Why clip? I can't understand it when ...

Archiesmummy

Archiesmummy

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... horses are unridden for weeks on end, live out and yet are clipped, not just a bib but pretty much the whole damn lot and then left out in a cold, windy field, no neck covers, nothing.

Why is this? Because I can't see the need myself.

OK horses sweat but those in light work and living out, surely they can be dried off and left with their nice warm coats on when most of the time they are standing around in a cold and dismal field.

Could the coats not be kept down with appropriate rugging so clipping is unecessary?

Is it a fashion thing? Is it a case of they do it so I shall? Or is clipping a horse and then doing the above right in your eyes. In my eyes it is not unless I am convinced otherwise.
 
I must be a rotten Mum to mine as non have neck covers on. I am fed up of having no mane to plait so this year no necks! They are all still well covered and when we hunt they have nice plaited manes. We never used to have rugs with necks so I do not see the issue.
 
Appropriate clipping is dependent entirely on the horse. Some horses are really weirdly sweaty and some just glow... So you clip according to what you know of your horse. And towards the end of the clipping time, taking it all off is better for the coat growing back evenly if you want to show early on, and reduces removing vats of hair.
 
mine is so that spring HT's/BE events are easier to get fit for
but she is also kept ticking over and is rugged to eyes balls
ETA but does live out 24/7 on a windy hill in bonny scotland
 
Mine is in a good amount of work and has a blanket clip, although I could of gone with a full in hindsight. We got hunting at weekends and still he is incredibly sweaty.

He run's on "hot" - is quite a warm pony anyway. I have now said no to a hooded rug as it's ruined his mane. He's not cold in a morning or at any point I've checked him during the day.

As ditchjumper2 said, we never used to have rugs with necks on, I know mine isn't suffering for it. He is a native though.
 
Archiesmummy said:
Its not the no neck covers, I am not that molly coddly, its clipped when not worked for weeks on end and left against the elements.
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Ah! In that case, I do have to agree slightly. Just having a clip for the sake of it is stupid. But harder breeds that can get away with it I think. Especially if there a bit obese I suppose it could benefit slightly.
 
I clip, because I like to ride my horse. She has bags of energy and puts her all into the gentlest of hacks and steams when we get back. She gets stressed by overheating.

I clip because I don't have time to be going back to the yard to change rugs and turn out.

In my experience, coats can't be 'kept down' with appropriate rugging. Surely that would entail over-rugging which would be detrimental to the horse, and your argument is that 'un-necessary' clipping is detrimenta.l

I clip so that in Spring, when the weather is warmer (hah!!!) then she is not so sweaty as she would be if left looking like a mammoth

I clip so that I don't have patches of dead hair, stubbornly refusing to fall out, looking like she is sporting the latest thing in coconut doormats at the beginning of the showing season.

I clip for valid reasons. Not just 'fashion'.

Also, she looks exceptionally smart when freshly clipped, and easier to keep clean.

Also, I don't use neck covers either. She is a hot bod, with a lovely double mane.
 
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Well I have two hairies at the minute, the mare is getting a full clip tomorrow as they were both out a hack on friday and within an hour the both of them were soaking with sweat. It was a fairly fast hack with some good canters/gallops at the speed of their choosing. K wasnt dry the next day despite having a cooler stuffed with straw on and S was fine although curly coated under her turnout.

K *may* get a clip if he doesnt cast before may (very late to cast full coat makig it impossible to fitten him properly) when I bring him back into work but S is having the whole lot minus half a head off tomorrow as shes back into work to be ready for spring competition :)
 
I clipped one a couple of weeks ago that was sweating whilst stood still, due to the warm winter. He was incredibly difficult to clip, as he was just wet with sweat all the time, had to start on the dry bits, and hope he would start to cool down through those bits!

I will clip all of ours out next week, as my OH is allergic to dust, and we have 2 unclipped atm, that when they start to shed will nearly kill OH, so far better to clip them out.
 
Janette said:
I clip, because I like to ride my horse. She has bags of energy and puts her all into the gentlest of hacks and steams when we get back. She gets stressed by overheating.

I clip because I don't have time to be going back to the yard to change rugs and turn out.

In my experience, coats can't be 'kept down' with appropriate rugging. Surely that would entail over-rugging which would be detrimental to the horse, and your argument is that 'un-necessary' clipping is detrimenta.l

I clip so that in Spring, when the weather is warmer (hah!!!) then she is not so sweaty as she would be if left looking like a mammoth

I clip so that I don't have patches of dead hair, stubbornly refusing to fall out, looking like she is sporting the latest thing in coconut doormats at the beginning of the showing season.

I clip for valid reasons. Not just 'fashion'.

Also, she looks exceptionally smart when freshly clipped, and easier to keep clean.
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You misunderstand my post, its not 'why clip' it is 'why clip when you don't ride for weeks on end or at all and leave your horse out 24/7 shivering its socks off'. What is the point. And there are plenty of horses I have seen like it. I most definitely do not want to incite an argument, just other peoples perspective as mine is sometimes blinkered.
 
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If my horses did lots of fast work in the winter and sweated up, then I would clip. Since they don't, and only sweat a little, then I don't. I don't see a problem with people clipping and keeping their horses appropriately rugged, for whatever reason. If they clipped and then did not rug enough then I would have a concern. TBH I'd be more worried about people who rug their horses to the eyeballs and DON'T clip.
 
ConnieLove said:
Ah! In that case, I do have to agree slightly. Just having a clip for the sake of it is stupid. But harder breeds that can get away with it I think. Especially if there a bit obese I suppose it could benefit slightly.
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Thank you, the bit about the obese seems logical. I could be persuaded. In all seriousness, I don't know the answer so asked the question. I have formed an opinion and want to see it from the clippers prospective and their reasons. This is not about why clip, its about clipping when it appears unnecessary. More education for me, please.
 
Archiesmummy said:
... horses are unridden for weeks on end, live out and yet are clipped, not just a bib but pretty much the whole damn lot and then left out in a cold, windy field, no neck covers, nothing.

Why is this? Because I can't see the need myself.

OK horses sweat but those in light work and living out, surely they can be dried off and left with their nice warm coats on when most of the time they are standing around in a cold and dismal field.

Could the coats not be kept down with appropriate rugging so clipping is unecessary?

Is it a fashion thing? Is it a case of they do it so I shall? Or is clipping a horse and then doing the above right in your eyes. In my eyes it is not unless I am convinced otherwise.
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Some horses don't need neck covers. Granted, if they are shivering then they need their management looking at, and if they are turned away, I agree, no need to clip if their coat is substantial enough.

But you also mentioned horses in light work, which mine is atm, and I listed the reasons why I clip.

Some people just think that horses hould be clipped in winter, just like they should wear rugs in the summer when it rains. We have one on our yard.
 
Apart from clipping and then rugging, there is also the issue of rugging unclipped horses thus flattening the air pockets in the fur trapping in warm air, leaving a hairy animal actually colder then not having a rug on at all. This is only combatted by putting the equivalent weight of rugs back on to replace the warmth, possibly more uncomfortable for the horse anyway.
 
Cortez said:
TBH I'd be more worried about people who rug their horses to the eyeballs and DON'T clip.
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x 1000

Many horses run exceedingly hot - my friesian is a classic of this - we've had sideways rain, 70mph winds and she still has steam coming off her :rolleyes: She has been unrugged with a small bib clip this year, next year this will probably get bigger as Im having to be so careful when I ride and for how long that she's not being left damp as it gets darker.

Also the bits about horses being 'left to the elements in a cold and dismal field'

This is what theyre designed for, this is what they're bodies know how to cope with! Its why they have fur, manes, tails, long whiskers on their chins etc its all to cope with weather/grazing and essentially survival.

A field may seem cold and dismal to us as a human used to our nice sofas and ipads but to a horse its at least a bit of freedom! And a chance to be a horse!

It is far better that they are able to move about, to pick and choose this type of grass here or that bit of tree there, than to be stood in a 12 x 12 box, on FREEZING cold concrete, barely able to turn around and lay down safetly, not with another horse to groom with etc.
 
Clipped retired mare last year as cushingoid and naturally hot so as soon as it starts to warm up about early march it all comes off. I can then assess if weight needs adjusting and she won't get so hot and itchy, with liver problems which she also has itching drives her wild.
 
Agree with Janette,that rugging in order to try to prevent much coat growth does not work(as OP suggested might be poss.) I've not seen it work on any horse. :-/ (Clipping and appropriate rugging always been necessary for mine & their workload & as I have had somewhat of a rug fetish in the past,they'll never be without an appropriate rug;))
 
my grey is fully clipped legs and all as it is easier to manage mud fever and keep her clean for hunting although she is well rugged

my dales normally has a blanket clip as i teach on her and light hacking although this year she has had a hunter clip as guess what (she is hunting hooray)

i do believe people nowadays clip for fashion instead of purpose no skin off my nose but think its a bit of a waste all the extra feed and rugs they have to buy just for their horse to look pretty
 
There are lots of valid reasons for clipping a horse in light work. There are also lots of valid reasons for clipping a horse in no work - sometimes they overheat just standing still; the horse might have been destined for a winter of work but for whatever reason it hasn't happened; the owner might be trying to get some weight off ... I'm sure there are some horses clipped for "fashion" when it isn't necessary, but I suspect this is very few and far between, and there will nearly always be a better reason for it, even if you don't know what it is.
 
My little TB runs on hot. Even light work in these mild times has her sweating buckets.

I'm lucky because I can leave her standing in with a fleece to dry off and cool down but if she lived out she'd have to be clipped or I'd never get her dry and she'd be colder unclipped than clipped due to being constantly wet and shivery after even the lightest work. And infact, I think I'll probably clip her today if she'll let me because it is ridiculous. Even having a belt round the field leaves her sweating like a pig!

Nothing wrong with clipping for whatever reason people want as long as they then rug appropriately. If they only do it because it looks nice I couldn't give a toss as long as horse is adequately covered afterwards.
 
I actually couldn't agree with you more, and I have been guilty in the past of clipping for clippings sake just to make them pretty!

This year I made the concious decision not to clip or rug my Vanner Cob, yes he gets sweaty when we go out for a hack (although hacks have been few and far between with the awful weather we've been having), but I have a good quality wick-away sweat rug to use until he cools.

All the others on the yard are clipped and rugged upto the eyeballs, and yet, I think my cob is probably the happiest there with his thick woolly mammouth coat and inch layer of insulating mud! Happy boy and happy mum not having to try to dry out wet rugs!!!!
 
I find it a bit odd to say the least that people do a full clip then rarely ride - maybe once a fortnight for an hour or something. Seems totally pointless. I;ve heard some people say it because they can keep the horse clean - but then, what's the point if you don't.
 
I clip my unridden shetland. Yep, haters keep hating but I do!

Why? Because she gets so itchy and sweaty on mild winter days she's clearly very uncomfortable. And she smells like hell. I know they're built to withstand bitter winters in the north sea but I dont struggle to keep her warm, I struggle to keep her cool. With all this mild inland weather I'd much rather switch her rugs about than see her miserable and uncomfortable all the time. She's also one of those shetlands that likes to play constantly and is forever charging around with the big boys. It makes sense for her to be clipped.
 
Archiesmummy said:
See, this has given me food for thought. I confess I rug and do not clip. I shall reevaluate. Thank you x
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I wouldn't do that either, except for our elderly cob who has started to feel the cold and lose condition which we can't keep on with just feeding. She comes in overnight. I must admit that yesterday when the weather was atrociously wet and windy the others had lightweight rugs on, unclipped, too. I had inended to clip my riding mare this winter as i have more time available and intended to keep her reasonably fit. But the weather has put paid to that, we have to hack in winter - the horses are at home and we have no arena. We are lucky if we get out once a week, so they are all unclipped and we take it steady on our hacks.

I used to know a teenager who seriously thought that if she stabled her horse and clipped and rugged it and fed hard feed, it was fit, regardless of the work it was doing. I hope that as she has grown older, she has grown wiser (haven't seen her for years). I think there are quite a lot of people who have similar views, or who simply think that it is the thing to do. Obviously those whose horses are fit enough to hunt regularly will benefit from being clipped and so need rugs (with or without necks).
 
My lad has a trace clip, as ridden work leaves him very wet with sweat, he refuses to dry, and I don't like rugging up a wet horse as it could cause a chill.. also, it's not unheard of that a horse can loose condition if rugged up wet?
He gets ridden a few times a week, it's all weather dependant though.
His coat was substantially thick this winter, never seen a woolley mammoth in the flesh before :eek:
Oh, and he's usually in a med weight neckless t/o
 
Mine is in light work over winter, but is clipped for his own welfare as he is hot unless it is below -5. He has a trace clip just now, but will be fully clipped late winter. He doesn't have a neck on his rug, and in fact is only turned out in a rainsheet if it is wet. Otherwise he is naked. When he's fully clipped he will have his rainsheet on all the time. Leaving him unclipped would be a serious welfare issue, even if he was not ridden at all.
 
My big horse is not clipped and always rugged, he is a wuss who loses weight overnight if he isn't toasty. The most sweating he will do after an energetic hack with cantering is a bit under the girth. He has a very fine coat, because he is rugged or thats just him I don't know.
Each to their own and if the horses are happy then that is fine. I rug mine more if they are in overnight than out.
I hate clipped legs, unless it is a show pony who never goes out (poor little mite) I think taking legs off in winter is cruel. Also when my last horse was hunter clipped I left the fornt of her face on as I feel that helped her to deal with life out in the field. I would never use a rug with no neck on a clipped horse. We didn't have pencillin years ago either, does anyone object to ABs on that principle?
 
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