Wintering Out - Part 2 - Clipping

[chickeninabun]

Does anyone clip and winter their horses out? If so what rugs do you put on them and what clip do you do?

Am thinking I may have to clip my hairy's legs in winter and thought her legs would look daft clipped and not the rest of her, but would she need mega rugging if clipped?

 

[Honeypots]

My hairies have a low trace and are generally unrugged unless persistantley raining but would just rug accordingly.

 

[Moggy in Manolos]

My mare has lived out with a full clip, but not the legs, i always leave them. She gets whatever rug she needs on the day, in depths of winter its usually a full neck heavy weight

 

[Ranyhyn]

Bib n Belly - lightweight
Trace - medium weight
Chaser - medium weight
Blanket/hunter - heavyweight

Generally speaking of course

 

[Natch]

Why do you want to clip just the legs? Generally speaking, the feather and the cat hairs they grow offer an enormous anount of protection against the elements and mud/water.

 

[katie_and_toto]

Well Toto doesn't fully live out in the winter, he's out all day but stabled at night, he has a hunter clip (he has a saddle patch, legs and his face fur left on) as he gets very woolly but still ridden 5 or 6 days a week, in the very very coldest part of winter he has a heavyweight turnout with a neck, with a fleece underneath if it's verrryyy cold. At night he has an 'underrug', I think it's middleweight, with a neck, and a stable rug over the top

He's always nice and toasty

It depends on your horse really, Toto feels the cold, hence why he's rugged up.

 

[welshied]

I always clip my cobs feathers in winter especially as when they get wet even after a night in his bedding they will still be wet in the morning, but he is getting his clipped next week and they won't ever be growing back as he has so many cuts and swelling under them all from mites. I have clipped just his legs before and he didn't look too bad lol but i usually just give him a blanket clip and he has HW rugs on because he really feels the cold

 

[chickeninabun]

This seems to be my problem too, Welshmonsters. She has had mites but we're trying to control them now,but she seems to have a few scabs from them and some rolls of hard flesh below her fetlocks, which am worried will look terribly unsightly if clipped out. Her old owner has said she just used to gentle hose any mud off each night and that the hair underneath never even got wet. It's a dilemma what to do for the best, but I hopefully have a couple of months before I have to decide.

 

[RobinHood]

My horses live out all winter, I tend to clip them out completely (legs, ears, the lot!) at the beginning of october and then after that I leave the legs on. They wear medium weight rugs to start with and then heavyweights when it's really cold. I swap them back into medium weights a week before they are reclipped.

 

[welshied]

My cobs legs are really ridged skin underneath and you can see the ridges but if i leave them on he just bites them until they bleed, when i fisrt took his feather off a year after i got him they were so swollen and vet said he was lucky that he hadn't got blood poisoning

you could always take them off once and see what they are like and then let them grow back she will have feathers again this time next year

 

[chickeninabun]

Don't tempt me!! I'd love to see what she looked like without feathers but if I didn't like it I want them back straight away! LOL!

If I clipped her feathers would it be custom to hog her too? I think it's traditional with cobs but I couldn't face losing that mane (see pictures in above fatty post)!!

 

[welshied]

I have never hogged my horse but he does look a bit stupid with his long mane and no feather but i could never hog him i might shorten it slightly lol heres a pic of mine when i clipped his feathers off heres a pic of him it will give you an idea he had, had a clip aswell

 

[stencilface]

One welsh x tb pony has a low trace clip, MW rugs with high necks but doesn't have his legs clipped.

My sisters horse is kept in at night through the winter, but he is fully clipped inc legs. He has a fully neck HW rug on. I would think yours would be fine with clipped legs and a neck and belly clip - wouldn't look weird then.

 

[Ranyhyn]

Welshmonsters, off topic but your horse is stunning!

 

[welshied]

Thank you,

 

[luckilotti]

i tend to leave them as they are, rug accordingly.

Sometimes my shetland gets a bib clip then a rug - mainly as he gets sweaty arm pits! (he walks a few steps and sweats there bless him)

Leg wise, i leave them as they are until they look as if they could be getting a bit of mud fever, at some points then, (shire in particular) the legs get clipped off.

 

[chickeninabun]

Welshmonsters, yours looks stunning without feather but still with his beautiful mane!

 

[welshied]

Has he convinced you then? lol

 

[marmalade76]

I have kept horses out hunter clipped in the past and intend to clip my horse this winter and leave out. I never clip the legs or even trim heels in winter but I have never had anything really hairy. My horse has a Premier Equine medium weight Winterbuster with a neck cover and a really good 200g under rug from Fal Pro that has a water-proof belly wrap.

 

[chickeninabun]

Almost! I think I'll leave her au naturel until autumn really sets in, about Oct time then I think I will go for it and make her into a show cob!! Like you said, it'll grow back in a year or so, but am definately keeping the mane and tail. I hate pulled tails.
So watch out for some before and after pictures later in the year!!

 

[AmyMay]

I would probably only give a low chaser to something that is required to live out 24/7 throughout the winter - allbeit reluctantly.

I actually think it's terribly unfair to give anything fuller if they are required to cope with the weather that can be chucked at them. And certainly to clip something out fully is just plain cruel imo.

 

[HayleyandBob]

I fully clip the Cob all year round cause he is a hairy beast! he lives out during the day and comes in most nights (unless its clear weather) but hes a cob and doesnt seem to get cold , so rugging is just judged on that days weather

 

[spookypony]

Mine lives out unrugged and unclipped---he has only a bit of feather, but that seems to work to keep his legs dry and warm underneath. He gets a rug overnight if he comes in seeming cold---happened 3 times last winter, when there was really heavy rain and wind. With the exception of hunting, he rarely got sweaty enough to warrant worrying about getting him dry.

His fieldmates are clipped and rugged, and also live out 24/7. They all seem to cope just fine. I don't remember what clip is was, but neck-and-tum seems to be popular around here.

 

[SO1]

Mine had trace clip and normally has MW no neck but it got very cold last winter down to -12C at night so he had HW then. What rugs he has depends on the weather and how much weight he needs to loose.

He is a good doer and our winter grazing is excellent as it is rested for 8 months a year!

 

[kellyeaton]

what is the reason you want to clip him coz in your feeding post you said he will only be ridden at weekends so is there any point of clipping him?

 

[night_mare]

full clipped, start with lightweight rug, move up to an under rug with a lightweight, medium or heavyweight turnout over the top depending on how cold it is. with an under rug it means you can change the top rug easily, without them losing heat whilst you do it.

 

[chickeninabun]

[ QUOTE ]
what is the reason you want to clip him coz in your feeding post you said he will only be ridden at weekends so is there any point of clipping him?

[/ QUOTE ]

I am debating whether I will have to clip her legs right out, as they are v feathered and don't want a losing battle with the neverending mud come winter, so thought she'd look a dog with just legs and no body clipped. But there is fair debate for clipping the legs re it keeping the mud at bay but then some say mites etc can cause legs to swell/scab etc so best off!! Arrgghh!