Clipping

The purpose of clipping is to aid the comfort of the horse during the winter months. It is a balance between the horse's natural protection against the colder weather and our desire to keep working the horse.

The longer and coarser winter coat usually starts to grow in early Autumn. This extra insulation causes the horse to sweat more during work, which if not dried off may cause chills and general loss of condition, and generally makes it uncomfortable for the horse. A clipped horse is also easier to groom and clean.

Styles of clipping

Three common clipping styles are illustrated. The darker brown is the longer unclipped hair.

Hunter Clip

Obviously the more hair that is removed the less tolerant the horse will be to the cold and wet. So the hunter clip is only suitable for horses kept stabled all the time and exercised often.

The trace clip leaves most of the exposed areas of the horse unclipped and is suitable for horses turned out during the day and stabled at night.

Compensation

Next - grooming.