See below for the various Clip Options, their purposes and appropriateness:
Which Clip is best for your horse?
There are many variations of clip that you can do on your horse. Which one you choose will depend on several factors;
- What work your horse is doing
- Where they sweat and how much
- Their clipping experience
- Whether living in or out
- Their health, condition and age
Ideally we only clip off as much as we need to keep the horse comfortable. This could be from a little bit off the neck on a horse or pony living out and hacking once a week to a complete clip on those competing hard. Older horses or those with Cushings who struggle to regulate their body temperature or to lose their winter coat can benefit from being clipped to prevent overheating.
Why Clip?
Clipping is primarily done for the benefit of the horse’s health. Some of these are;
- To prevent the loss of condition from excessive sweating
- Reduce the risk of chills as a clipped horse can cool down and dry quicker after exercise. They are also then less likely to start to overheat when rugging up again.
- Help the over hairy horses and ponies feel more comfortable when working. Some native types or cobs can become itchy and distressed when not able to cool down.
- Improve the comfort of a pony or horse with Cushings. The long hair grown by these horses and the resistance of the coat to shed means they often get overheated in the day. Depending on the weather these can be impossible to dry and are then at risk of becoming chilled at night.
- Help in the treatment of horses with lice by limiting the environment available for the lice to live in and making medication more effective.
There has been a large increase in recent years of the hairy traditional cobs. Many of these have problems with leg mites which can lead on to other skin problems.
Often the easiest way to control this is to clip off the feathers completely so that the skin can be treated.
It is at this time that sores and infections are sometimes discovered which have been almost impossible to see or feel before. The area at the back of the knee is an area that can develop painful cracks in the skin (called mallenders) and is often hidden under long feather.
Not only can the volume of this feather hide all manner of injury and make it difficult to feel for heat or swelling in the legs but also make them overheat while working and slower to cool down following exercise. Kicking and stamping from overheating or from mites may also cause problems from concussion or kicking their other leg and further risk for wounds to become infected.
Spirit is one such mare that does not like to be clipped or even to be touched when Tracey first got her. Quiet perseverance has meant we can now get close enough to start working on her legs and get clippers near her.
It is worth keeping this in mind if wishing to purchase or rescue such ponies. They are often much higher maintenance than expected. Do you have time for this? If they were to need clipping, can you do this yourself or be able to pay for regular clips? And that’s assuming that the will let you clip them!
Horses generally only need enough hair taken off in relation to how much they sweat. A hunter clip looks very smart but is not necessary on a horse that sweats only on the neck and girth area. In this case often a bib or low chaser clip is enough, especially if the horse lives out. Just some ‘breathing space’ could prevent the horse from sweating up as much elsewhere.
Personally, I would avoid taking the hair off the back of a horse if they are likely to have to stand around without a rug. When a horse is fully clipped I always use an exercise sheet when warming up or when walking off following exercise. Keeping the muscles warm over the horses back can only help them to work better and prevent injuries. Therefore I personally will put a rug on at any time the horse is not working hard or for hacking or when standing around at competitions in cold weather.
The Horseware exercise sheet. A good quality cutaway fleece rug that doesn’t pull on the horses back when moving.
Bib Clip
Ideal for horses and ponies that are working only at weekends or are living out and that only sweat on the neck and chest. The bib can be kept just at the front or extended back to include the girth area. It is also the first clip I would do on a young horse. It is worth taking the time to accustom a horse to clipping gradually so that it is relaxed and accepting of it. Time and patience taken at the beginning usually pays off later. Trying to clip too much too soon can put a horse off the experience.
Stifle Clip
There are many variations to do of this clip. A step further from the Bib clip it takes off the stomach back to the stifle and more off the neck.
Trace Clip
Again this can vary. From a low trace to a much higher one depending on horse and its coat but the difference from the chaser is to remove the section of hair around the top of the hind legs. This is useful on native types that get very hot between the back legs
Blanket Clip
Taking much more off the horse but keeping the back and loins covered for warmth. Either with a half face or taking off the full face. Over the winter I prefer to leave a horse with the front of the face on but take it off in the spring or at the last clip if they are very hairy.
Full or Hunter clip
Removing the hair from the back of the horse but often leaving a saddle patch for protection and comfort under the saddle panel area.
Complete clip
Removing all hair from the body of the horse including the legs. For competition horses or those that sweat a lot. Not recommended for those living out or needing the protection on the legs. Often done in the spring to clear the coat for those that hold on to it.
When clipping just a bib clip there is usually no need to immediately start rugging or increase any rugs used.
Any time we start to take a higher percentage off the horse then we need to protect it from getting chilled.
When we take the hair off the back of the horse then personally I believe we should keep it covered at anytime when the horse will not be generating its own heat.
A wrap around exercise sheet is ideal for such times as they can be easily removed if the horse was to start to work harder and also to put back on to as the horse cools down. They do need to be the correct size for the horse so that they sit correctly.
?Older fashioned woollen exercise sheets that fold back under the saddle flap are great for adjusting to different sized horses and as long as they are put on correctly will not move.
In my experience, Rambo do the best wrap around fleece exercise sheet. I avoid any cheaper fleece or fleece lined waterproof types as they seem to get ‘stuck’ on the hair over the quarters and pull as the horse moves, particularly when freshly clipped.
It is also important for this reason not to have the exercise sheet too long. It does not need to go past the top of the tail, it is there to keep the loins and quarters covered. They must have a fillet string attached to prevent being blown forward in windy weather! Unless you are hacking in very wet weather, a fleece sheet or in particular a woollen one will keep the horse quite dry without the need for a waterproof sheet.
