hack today and she had lumpy sweat bumps already so as soon as my clipper blades are back and the leccy fencing is set up she will be getting a hunter clip. I was going to wait for a bit but she was rather uncomfy today and I had to bath her with the minty shampoo to get them to settle down and you can't do that when its cold.

I prefer just to whip the saddle off and be tossing rugs on and horses back out than waiting around for hours to let them dry off.
 
Mine will be fully clipped for a few very personal reasons -
a) he is grey so a total mud goblin in the winter, if he is clipped he can have a nice hot towelling before being ridden and is dry by the time he is tacked up.
b) I am allergic to his long white coat, I have always found grey horses in winter can make me quite ill, clipped grey horses are fine! I didn't chose to buy another grey, he found me.
c) So I can see any cuts etc easily.
As for it being bad practice to have a clipped horse out of work, mine was clipped then ended up in horspital and having a GA a few weeks later (for a totally unrelated incident to the clipping obviously!). It was a lot easier to assess his condition post op with his coat off. Plus when I brought him back into work, I clipped him full out as he had the most awful surgical clips marks and I didn't want to draw attention to those areas when we got out competing! Nothing worse than surgical clip marks on the stifles, hocks and down the back of his legs when you are doing dressage! It is a very personal thing and doesn't harm anyone really. I have yet to see someone full clip a horse then sling it out in the field, even if there is always someone who can tell you they have!
 
turkana said:
I usually clip in the winter even if they are in light work because I often exercies my horses after work (only lunging for 20 minutes or so), they sweat a bit & I don't want them to have a wet coat just as the temperature is dropping for the night.
Even at the weekend when I ride in the day it's still a pain having to wait for ages in the cold for a horse to dry off before I can go home.
A clipped horse drys quickly so I can put the rug on, go home & get in the warm.
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Exactly my reason
 
Clipped all year round my Clyde x was hunting fit in the winter. Just didn't have the fine blood coat so needed clipping out. Because he was carrying a thicker coat and sweated doesn't mean he wasn't fit. It's up to the individual and the type of horse they have, some get excited and start sweating.
 
I intend to clip out my 6 year old pony this weekend. She gets very sweaty and is ridden is ridden in evenings and it is far too cold here in winter to wash down a sweaty un clipped horse. Also by having her fully clipped I can see her condition easier. As she tends to put on weight in winter and it is a lot harder to see if she has put on weight under 4 inches of native winter coat!
 
It grows back. What's the big deal either way :confused:

Will be clipping mine. Probably just a trace clip but depends how she behaves as she hasn't been clipped before and depends how straight I get it as I haven't clipped for 10 years :D
 
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