Who doesn't clip...?

DragonSlayer

DragonSlayer

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I don't have fancy facilities which is fine, but when I plan to clip the rain starts....so I'm seriously thinking...due to only riding at weekends and doing the odd show, I'm not gonna clip at all....just tidy the 'osses up about around the feathers etc etc....

Sure, I could put a thin rug on to keep 'em dry if weather looks dodgy the day before, but is there anyone who does what we used to do years ago on the ponies..that is.....give 'em a rub down if they get sweaty then throw 'em out in the field again?

:p
 
I usually clip every year, but I'm thinking I might not this year. My girls coat is looking beautiful anyway, and we are moving up north next week (apparently it's scientifically proven to be colder up there!), so thinking I might as well keep her fluffy since we will only be doing the odd BD show/jumping lesson, mainly just hacking out. Still undecided though!
 
In winter I don't always get the time to ride enough to make clipping worthwhile....I may break down and do a gut n gullet type thing if it's essential but otherwise not.
Mine do come in at night though, so if really sweaty I'll pop a fleece until they dry off'

I do regret not clipping come spring though when there's bloomin hair everywhere.....
 
BroadfordQueen said:
I usually clip every year, but I'm thinking I might not this year. My girls coat is looking beautiful anyway, and we are moving up north next week (apparently it's scientifically proven to be colder up there!), so thinking I might as well keep her fluffy since we will only be doing the odd BD show/jumping lesson, mainly just hacking out. Still undecided though!
Click to expand...
Where are you moving to?
It's mild as owt up here right now :)
 
Undecided here too. His coat is looking stunning and I know that we aren't going to be doing much hard work over the winter. There almost feels like peer pressure to clip! So I won't do anything right now and will clip him as required, if and when we need to...
 
I haven't clipped mine for years, in fact my old mare who is now 20 has never been clipped. I used to clip her mum as I rode very often and for long periods at a time but I hardly ride at all in the winter and the horses, who have access to their stables choose to live out so clipping would not be great for them. A friend of mine rugs early with light weight rugs and then adds warmer ones as the weather deteriorates and her horses do not develop very thick coats. All depends on the work you are doing as to whether they will require clipping or not.
 
Don't think I'm going to bother this year, pony doesn't seem to get sweaty even at the moment wherei it's still been around 16 c to 18 c some days. He doesn't do a great amount of work In the winter and isn't as fluffy as I thought he would be when he gets his winter coats. His coat looks really nice so I might just leave it this year.
 
We've never clipped. Short days, bad weather and working long hours mean very little opportunity for riding in winter. However now that I'm retired, I'm hoping to get a bit more riding in, so if the weather isn't too bad, I might feel the need to clip the Draft horse and ride a bit more during the week. But then I thought that last year..........Needless to say she wasn't clipped, it was far too wet to ride most of the time.
 
Mine is in light/med work, hacking, schooling, odd bit of dressage, maybe some indoor sj.

He is so hairy when I put my hands in his neck the fur covers them!! He drips sweat after a light walk out and canot even wear a rain sheet as he gets too hot under it but when it rains he take 3 years to dry out.

He being shaved to the likeness of a mole rat! If he didnt grow such a silly coat though I would't clip him and rarely clipped my previous horse as he hated clippers and it wasnt an issue to have him unclipped x
 
Probably not this year!
I doubt I'll be riding him and if I do, it'll be no more than a walk around the village.

Usually he was clipped, because he was ridden at least 4 days a week and those rides were usually 1hr + of trotting and cantering and would sweat buckets!
 
I can't clip Herbie. He climbs the walls before you've even plugged them in, even when he's had sedeline. I don't have my own clippers to desensatise him to them and i'm not paying for a vet to sedate and a person to come and clip him.
Merryn doesn't do enough work to warrent clipping and they both live out 24/7/365 unrugged anyway.

Herbie did 3 hours hunting yesterday and didn't even break a sweat. He's very fit so i'm not to worried about him at the mo. :D
 
Ah well I have put clipping mine off as long as possible but, after bringing him in today (I rode him yesterday) ad realising just how filthy he managed to get and how thick is coat I now I realise I HAVE to clip him :(

Even though he's 22 he is still hacked out by my mum in the week and me at weekends and will still do the odd competition and he just gets too hot an uncomfortable if not clipped. In fact this is the first summer for years I didn't have to clip him as don't do the same level of competing these days and his coat looks fab this year. It also helps me in winter as I am asthmatic and allergic to horses so the less dirt and dust I have to deal with the better.

Might dare to do a very minimal neck clip on my 4 yo too, see how he takes to it (I get the feeling he's going to object as he's a it of a drama queen!) :)
 
I have never clipped my section D (he was 3 when I got him and I doubt he had ever been clipped before that either). When the nights draw in I don't ride during the week so it's just never worth it. He does get sweaty but I just make sure he's dry and comfortable afterwards. It also means I don't have to worry about what rug to use when the weather changes as his 'home grown' one is more effective than anything you can buy! I do always curse myself in spring though when it seems to take forever to get rid of all the loose hair.
 
I won't be clipping Foxy as we don't do enough work, I just put a fleece on him afterwards to help him cool off before putting him out, with a rug on.
 
I don't clip mine, and haven't done for years. She lives out 24/7, has a beautiful shiny mahogany bay winter coat (doesn't go fluffy either). So she's in a very light Mark Todd rain rug, with much warmer versions with detachable necks when needed, and she's fine as she is. I always ride in the morning, so there's never the fear of turning her back out into the dusk sweaty and sticky. It also means that on occasional lovely warm winter days she has her rug off in the daytime, which she loves.
 
Stopped clipping my old mare as she didn't throw a big coat and was only hacking. Youngster is hell bent on proving a family resemblance to some sort of yak so yes, once he is back in work, it all comes off. I gave him a bib when I started walk last time as he was coming back soaked after just an hour of walking.
 
I don't clip my WB as his winter coat is as thick as some horses summer coat. He is also just not a sweaty horse it would take a lot to make him sweat at all, I sweat more than he does ...I'm sure there is something wrong about this :D
 
The only one I clip is my shetland who gets hot just standing still at this time of year.
I can't clip my cob because he suffer's with sweet itch...
 
I never used to really be able to ride in the winter so I never bothered to clip really but now at yard with indoor school so no excuse not to ride! 2 of ours have a wither to stifle clip, 18 month old has a full clip with head and legs left (vet advice, her winter coat gets so thick and scurfy she hurts herself itching-her summer coat is the same as some horse's winter coats!) and the thoroughbred wont be clipped as she's got her winter coat now and its pathetic! Slightly more hair than what she has in summer! Can go for a hack mostly in trot and she comes back a bit hot but not sweating.
 
My old lad and youngster are unclipped, but there's no way I could keep F unclipped - he only hacks (though quite a lot of fast work) most of the week, one schooling session and one night out jumping, but would be left dripping every day. Not worth it!
 
I relented and just did a bib and belly, tidied up feathers and took Tia's mane off and left her forelock on.....the rugs always kill them so thought may as well!

For Lily, it was the first time I had clipped her, and although I had to just do her mane (same as Tia) because the flippin' clippers were playing up, I'm over the moon that she's absolutely fine with clipping!

Will do her neck and bib tomorrow when OH has sorted the clippers for me...in fact he does a better job than me anyway, he's doing his horse tomorrow he says, so I'll pass the job to him! :p
 
I never used to clip my previous pony, who was some kind of cob cross but grew the most non existent winter coat ever. She needed a heavyweight in the worst of winter, and never sweated up so there was no point clipping her.
I am actually going to clip my retired welsh a fully this year as last year his scurf was appalling.
 
My arab mare wasn't clipped last year and she was fine. She's not a sweaty horse anyway, just under her girth really and this year she doesn't seem to be growing such a thick coat I will leave it all on. She has previously lived out 24/7 before I brought her last year, so now she has a stable she is definitely not as hairy!
This is in contrast to my old arab/welsh mare who was hunterclipped every winter as she was liberal with the sweat!!
 
My mare is fully clipped and still needs a full wash off after some work sessions.

My tb is only in light work but even he is getting sweaty so he'll be clipped at some point too.
 
We clip our horses because we compete throughout the winter & without clipping they just sweat too much. If you don't compete regularly or you don't ride much throughout the winter then I wouldn't bother clipping. It's only to make them more comfortable, if they don't need it then don't bother doing it.
 
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