would you full clip and have living out?

My boy fully clipped bar legs and half face. Lived out all winter even when minus 14.5! Spent most of it in sheet with neck cover as is tough hot Irish sports, more TB than I'D though. Thrived and never looked so well. Field shelter and ad lib hay in it.
 
A lot of people are mentioning that they are warmer outside than in a stable... Maybe I'm lucky at my yard, our stables are in a stone built block, thick walls etc and are noticeably toasty even though they are large, I have never known my water bucket freeze!! However at old yard they were in a American style barn set up, brrrrr! Artic!!
So once again it totally depends on your horse and your situation, personally at my yard right now, no I wouldn't the turnout is muddy in winter and no very well sheltered, he will be out adequately rugged from 7-5 then tucked up to keep warm overnight in his stable.
 
Clava said:
Many would say your horses are waiting for the stable simply from routine and expecting to be fed, nothing to do with disliking being out.
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totaly agree with this :) mine will wait at gate when they see me but only because then they get fed in there stable,as soon as they have finished they bash 10 bales out of door to get back out again!!!
 
Ludoctro said:
Personally no I would not , most I'd take of a outdoor horse would be a trace clip.
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My friend that does this tried that and found for her it just it not work it was hard to get the horse dry after work and it was prone to getting fungal infections under the rug she hunter clipped and that cracked it .
She does however have access to a stable at all times so at any moment the horse is not coping she could bring him in personally I would worry trying without that safety net.
 
I also wondered how many of you who stable your horses have ever stood on a concrete floor in a room with no heating for hrs on end????you freeze!!!!even with coats on.i do this (unfortunatley)four nights a wk and it is not pleasant,yet when im outside moving around i am much more comfortable and warm ;) just a thought :)
 
I clip where he sweats, a trace clip really, runs up the lower neck, round the back of the ears, and under the chin. He has a medium/heavy rug that comes forward over the withers and he has a thick un trimmed mane and tail, he is never cold, and only needs a quick sponge over after work. If I were hunting once a week, I would have a blanket clip as he would be a lot dirtier, but only if hunting long days twice a week, would I consider a full clip, and then I would use a heavier combo rug.
I tend to clip early in mild weather and so there is a bit of warmth rather than bare skin
He loves his stable, and comes to the gate in wet weather when he feels he has had enough of his field, other times he only comes to call, the field has hedge shelter, he is probably not so much cold as hungry.
 
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Jackessex

Most stables now a days have rubber matting down , all yards I been at do anyway and I've come up in the thick of winter, heavy snow and ice ( I live in NE Scotland and its harsh)

Gone into the barns with the horses to find its nice and warm due to all them being in there.

I used to as a child have horses mostly living out with field shelter and anytime you went up all our horses would be huddle in the shelter so being in a stable in the bad weather is the same tbh I think u would find the horse stood in a shelter if it had one. I have no problem with horses living out but do think they need access to a field shelter.
 
jackessex said:
I also wondered how many of you who stable your horses have ever stood on a concrete floor in a room with no heating for hrs on end????you freeze!!!!even with coats on.i do this (unfortunatley)four nights a wk and it is not pleasant,yet when im outside moving around i am much more comfortable and warm ;) just a thought :)
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Well if you would leave your horses freezing and standing on concrete in the stable that's up to you my horse have rubber floors ( very soft) and nice thick beds so are toasty warm.
 
My boy used to live out fully clipped with legs off as well.
He did fine in a heavyweight and he was also fed accordingly.
I don't understand why others say its wrong to do so, totally depends on the horse he didn't drop weight and was a very happy chappy!
 
Ludoctro said:
Personally no I would not , most I'd take of a outdoor horse would be a trace clip.
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You see this is the thing I don't understand - people think it is acceptable to trace clip a horse that lives out, but not to use more extensive clips. A trace clip still exposes the belly which is the hardest thing to keep covered and warm. If you take more off the body and neck then it is easy to compensate in those areas with extra rugging and neck covers.

I can more easily understand the stance of those who say you shouldn't clip at all, but not those who advocate a trace clip only.
 
TGM

How can u take more off body and neck and expose less areas than a trace..??? Unless you just shave the horses neck and don't touch body..? You don't make sense to me , only clip I can think off that removes neck is blanket - in which case the horses belly I'd still exposed in fact only difo is the neck the rest of clip is the same

Unless you mean some random made up clip like some people do themselves , in which case that's fine too , I just don't think a full clip is nice for a outdoor horse, a wee bit hear and there taken off fine but think the main body and back should be left alone.
 
I think you misunderstood my post! What I am saying is that a trace clip exposes the belly and that is the hardest bit to cover up and keep warm. If you do a hunter clip or a blanket clip, you may take more hair off, but you will be taking it off in areas that are much easier to cover up and keep warm! So basically, as long as you add extra rugging, it doesn't really matter to the horse whether you do a hunter clip or a trace clip, as the belly is the bit most likely to get chilly when out!
 
Ah ok yes I understand what you mean now

Still don't agree though ;-)

I think the whole Indoor - outdoor subject will always have two strong sides

Sometimes you just have to agree to disagree :-)
 
Ludoctro said:
Ah ok yes I understand what you mean now

Still don't agree though ;-)

I think the whole Indoor - outdoor subject will always have two strong sides

Sometimes you just have to agree to disagree :-)
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You're quite welcome to keep your own horses as you wish, as long as you don't frown on others keeping theirs in different ways that they can logically explain and justify!
 
Just wanted to add that traditionally it was frowned upon to clip horses living out, but then in the old days they didn't have the range of rugs and neck covers we have now. If a horse was clipped and lived out many years ago it could only be protected by a stiff and skimpy canvas New Zealand rug that probably did little to keep the horse warm!
 
TGM said:
Just wanted to add that traditionally it was frowned upon to clip horses living out, but then in the old days they didn't have the range of rugs and neck covers we have now. If a horse was clipped and lived out many years ago it could only be protected by a stiff and skimpy canvas New Zealand rug that probably did little to keep the horse warm!
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That's very true ,thermatexs, breathable waterproofs ,different liners ,hoods have all made it much easier to keep horses warm.
 
No, I wouldn't fully clip a horse that lived out. I can't believe that some people take off the legs either on a horse that lives out or even is turned out all day. I think it is rubbish that horses are warmer out than in too. Try standing in the middle of a cold windy field and then in the middle of a stable that has no wind chill factor. I think in an ideal world, horses should be left to go in and out of shelter, and even their stables as and when they choose. If I had the right set up, that is how I would manage them. But as it is, during the winter, the ones in work are clipped out chaser, trace or hunter. I always leave the legs and front of face on. Horses are stabled at night.
 
TGM said:
You see this is the thing I don't understand - people think it is acceptable to trace clip a horse that lives out, but not to use more extensive clips. A trace clip still exposes the belly which is the hardest thing to keep covered and warm. If you take more off the body and neck then it is easy to compensate in those areas with extra rugging and neck covers.

I can more easily understand the stance of those who say you shouldn't clip at all, but not those who advocate a trace clip only.
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Totally agree, if you are going to expose the belly there is little arguement for not taking off the rest as the rest is better covered anyway (with rugs).
 
Wagtail said:
No, I wouldn't fully clip a horse that lived out. I can't believe that some people take off the legs either on a horse that lives out or even is turned out all day. I think it is rubbish that horses are warmer out than in too. Try standing in the middle of a cold windy field and then in the middle of a stable that has no wind chill factor. I think in an ideal world, horses should be left to go in and out of shelter, and even their stables as and when they choose. If I had the right set up, that is how I would manage them. But as it is, during the winter, the ones in work are clipped out chaser, trace or hunter. I always leave the legs and front of face on. Horses are stabled at night.
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I always clip legs as its too difficult to check minutely thick hairy legs and they take hours to dry after hunting I never get mud fever now I clip the legs either.
Recently we have been discussing building an large shed south facing in our winter field an going onto the more living out model for some of the horses
I am just not sure I worry about would they fight as they would have to share the shed and although large this might be an issue how much work would it save ? It would still need mucking out and might be a huge job to keep on top of it
and you would have to separate them daily for feeding hard food.
And my big worry all my horses will submit calmly to box rest if I went over to this model would it make this more difficult I consider one of my big duties to train any horse whose development I am in charge of that staying in for a long time is part of life , it can literally be the difference between life and death to a horse .
We have not decided yet and it will cost a lot to build and I can buy a lot if grooms hours for that money not sure what to do yet.
 
Goldenstar said:
I always clip legs as its too difficult to check minutely thick hairy legs and they take hours to dry after hunting I never get mud fever now I clip the legs either.
Recently we have been discussing building an large shed south facing in our winter field an going onto the more living out model for some of the horses
I am just not sure I worry about would they fight as they would have to share the shed and although large this might be an issue how much work would it save ? It would still need mucking out and might be a huge job to keep on top of it
and you would have to separate them daily for feeding hard food.
And my big worry all my horses will submit calmly to box rest if I went over to this model would it make this more difficult I consider one of my big duties to train any horse whose development I am in charge of that staying in for a long time is part of life , it can literally be the difference between life and death to a horse .
We have not decided yet and it will cost a lot to build and I can buy a lot if grooms hours for that money not sure what to do yet.
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You would be surprised how little horses actually use a shelter to get out of the wind and rain. My two have a lovely big shelter in their paddock. They use it a lot in summer to escape the flies, but I find them out grazing or standing with the backs to the wind in the nastiest f weather, rather than go and use the shelter. They go in it if I put the hay in there though :D.

My sister has a massive american barn and she leaves it open with the horse's stables open for the horses to roam in and out. She often finds them the opposite end of the field 'locked down' in a blizzard and not even wanting to be led to shelter. :confused: They are strange creatures.
 
Wagtail said:
I think it is rubbish that horses are warmer out than in too. Try standing in the middle of a cold windy field and then in the middle of a stable that has no wind chill factor.
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But the whole point is that horses don't necessarily have to stand in the middle of a cold windy field. They can move around and find the most sheltered spots according to the wind direction. My field adjoins a wood and there are thick holly hedges and an overhanging canopy of trees that keep the horses just as dry and out of the wind as they would be in the stable. (And yes I have tested it out!)

You could say that not all fields are so well supplied with natural or artificial shelter and that is true, but then not all stables are dry and warm either - I've seen ones with gaping holes in the sides and roofs. You can't compare the worst of one scenario with the best of another and make it a fair comparison!
 
Wagtail said:
You would be surprised how little horses actually use a shelter to get out of the wind and rain. My two have a lovely big shelter in their paddock. They use it a lot in summer to escape the flies, but I find them out grazing or standing with the backs to the wind in the nastiest f weather, rather than go and use the shelter. They go in it if I put the hay in there though :D.

My sister has a massive american barn and she leaves it open with the horse's stables open for the horses to roam in and out. She often finds them the opposite end of the field 'locked down' in a blizzard and not even wanting to be led to shelter. :confused: They are strange creatures.
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My horses love the shelter they have they are in there all the time lying in the savings chilling out but it's way to small for that sort of thing I was thinking of.
I only open it if there's only one horse out in that field.
I really just thinking about it and although now it seems like quite a good plan what will it be like in Febuary when the mud is awful .and I can't see how it would work without a proper hardstanding around it so it's going to cost £££££
 
Ours never used the open barns in bad weather, only summer. The paddocks had good hedges and trees which if ever you're caught in a blizzard, you'll know the difference between the exposed areas and the sheltered parts is massive.

The horses know how to stand, bracing against the worst weather, our big lad could often be found with a couple of foals standing under his belly, with his tail, the size of a thick curtain, keeping the babies toasty.

With stressy horses, with the right environment,turning them out 24/7 keeps them chilled enabling them to maintain condition better than if stabled.
 
jackessex said:
I also wondered how many of you who stable your horses have ever stood on a concrete floor in a room with no heating for hrs on end????you freeze!!!!even with coats on.i do this (unfortunatley)four nights a wk and it is not pleasant,yet when im outside moving around i am much more comfortable and warm ;) just a thought :)
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i would never stand horses on a concrete floor, I have large straw beds and thick stone stables which are a lot warmer and more sheltered than a field. I feed in every day of the year, my horses never stand waiting for their supper in the summer and when they start standing by the gate at night I keep them in.
 
RunToEarth said:
I feed in every day of the year, my horses never stand waiting for their supper in the summer and when they start standing by the gate at night I keep them in.
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Not many horses with good grass stand waiting for tea in summer, whereas they all stand like orphans at the gate in winter.

If you turned them back out after eating and left a supply of hay in the field, you might find it isn't the stable they want at all.
 
Mine have everything off and never bother about the weather.
They have good rugs on and I find the mutual benefits of living out suit all of us with me having more time to ride and them being out in fresh air, trickle feeding and moving as they wish.
I do have thick hedges all around as well as trees plus a shelter that's open both ends so they cant get stuck with a more dominant horse.
Also they have probably two full clips earlier in the year when its warmest and then possibly for a mid winter clip they don't get legs reclipped as the coat isn't too thick....
These are horses from novice to psg comp dressage horses.
 
Also having pasture with dry areas as well as decent grass covering helps.
I can easily think a horse is warmer out when its dry- their muscles generate plenty of heat
It's wet cold and mud that are the two things at grass that lead to cold unhappy horses whether clipped or not.
especially when forage is scarce.

If you have dry fields plenty of forage and shelter of some kind I can't see any problem?
 
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