Clipping advice please

[Trewsers]

Storm had been clipped (I think) when I first got her back in April. Haven't a clue what to do about clipping - when do you do it and why and how much?? I presume OH's tb won't need clipping - he's got such a thin fine silky coat :p Storm is a connie x - she is quite silky but not as thin skinned as OH's horse. ANy suggestions / comments? Do I HAVE to clip her???

[eventerbabe]

no, you don't have to clip her. if i were you i'd wait and see how she copes with her work load. come october/november time if she's getting really hot and sweaty after a ride then it might be wise to give her a bib or a low trace to prevent her getting a chill.

i never clip before october and never take off more than i absolutely have to. and i don't clip bonnie anymore. she's not in heavy work so theres no point. but i do know people who clip their horses even though they never ride in the winter :rolleyes: absolute waste of time if you ask me.

[Mehitabel]

you clip in winter, so that the horse is more comfortable when you ride. with their thick winter coats, when you ride they sweat much more and much faster, so you clip so they are comfortable. sweating can give them a chill, in cold weather, as well as taking ages to dry off and being uncomfortable while it's happening, and losing salts etc through sweat.
some hoorses who don;t have a fine summer coat, or who are very heavy and suffer in the heat, are clipped in summer as well, but it's not usual.

there are various clips, depending on what the horse's workload is and how much it sweats - the smallest just goes down the neck and chest, while if the horse does a lot of work you can take the lot off and just leave the legs on.
presumably you'd get someone to do it for you, so you could discuss what type of clip would be best with them at the time.
keep an eye on her as she gets her winter coat, and see how much she is sweating.

[Trewsers]

Thanks for the replies! I'll keep an eye on her ;) I swear she's starting to lose some of her summer coat already though, I've noticed her brush is looking very hairy when we've been grooming :)

[Jessey]

I'm the same, I just monitor Bo and see how he's going, he only had one clip last winter but some people start clipping at the end of this month and will clip 2 or 3 times. They say you shouldn't clip after January as it can interfere with the summer coat (you can sometimes see the lines all year round if you clip to late) I did Bo last year around christmas as thats when his coat started to get really thick and I increased his work load then too and that was enough to see him through winter comfortably (he's arab x tb but does get very wooley).

J x