Clipping and convenience

[lucyloo]

Just wondering about the ethics of clipping

This year I want to ride through the winter for the first time so will be clipping my mare. This means I'll have to rug which is a pain!

[Nat]

I clip cause she gets very sweaty and dont have time to wait for her to dry off, also it keps her looking smart, expecially for hunting, etc

[varkie]

Oooh, interesting. I bet this'll get some lively discussion!

I only clip mine when I feel that they need it to make them more comfortable. I don't clip for the look of it or for showing, only for their health. I haven't found that I needed to clip just because they were ridden as such.

My pony & heavyweight cob had a neck & chest clip last winter as they were getting so sweaty - not necessarily ridden either, just generally. The same pony has to have a full clip in about March/April, as she struggles with changing her coat as well as her sweet itch. I haven't needed to rug any of them so far with these clips, and my horses are kept unrugged 95% of the time.

So far I haven't needed to clip my Welsh D, but as I'm planning her to have a higher work level this winter, we'll see how she copes. I don't think the lusitano will need clipping this year as she's likely to be in only very light work if any, due to her age, we'll see in the future, again depending on how she copes in work with sweating.

[nikki]

I don't clip but not for any of the reasons above - my two just aren't ridden hard enough to warrant clipping (plus I'm far too lazy for that kind of malarky!).

[Yann]

I tried without the first winter we had Rio and it was a disaster, she tends to sweat a lot anyway and every ride, even fairly sedate ones resulted in a sodden horse unless there was a good breeze. I've clipped since and everyone has been a lot happier, though I haven't clipped off as much as I could do as a bit of a compromise.

[Hazel J]

I dont usually clip Shannon , but last winter I did on the advice of my vet as we thought she had a skin problem - turned out it was actually a food allergy, so needn't have had her clipped, but that is another story!

But, must say that having her clipped did make life a lot easier for me as regards grooming, drying off after work etc, though of course I had to keep her rugged up for longer than I would normallly had she not been clipped.

She looked incredibly smart too with a full clip - went from hairy cob to sleek coated beauty in one fell swoop of the clippers!!!

[Louise]

Clipping always used to be just part of the seasonal routine really and I find it still can be - some people just think "it's that time of year so let's clip". Some people are a bit suprised when you don't clip your horse and, of course, this must be because your horse is difficult to clip!!!! Hmmm...! I think a lot of people don't even really know why they clip - its just how it is!!
I found that I didn't need to clip last winter... so I didn't!
IMO it just depends on your horse - some horses can't cope with thick coats and hard work, some get itchy, some have problems like Cushings. etc etc..
I personally don't agree with clipping a horse unless you need to for their well being rather than just for show, but I guess that as long as they are rugged sufficiently then it's not really too serious an issue - I personally always worry though that if they have to be rugged then how on earth do we know how warm they really feel - at least when it's their own fur it can do what it needs to do (ie cool them off/warm them up). I am probably too much of a worrier though and take concerns like that a little too far!!! LOL!

[anonny]

My horse gets very hairy, and I can only ride in the evenings when it is getting chilly. She sweats a lot in her full hairy glory so I can choose:
1 - clip her so she doesn't sweat as much (then rug as necessary)
2 - stick to work that won't make her sweat (which would mean about 5 to 10 mins walking only)
3 - let her sweat and risk a chill (exposed fields)

I chose option 1.

[Oranges]

i have never clipped before, but i think this winter i will have to clip kim because i will be wanting to ride her a fair bit, and last winter i couldn't take her for more then 10 mins before she was sweating. Her and the old mare will be inside, so i doubt her being clipped will be a problam, the rest though will just stay in there natural woolly state this winter as usual ;D

[stef]

i clip throughout the winter as my horse stays in quite hard work, i only give her a belly and neck clip or blanket clip though as she lives out all year round, well with a field shelter and rugs when nescessary!

[Cathy248]

I'll be clipping mine this winter because she has sensitive skin and as I'll be competing through the winter I don't want her to get sweated up. Also a short clipped coat and natural summer coat makes keeping her coat clean much easier.
She comes up in little bumps if she gets sweaty and isn't washed off or if she's not groomed regularly. This means that clipping in the winter is kinder to her and make life easier for me. Bathing a horse in winter isn't very easy!

[Liz]

I have always blanket clipped my horses, even when hunting and this has always worked very well. I prefer a blanket clip as the remaining coat keeps them warmer when hanging about. They are always turned out fom dawn to dusk in the winter, from the end of October to April. I do like having them in but by the end of the winter I am praying for 24/7 turnout! I have only had one horse who was difficult to clip - my last 2 I could have clipped in the middle of a field!

As regards bathing a horse in the winter, I used to have the luxury of a wash box with infra red heaters but now I would only do a sponge down with either a TINY bit of washing soda dissolved in a bucket of warm water or some soapless horse shampoo to freshen them up.

[pip]

I clip for all the worst reasons. It looks nice and is easier for me. I only do a sort of blanket clip. If I want to go to a competiton in winter it looks smarter. Also the horse doesn't get covered in mud when he rolls, the rug does. Then there is not that awful problem of what to do with a soaking wet horse when brought in from the field, nor what to do with a horse if it is raining after coming back from a ride. Decisions, decisions. In th end I decided it was a lot easier just to clip some hair off and rug him and have done with it. The only trouble I really had was that he put on too much weight after he was clipped.

[woolly]

I voted other.

I usually only ride once a week. For that, it's not worth it to clip. Yes, the horse gets sweaty on riding day. But I wash him off (yes he hates it but water is better than sweat drying in the coat) and try to make sure my ride is finished by lunchtime/early afternoon, so that he has time to dry before nightfall. He is usually rugged, so usually dries ok underneath. But I'm in Oz, and our winters are not nearly so severe as yours.

If I rode more often in winter, or rode in the evening, I'd trace clip him. And it would be for his comfort - so that he wouldn't get so sweaty in crucial areas and could dry off more quickly.

[birch]

I clip him right out ex head and legs, starting in September as his hairiness sweats himself to a standstill! She is much finer so only needs a bib clip if that. She is also a chilly mortal. I have to justify the cost of clipping and then the cost of rugs, against the use of God's own coat, boosted with extra for insulation against Dartmoor's worst!! ;D