Thursday, May 10, 2012

To Clip or Not To Clip! and a very clever pony


Now that it is cold again in my part of the world I have to decide if I want to clip Sam or not. I have never looked after a clipped horse in the real cold. We get to about -2 degrees (about 28 fahrenheit) at night and up to about 20 degrees (about 68 fahrenheit) during the day.  I know it will make life easier after I ride but do you think it could possibly make Sam a little 'fresh' as well? He lives out but does have access to his stable and if during the night if it is raining and really cold then I can stable him and keep him dry. I definately will keep his legs and face on. These are some what I am considering -



I am leaning more towards the middle look I think.
So the Pros: Easier to keep Sam clean and dry after I ride. Just a sponge over with warm water after I ride at nnight and he will cry in next to no time.

Cons: Am I able to keep him warm enough with rugs?
His shoulders will really rub
Will he get a little 'fresh'?

Your thoughts? Do you clip your horse through winter? Are there things you don't like about it?


I have a clever little pony I think. I normally let Poppy out in the house yard while I ride so she can have a pick and gallop around if she feels the need. Usually she makes a nusance of herself by galloping onto the arena and off again while I am trying to work Sam. (It is very cute though - she gallops on kicking up her heels, squeals, spins and gallops off again or trots in front of us right under Sam's nose!!!) Sometimes I close the gate so she can't annoy us or I have a small little paddock next to the arena where I put her as well at times. This afternoon I just closed the gate so she couldn't come onto the arena. After I rode I tried to catch her as Sam and I made our way back to the wash bay but she refused to be caught. She still followed us around and just grazed near by while I prepared Sam for bed, made up dinners and did all my evening chores. I finished everything and went to catch little Poppy to put her in her stable for the night, once again she wouldn't let me catch her but she trotted straight into her stable, turned around looked at me and waited for me to come and rug her! She normally doesn't get her dinner till I do the final check/feed at about 10pm. She is such a good little girl sometimes!

6 comments:

Amy said...

If that is as cold as you get I would say you would have no problem keeping him warm.

Mona Sterling said...

My trainer didn't have me clip Tessa last year because she said it would make her a little 'fresher'. I have no experience with clipping, except for that comment from the trainer so I can't help otherwise....if you do clip, post pictures! I love pics of clipped ponies!!

Checkmark115 said...

I always clip and it gets colder than that here in the states. Its just easier to manage and keep clean as well as keeps the horses happier when in work. My horse especially sweats like crazy even with a clip.
I blanket and he maintains his weight just fine. I used a weatherbeeta with a neck and sometimes add a blanket underneath if it gets colder than 10F.
I clip him with the middle version of the blanket clip. I say clip away!

Nina said...

Thanks guys, I will keep thinking. Sam just gets so wooly and I do have competitions during winter but only dressage so it doesn't matter too much if they are clipped I guess!

SprinklerBandit said...

I full body clipped (just left legs and a bit on the head). I didn't notice any personality changes or freshness, but our horses work pretty hard regardless. Clipping is sooooo much easier to keep clean and dry. I'm all for it.

As for temperatures, we had several weeks that didn't get above the temps you listed and our horses were just fine. They wear medium weight blankets, with neck covers and an underlayer when it's under 30f or so.

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