Someone PLEASE exlplain this clipping fettish to me!!!???

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RunToEarth

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I clip my lad every 2-3weeks during the winter months, when he is in work, being hunted, and his coat gets too matted and sweaty and minging for me to cope.
My lad is not in work this time, and his coat is there to keep him toasty.
The horse that is still in work, is ridden a few of times a week by mum, and me when I'm home. He doesn't get into more than a light lather, and nothing that justifies being shed of his coat.
So what is this obsession with as soon as the slightest sight of wooliness hitting a horse, to clip it head to hoof?
I have ridden past sooooo many people today out riding, people I KNOW don't do too much with their horse, clipped and then wrapped up in exercise sheets.
Am I missing some massive trick here, I have always been taught to hang onto a horse's coat until it needs to come off.
Why do people feel the need to clip if their horse isn't in proper work?
 
Spooks doesn't do a huge amount of work anymore, but he gets a full body sweat on just out on a light walk, then easily spends another 6 hours wet because he grows a coat like a yak, he gets rubs where his girth goes because the hair clumps up, and he is miserable like it, so I am afraid I have taken it off - although I agree - I dont see the point in putting an exercise sheet on a clipped horse - if you need that -dont clip it! The only time I have ever used my exercise sheet is when it was -4, we couldn't guarantee how slippery the road was so wasn't sure if we could trot enough to keep him warm.
 
Sparks sweat at the mere though of work. her coat is very dense, so even when its not long, she sweats like a pig!!! I just don't have 6hrs to spend waiting for her to dry after I have ridden in the evening, so it all comes off. That said if she didn't sweat up, I wouldn't clip (can't stand clipping all the itchy hair all over you Urghhhhhhh).
 
*hear hear*
Think there is a need to show off as many rugs as possible and an aversion to grooming kits
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Clipped & rugged up horses don't take much grooming, whereas muddy hairy beasties need a bit of elbow grease.

Personally, I hate changing rugs and my two big boys only plod out 2-3 times a week in the winter and wouldn't dream of doing anything that would make them break into a sweat
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They are not clipped and have lovely coats. In fact they only wear turn out rugs if the weather is truly awful.
 
QR
I'd just make the point that individual horses need individual management.
I have three, all live out 24/7, and I rug one up a lot more than the others, although even my youngsters are rugged.
My 3yo is rugged because she has erythema multiforma (probably to insects) and my 4yo I am rugging early because I want to start her without clipping her - therefore I don't want her to grow much of a coat.
Live and let live, I say!
S
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Last year clipped out little pony as he was doing loads of work /competing. He ended up wearing so many rugs including full set of pyjamas that it got ridiculous. This year with the new boy am just going to do a belly and gullet clip ,if he needs it, as we will be doing a lot less as we are getting to know him. I'm looking forward to all the extra time i shall have instead of putting on endless rugs!
 
Penfold is teamchasing so he has had his neck off but he is then only doing a bit of hacking so no more clips for him this year .
Rafi has not had any off yet but may have to have a bit off soon as he is getting sweaty and has to wear a turnout rug as he has sweetitch, then it gets damp if he is sweaty.
I laugh when I see riders that hardly get out of walk with their horses clipped and then they put exercise rugs on.lol
 
I loathe clipping and wish my horse had a nice, think TB type coat but sadly he, being conn x TB ended up with the blooming connie coat! He gets lethargic when he gets too warm out hacking and we do SJ & XC etc through the winter so he needs clipping and I just whack it all off as is easier than fiddling with lines and plus if i do leave any coat it just ends up looking horribly stary.

I have an old pony who gets hacked out about once a week or so in the winter (at weekends) and i am umming and ahhing about giving him a neck and belly this winter because he gets sweaty just walking out hacking and, if cold it's difficult to get him dried off well when we get back. He is kept out 24/7 so I wouldn't take any more off but i do think some horses sweat up more than others and it is not pleasant if they have a thick coat.
Might leave him til the NY though....!
 
The arabs just had her legs taken off as she suffers with mud fever!

At the end of the day its their horse and if they want to clip it then they have to rug it - its always good to have a horse used to a variety of 'scary things' so whats the harm?

I cant stand hairy horses so the arab is lucky her coat is fine! other wise *buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*
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The american minature on the other hand doesnt escape the clippers!
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I feel it keeps grooming and mud under control - as they all live out!
 
Oh I'm not having a pop, nor wanting forum users to justify why their horses are clipped out, I just feel, that half way through october, if a horse is clipped out with an exercise sheet on, there was no need for the clip. I hate to see horses clipped for no need, its quite saddening.
 
I know where you are coming from, as said, different horses different needs, but there are stupid people.

H is a happy hacker but his coat is really thick, so he has his neck fully clipped and his shoulders and belly, he sweats at a walk. he has a nice mane to keep him warm. and a hairy bum !!! although prob feb / march it will all come off to help summer coat to come through even. he is currently in a light weight at night

I was guilty last year of by now fully clipping then rugging with 3 under layers to keep him warm, not this year !!!

we do pretty hectic long hacks so it works for us and keeps him comfortable and eager.

i used to use exercise sheets last year and asked myself the question, why. hence change of clip style this year !!

at least you can take it off but can't put it back on !!!!!!
 
I have never clipped ned before this year as he has been out 24/7 and because i've been at uni/collage the last 3 years he has been in virtually no work over winter.

This year I have taken him to uni with me and he is being ridden most days. He has a really thick winter coat already and gets really sweaty and it takes me ages to dry him off so I can turn him out. so in 2 weeks when my rug arrives he is getting a chaser clip just so he can cope with the work a bit better. I would never clip him out completely as I think that even with the thickest of rugs on it is unfair to deny a horse his natural insulation.
 
My mare isn't clipped this year year, as she is in rehab for arthritis. But she will be once she is back in work. I don't quite get why people are so anti clipped horses wearing exercise rugs. I do with my mare. If I am schooling then she definately needs the level of clip she has, if I am doing a faster hack then she won't wear it. Buf if we are just doing a road hack then she will get cold if she is just walking and trotting. Or if the weather is horrid. Not all horses do exactly the same amount of work every day, so you need to adjust according to what they are doing that day.
 
I imagine its a convenience thing
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Not everyone has loads of time to ride, then wait for their horse to dry off so they can rug them again, so quite often its easier to whip the lot off..

I'm always the last to rug up even though two of mine already have trace clips and live out naked but can see that sometimes circumstances make it necessary to do it differently.
It would actually be easier for me to fully clip mine and rug them...that way they'd always be ready to ride.
As it is..I have all the time in the world to ride and can go down an hour before I ride to dry off my horse so I can ride him
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I am really tempted to clip my horse for the sole reason that I HATE her being so damned woolly and disgusting! I have enough rugs to keep her warm so it wouldn't be cruel to clip her; I wouldn't be any less of an owner for doing so. She is in very light hacking work and only sweats under her girth because she's a fat pig. I pay enough money for her keep IMO to be allowed to clip her if I want to.
HOWEVER I am not going to do it! There is no GOOD reason for me to do it. One person I know only clipped her horse out "because everyone else had theirs done this week so it musgt be time for mine to be clipped"... another horse in light work! I do agree that people seem to clip for the sake of clipping, more like a winter ritual than out of actual necessity, but hell if they look after the horse appropriately then they can do what they want with it as far as I'm concerned.
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I also happen to know a couple of horses desperate for a clip at the moment (finish work dripping) and their owners just refuse to do it yet... one extreme to the other I suppose!
 
TBTH I don't see the problem, why not clip them and rug them?!?!
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It's not exactly cruelty.

Today we had the most freezing wind here so I can see the need for an exercise rug if just going for a plod along the road.
 
QR

Since working at a riding school last winter I'm positively anti-clipping! I had a riding school full of horses and ponies in my care doing lessons and being worked fairly hard by me during the week. One had a trace clip and one a blanket as they were particularly sweaty but the others all coped fine unclipped and kept their weight on.

I admit this time of year is pretty crap with an unclipped horse - but as soon as the temperature drops my mare won't break a sweat until about March so therefore won't be clipped this year.
 
I think different horses have different needs, some can go out for a 2 hour hack with gallops, canters etc and come home dry. But some just have to think about being ridden to sweat. I'm clipping my horse for the first time. Sometimes she doesn't sweat when she's schooling in an evening, but after a hack at the weekend and she comes back dripping, I don't have hours to wait for her to dry. She gets ridden 4-5 times a week during term time and every day in the holidays, but never anything too strenuous like hunting. But she will be having a chaser/trace/blanket (havent decided yet) not a full clip, and she will most likely be living out most of the time.

To be honest, I think its the owners choice to clip their horses, as long as they manage them well. So what if the horse isn't doing that much work, but the owner wants to clip it? What's the problem as long as the horse is well rugged up and properly managed??
 
I think some folk like to take it all off because it makes their horse look "posh". Personally I like D to live out for as much of the year as possible so I only take a minimal amount of coat off. She is ridden 6 days a week and hunts so does as much work as most fit horses yet isn't fully clipped yet, we're still only in a blanket clip and she's a hairy beastie.

Fair enough if your horse doesn't mind having all its coat off but then don't condemn the poor thing to a winter weighed down with 4 rugs or standing in a stable because it stands in the field shivering otherwise.
 
QR
I think clip if you want, but exercise sheets at this time of year?!

Some people just want to look superior I think.
 
I have been wondering whether to clip my youngster as she ends up looking like a yeti dispite being TB and sweats up very easily and is a bit of a hot bod, and I keep putting it off. My other TB is unclipped and is in a fleece combo and a LW stable already as the poor love feels the cold. However I will probably do a bib clip on them both eventually to keep them comfortable and for my convenience on a night..... I do have a sneeky suspicion though that the youngester will end up with a full clip.
 
I agree with OP when I first got Murphy, 9 years ago, only hunters and competing showjumpers seemed to be full clipped. Now it seems people do it for fashion and so their horse looks smart, we also have a rug obsession. I've only just realised this as now Murphy is retired I have him at home living out 24/7 unclipped. I always used to clip him out all winter to keep him cleam (he is a very dirty grey) and he did work hard all winter. However I found myself considering clipping him so he could wear a rug as he was sweating out in the field at 6am in his Bucas Sunshower on Monday! Mad or what. What he really needs is to not wear a rug. Tarquin is clipped and has only been ridden twice since in four weeks, but he is only trace clipped to minimise sweating as a full clip made him cold, he lost weight and was unrideable.
 
I'd far rather not clip because I want to do winter showing but Nelly just gets way too hot and sweaty so I have no choice, because she is worked quite hard, and it wouldn't be fair not to clip her. I tried a low trace clip but it didn't help so the lot has to come off (minus legs).
 
Mine aren't clipped yet, but the Molly will be very soon, she came back in a lather today and her coat is very thick - I dod expect her to hunt once fit though!

Salad is fit, and will be getting clipped - he's off hunting soon too.

Shetland is ridden at least 5 days a week, and is going hunting a few times this winter - she's getting a bib and belly
 
Are they just exercise sheets though or flourescent exercise sheets? I clipped my horse today and had a jumping lesson and he STILL sweated up so boy and I glad i did clip. Plus, he has a lot more energy and his coat shines. However if I was riding out and felt it was a bit dull as well as cold I would put is equa fleece on cos (a) I can be seen better and, as he's clipped it won't get him too warm but (b) i like to make sure he is kept warm enough if we're just doing walk/trotting road work as he's getting on now and I would rather keep his quarters warm as he's suffered with stiffness in his back in the past and just recently aswell.

It's a pain really, ideally he'd keep his coat on and maybe just have a think rain sheet on to keep him a bit cleaner and easier to grrom but when competing he'd just get far too warm BUT he doesn't get that war,n just on a leisurely hack so i;d but a fleece sheet on to make sure he was warm enough!

Ooh, the science of clipping/rugging horses eh!
 
Toto pony normally has a hunter clip, because we do a lot of Pony Club rallies in an indoor school and he sweats all over. We did one two weeks ago and he was very sweaty, and in my opinion it would be cruel to keep letting him get so sweaty so he's being clipped next week. He will sometimes wear an exercise sheet at home if it's very cold. He gets ridden 4-5 times a week with jumping once or twice a week, with 1 and a half hour pc rallies some weekends. He's out in the day and in at night, he has a heavyweight turnout rug with a neck cover and thick stable rugs with fleece rugs underneath if necessary. So even though he doesn't get hugely sweaty at home, he gets extremely hot at pc, so it's best for him to be hunter clipped
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QR
There are various reasons for people to clip. However, I don't like wooly horses/I want him/her to look smart are not, IMHO good reasons.
 
I suppose its up to people how they want to clip there horses.....

I only wish I had the choice
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Merlin is a complete phobic
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So long as you rug appropriately afterwards its fine..... but I dont agree with people who clip their horses/ponies and then dont provide adequate rugging.... or no rugs at all...... that is just plain neglect in my eyes.
 
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