Shaving horses/ponies

[horse show mom]

We had our pony shaved about 3 weeks ago and she is quickly growing her hair back. We have been keeping blankets on her since she was shaved but someone suggested maybe she is cold and needs more or heavier blankets to keep the hair from growing back so quickly. Any suggestions. :)

[deltawave]

By all means keep her comfortable, but her hair isn't "growing back". It was just not done growing in all the way yet. Horses' hair doesn't grow like ours, continuously, except to a very small degree. The winter coat comes in starting in mid-summer, and sheds out starting in deep winter. Once the hair that's "programmed" is done growing, that's it for hair growth until the next shedding time, other than a millimeter or two.

You can gauge if she's warm enough by observing and by running a hand under the blanket. What is going to impact her hair growing now is up to Mother Nature, and not something you can manipulate. :)

I find that if I want a clip to last all winter I have to do it in very late October or early November. That seems to be when mine are "done" growing their fur.

[ridenslide]

You CAN keep the hair feom growing MORE if you keep themin 16 hours of light.:winkgrin:
We do it!
Ancient QH trick i have fortunately learned these past 4 years!

MY horses are SLICK & their original color.:yes:
Last year, a friend had clipped & put her horse under lights immediately, &he grew back minimally! If your pony has grown back out, you could put the light up & then clip.You should be golden,then!:D
use a timer & life is EASY!

[Tilly]

I do the same thing Deltawave does, except this year I'll probably clip in mid November, so I don't have to clip twice.
You have to be absolutely sure that their winter coat is completely in. In your situation, OP, I would just let her coat grow in again fully, and see if it's thick enough to need clipping. ;)

[deltawave]

Adding light now might hasten the shedding of the winter coat, but it's not going to stop it from finishing its growth.

[ridenslide]

IT sure did in Raleigh North Carolina last year:winkgrin:

[Ambrey]

No way to avoid it. Silly ponies think they are living in the arctic circle- mine started growing his winter coat in September. I clipped him a few weeks ago, knowing I'd have to clip him again.

His fully grown in winter coat is yak-like, probably 2-3" long. I clipped him when it was only maybe 1" because he was sweating in the 90 degree weather. It's already getting thick again, although not too long.

[asb2517]

Adding light now might hasten the shedding of the winter coat, but it's not going to stop it from finishing its growth.

Hate to tell you, but we started keeping our show horses on lights and there is a marked difference between the ones with lights and the ones without. They do shed out quicker; however they don't get near as hairy as the horses without lights on timers.

[deltawave]

No need to hate. I strongly agree that putting horses under lights is effective. But for maximum effect it is really best started just as the days start getting shorter, like in early July. Randomly switching the lights on in late October isn't going to get you very far. :) That's all I was saying: lights work, but it's a bit late NOW to begin doing it and hoping to affect this year's coat.

There's nothing "silly" or unusual about an animal starting to show winter fur in September. Mine start in early-mid August, every year, always. It's nothing to do with temperature, everything to do with day length. Their winter coat is getting started in late JUNE, you just don't see the actual hair until many weeks later.

[sublimequine]

No need to hate. I strongly agree that putting horses under lights is effective. But for maximum effect it is really best started just as the days start getting shorter, like in early July. Randomly switching the lights on in late October isn't going to get you very far. :) That's all I was saying: lights work, but it's a bit late NOW to begin doing it and hoping to affect this year's coat.

There's nothing "silly" or unusual about an animal starting to show winter fur in September. Mine start in early-mid August, every year, always. It's nothing to do with temperature, everything to do with day length. Their winter coat is getting started in late JUNE, you just don't see the actual hair until many weeks later.

There's no way you can NOT consider a little pony with 4 inch long mammoth hair living in Florida where the 'winters' are like 70 degrees silly. I think it's hilarious. Poor pon' must've not gotten the memo he's in FL, not northern Canada! Horses need to learn to grow bikinis in that climate, not fur. :lol: :lol: :lol:

[asb2517]

No need to hate. I strongly agree that putting horses under lights is effective. But for maximum effect it is really best started just as the days start getting shorter, like in early July. Randomly switching the lights on in late October isn't going to get you very far. :) That's all I was saying: lights work, but it's a bit late NOW to begin doing it and hoping to affect this year's coat.


Oh sorry...yes I totally agree. We keep ours on all year now so they always are under the same hours of light no matter what time of year it is. I can't belive the difference between the horses that have timers and those that don't. The one's that do barely get any winter hair at all now, while the ones that don't look like wooly mammoths! Sure makes it nice not to have to body clip when those early shows come!

[KellyS]

Once the hair that's "programmed" is done growing, that's it for hair growth until the next shedding time, other than a millimeter or two.

Our ponies must have missed that memo. ;) For example, we clipped our pony in May for Devon and had to clip again just a few weeks later in June for a CDE. Both he and our previous CDE pony were constantly growing in hair after being clipped, even during the summer.

Never had the same problem with horses--I typically body clip in late winter/early spring and they grow in a short, summer coat that doesn't change length until August.

To the OP--I've found that the amount of blanketing you do does make a difference. For example, I clipped our pony at the beginning of October--his body, which has been blanketed, still has a short hair coat, while his neck (not blanketed) has grown in quite a bit of hair. I started using a neck cover this week when the temps dipped into the 20s, but I know I'll most likely have to clip again in another month or so.

[deltawave]

Well, ponies are just hairier, I think. My Shetland has more fur in June than Gwen does in January!

[Ambrey]

Mine gets all shiny and horse-like in the summer, then turns into a furball in the winter!