Full clip and Rain sheet?

Inthesticks

Inthesticks

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Just wondering people's opinions on full clipping a horse and putting a lightweight, no fill, rain sheet on.

Horse is overweight and turned out 24/7
 
Put it this way, how would you like it to be naked underneath a slippery PVC mac out in a field in winter................

Mine are clipped out bar legs and half heads and out 24/7 BUT they are rugged according to the temperature. Wouldn't expect them to just have the rain sheets unless the temp goes up and stays up above 10 degrees for a period. Constant shivering is totally unfair as far as i'm concerned. Mine soon tell me if they are cold by beating me up as i bring them in for dinner........easy peasy up the rug and warm ponies, doesn't happen often as they have good central heating........
 
Depends on the temp tbh, its unseasonably warm at the moment, and if your in one of the warmer bits of the country, with a hot horse it might work. Not something I'd do I don't think :)
 
I think it depends on the weather and how much a of a warm type it is, does it have a thick mane and tail, are its legs legs clipped out? Does it have access to shelter and how much forage does it have?
 
My fat cob has a hunter clip (head legs and saddle patch left) and is out 24/7. He's often in just a no-fill standard neck. He doesn't ever seem to feel the cold and is always warm enough under his rug! He does have an incredible mane though so that keeps his neck more than toasty. He also has his floofy natural leg warmers and belly left on.
 
Why don't they trace clip (or similar) with it??? That way it would have something on its back to keep warm with whilst having the benefit of not sweating up underneath in faster work.

My loan mare has a chaser clip; and goes out by day - normally in a lightweight/no fill "anorak". But she's a Welsh D, and a "hot pony" type with the brains to keep moving if she is cold.

But I certainly wouldn't clip anything, even a native, and turn it out with just a lightweight no-fill.

I wonder, is the horse in question laminitic??? Or borderline lammi? I ask this because I have heard of a situation where someone had a laminitic and they were advised (dunno who) to full-clip it and turn it out with a lighter rug simply to make sure it kept moving. Being cruel to be kind presumably. This might work for daytime only but I don't think it would be fair to do it 24/7, especially in this damp weather when horses feel the cold more than the dryer cold.
 
Would they be cold though? The rainsheet would stop the wind and I think that if they have a neck cover they are quite warm, other than for the coldest, wettest weather - like last week out in the snow for instance.

Although mine still has his coat on most of his body, his neck and belly are clipped, he has a very fine coat and he has been out with only a rain sheet with a neck cover for all winter and only had an added extra rug when out in the really low temperatures last week. He seems plenty warm enough. His rug is exceptionally good and waterproof so no weather gets in and he has plenty to eat.
 
amymay said:
To the point of unfair.
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This. Mine are all naked but I wouldn't clip and then put out with a rainsheet in this. I'd be very worried about the shock of changing temperature so quickly, they've had plenty of time to build up a coat to cope with the weather, a rainsheet will not replace this. Rug appropriately - no shivering, just a suitable temperature (not warm/toasty). You'll probably have to watch forage as well.
 
Orangehorse said:
Would they be cold though? The rainsheet would stop the wind and I think that if they have a neck cover they are quite warm, other than for the coldest, wettest weather - like last week out in the snow for instance.

Although mine still has his coat on most of his body, his neck and belly are clipped, he has a very fine coat and he has been out with only a rain sheet with a neck cover for all winter and only had an added extra rug when out in the really low temperatures last week. He seems plenty warm enough. His rug is exceptionally good and waterproof so no weather gets in and he has plenty to eat.
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As you said, yours has been out with this all winter. I have no problem with doing it properly and allowing a horse to adjust, but to take a full winter coat off now and just rain sheet I think would be a big shock.
 
I have done this (don't shoot me!) my cob is a very good doer and after I clipped her I put her 100g rug on (full clip face and legs left on). She lives out 24/7 and when I bought her in the next day she wouldn't stop rolling in her stable. I thought she had colic as she was rolling even with me in the stable. I took her rug off and she immediately stopped, she was too hot! I have never seen het shiver and she is rugged according to what she needs. I do have a 40g rug which she wears most of the winter. I'm in Devon so fairly mild down here most of the time!
 
katherine1975 said:
I have done this (don't shoot me!) my cob is a very good doer and after I clipped her I put her 100g rug on (full clip face and legs left on). She lives out 24/7 and when I bought her in the next day she wouldn't stop rolling in her stable. I thought she had colic as she was rolling even with me in the stable. I took her rug off and she immediately stopped, she was too hot! I have never seen het shiver and she is rugged according to what she needs. I do have a 40g rug which she wears most of the winter. I'm in Devon so fairly mild down here most of the time!
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I was just about to say my friend does this because her horse is always so warm...... I would say every horse is an individual and, even fully clipped, some horses are still sweaty bettys!
 
It was 14 degrees here today, I wasn't brave enough to take his rug off in the field but he was naked in the school and loved a race around and about 50 roles in the itchy sand - he is moulting like mad and left clouds of white hair in all his rolling patches.
I didn't feel bad he was naked for a few hours.
 
I posted on here yesterday asking if it would be cruel to fully clip and rug a cob that is out 24/7, the majority thought that it would be unfair, and a fully clipped horse should be one that is stabled.

So full clip and rain sheet is probably a big no no!

I really do think it depends on the individual horse and the amount of shelter and forage available though. Like a few others have said, there are some very hot horses!
 
The thing is that people say that their clipped horse is always hot - but that's because the heat generated by the body isn't being trapped by the insulating hair, so theoretically a clipped horse will feel warmer to the touch than a horse with a full coat.

They do have to work harder to generate that heat, and if it is for weightloss then I would minimally clip and leave unrugged, or clip and rug sensibly, but a full clip and rain sheet is unfair imo. Unlined rugs do get cold when wet, I'm always freezing in unlined waterproof jackets, even in summer.
 
Don't see why not? My ISH is hunter clipped and out 24/7 and spends most of the winter in a sheet with neck cover.
 
Oh I'll be hunted down for this..........

I clipped my cob on Monday all but his legs and put a full neck lightweight on, he has been nude all winter. He's not cold and has untill last night been out 24/7.


Forgot I did put a second light weight standard on top og the full neck and within half an hour he had removed the second rug!!!! He did this twice before I took hit, that is too hot in two rungs.

***Put's tin hat on and hides :)***
 
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