would you full clip and have living out?

jackessex

jackessex

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hi all as in title
my boy is in fairly hard work and is getting hairier by the minute ;) but i would like him to stay living out he has access to field shelter and plenty of grass and hay as he needs it.I know i will get to the point where he will need clipping so what do you think?obviously he would be rugged according to weather.
 
I am doing full clip except legs on my very fat nf gelding and he will be out all winter unless its horrendous weather. he will be rugged when it gets really cold but other wise he will have a rain sheet or be naked.
 
as long as properly rugged and they have access to shelter then i would full clip and keep living out. my mare usually has a blanket clip and lives out perfectly fine (highlands of scotland) i considered a full clip last year... to try and shift a few lbs! :D
 
I never have but I know someone who does the horse is fit and hunts once or twice a week .
They do have a stable for the night before so she cleans the horse up on the afternoon before and puts him out after hunting once he's dry and clean and has eaten horse looks well it works for them , she has several rugs so she always has dry ones.
 
Absolutely as it is far easier to rug a full or hunter clip than half a belly etc where there will be variations where the coat is on. Just rug as necessary.
 
Well my 2 hunters are fully clipped already and still out 24/7. They have lightweight rugs on in the daytime and thicker ones overnight, but they will be coming in when the weather turns.

I know plenty of people that fully clip, keeping face and legs on, and keep out 24/7. I would just ensure you have plenty of rugs and a neck cover too. Imo it is better to clip so that the horse doesn't sweat - then you can put rugs straight back on after excercise to turn back out.
 
amymay said:
No, absolutely not.
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reasons???? my thinking is that as long as he is well rugged then surely he is better off being able to move around this is better than being stuck in the stable wanting out.I wouldnt be taking legs or face off and all my rugs are full necks,i also have so many he could easily have a different one on as and when needed.
 
jackessex said:
reasons????
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I just think it's terribly unfair of us to expect the horse to cope with the sort of weather the good old UK will chuck at it during the winter - with his coat off. Regardless of the quality or amount of rugs you have on it.

Can't think of anything more miserable for the poor animals.

And horses don't mind being in their stables. Providing they have plenty of turnout during the day, and a good routine I really can't see what the issue is.
 
amymay said:
I just think it's terribly unfair of us to expect the horse to cope with the sort of weather the good old UK will chuck at it during the winter - with his coat off. Regardless of the quality or amount of rugs you have on it.

Can't think of anything more miserable for the poor animals.
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i can being stuck in his stable for 12 hrs!!!
 
It wouldn't bother me if I had plenty of rugs, they had shelter and plenty of grass (or ad-lib hay) but I would probably only do it if I knew that I COULD bring them in at night if they were struggling.

Once the fluff has gone there's no bringing it back so I'd want a back up plan in action in case they couldn't manage living out 24/7.

The NF at work was hunter clipped last winter and lived out, he didn't need much rugging but had lots of grass and a huge barn they could get into. Stables were on stand-by just in case!
 
jackessex said:
i can being stuck in his stable for 12 hrs!!!
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Well, we'll have to differ on that. On the whole horses in a good routine with plenty of turnout don't mind being stabled.

I'm all for as much turnout as possible. But there are limits under what circumstances for me.

But, it seems to work for others - so give it a go.
 
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As people have mentioned above I don't see the problem, you can rug up accordingly and he will have access to shelter if he wants it. There are plenty of horses who winter out, unclipped with very little access to shelter. At least your horse will have shelter if he chooses to use it and has the rug to keep him warm and dry if not!!
 
My daughter's pony has everything off bar half head and legs, and she is still living out happily and will do so throughout the winter as she did last year. She is much happier out than in, as are our two horses who will have high chaser clips.

I can understand being concerned if the horse has to live out on an exposed hillside with no shelter, but given good shelter, sensible rugging and plenty of forage most horses and ponies will be absolutely fine.

In the OP's case the horse will have access to a field shelter so if he feels that miserable outside he will just bring himself in!
 
Mine have lived out fully clipped for the last 6 years with no problems. Suitable rugs, and they are happy as larry. Our old mare has come through the winters far better since being out, and we tend to clip her legs as well! I don't have access to stables, and it is much easier as they dry so much quicker when clipped.
 
Another point is to time your clipping well - clip whilst it is still fairly mild, then let it grow back a bit through the icy months, then clip again whilst weather starts getting warmer again.
 
As others have said, with appropriate rugging, plenty of forage and preferably good shelter I don't see a problem with it. However as one of the earlier posters wrote, I would like to know I had the use of a stable for emergencies.
 
my chap last year was clipped with just legs, saddle patch and head left on and he lives out - but, our fields are all hedge lined, they have access 24/7 to large matted field shelter on the yard and arena - they just have ad lib haylage (in haybars in shelter so no need to go in fields if dont want to) in depths of winter and balancer.

As long as you have a good variety of rugs to juggle with and decent neck covers and shelter you should be fine although but I would leave on legs and poss head if can unless stabling.
 
amymay said:
Well, we'll have to differ on that. On the whole horses in a good routine with plenty of turnout don't mind being stabled.

I'm all for as much turnout as possible. But there are limits under what circumstances for me.

But, it seems to work for others - so give it a go.
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Well said perhaps we should turn the OP out 24/7 in her underwear and a thick coat. :):):):)
 
As tgm says. Last yr I fully clipped my working hunter horse at about this time of year then by the time we got to Christmas it was all but grown back. He had a month off then I fully clipped him again in mid Feb
 
My cob had a full clip last year, left a saddle patch, legs and face on. She was perfectly happy living out with rugs and shelter. I do have stables and they come in at night during the worst weather, last year was for 3 weeks only.
 
My previous horse lived out all winter fully clipped. He wore a HW turnout, a thick stable rug, a jersey cooler and a hood, and was always toasty warm. He had access to his stable, but only went in there to have his hard feed. He was a messy sod in the stable, so nocturnal visits would have been noted!
I only had to shut him in on a handful of occasions, and he was colder shut in than he ever was living out.
 
Interesting one and at the risk of being labelled a bad horse owner yes I would. My cob is fully clipped out all year long as he grows a very heavy coat even in summer. He is 19 (no, he does not suffer from Cushings either), he is just a hairy chap. We have 24/7 turnout and I rug him up all through the winter and he is out as much as he can be. If my work schedule means I am working stupid hours, which can be frequently, he will pretty much live out. He is in work, which is fairly light and as and when. However if I leave his coat on he is a real sweaty bettie and is pretty uncomfortable. He wears good quality rugs appropriate to the weather conditions, and is a fairly hot chap anyway. He does not seem to suffer and does not lose any condition and is a very, very happy boy.

I would add that he is occasionally stabled, but prefers to be out with his mates in the field. I guess it really is a case of each to their own.
 
Mine spent last winter living out fully clipped, he was well rugged and had access to plenty of shelter. The only time he came in was to eat as I put some haylage and his hard feed in the shelter or when it was really rainy but he wasnt bothered by the cold.
 
Bentley lived out last winter and was unclipped - he got very woolly which caused him to sweat a lot when he was being worked (he was very unfit though, which didn't help) I don't think it's fair to put rugs on hot, sweaty horses, and despite trying to cool him down as much as possible it was difficult due to the fact that the yard rules state everybody has to have left by 8pm in the evening. This year he will most probably be living out again, and despite being a lot fitter, he does still get a bit sweaty round his girth and on his neck and chest. I think I'm going to give him a blanket clip and turn him out in either MW or HW combo's dependant on how cold it is. There is also a lot of natural shelter in his field.
 
Judging by the number of clipped horses stabled, unable to move around and standing in front of empty hay nets during the coldest hours of the night, the same horse would probably fare better moving around in a field with shelter and ad lib hay.
 
amymay said:
And horses don't mind being in their stables. Providing they have plenty of turnout during the day, and a good routine I really can't see what the issue is.
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my horse will NOT stay in a stable. so if he was ever in really heavy work and needed to be fully clipper he would be out. 2 of the liveries at my yard had theirs fully clipped (faces on) with field shelter out 24/7 and only ridden a handful of times a week, they survived.
 
horserider said:
Judging by the number of clipped horses stabled, unable to move around and standing in front of empty hay nets during the coldest hours of the night, the same horse would probably fare better moving around in a field with shelter and ad lib hay.
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As above.
 
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