How often do you body clip your horses?

[neigh.neigh]

I show on the A circuit and I was just curious about how often your horses are body clipped. Mine has been done about 3 times since october, but hasn't been done since February. I am considering getting her done again. I know it depends on the horse but I was just curious

[heartinrye]

It depends, I had a horse who I body clipped 6-7x/year, he gets cowlicks and I HATE those, but he had a great coat, I could body clip him 4 days before a show and he would look great (not dry or dull) at the show.
I have had other horses who only get it one time a year, it depends on how you blanket, where you live and their natural coat and how fast their hair grows. ( I knew a horse who got body clipped and he looked 'newly shaven' for almost a year, needless to say he was never clipped again).

[TheOrangeOne]

Mine probably gets body clipped 4 times a year. I did him 3 days before this photo was taken: http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs117.snc1/4723_1087823327118_1572480181_30301443_3027258_n.j pg
(my number broke, which is why I am holding it) if they have a nice coat, the clipping makes it look better. If it's not nice, the clipping makes it look worse. Lego just grows so much hair in the summer that he comes in from the field dripping and the sweat bleaches him to an awful orange color.

[Tha Ridge]

We generally would body clip only once or twice, with the ponies getting done a lot more often. Of course, this was in Texas, not in the arctic north. Keeping them under lights with a timer in the autumn months helps to discourage extreme coat growth too.

[flogarty]

we only body clip once... if that. My jumper is usually body clipped in late october or early november. My hunter doesn't get clipped, even when he does go to shows in the winter, because its cold here in Ohio, and he isn't very fond of clothing.

[woodhillsmanhattan]

I've always only body clipped once. Wait a week and start the currying! Currying everyday before and after your ride in the winter (probably 20 minutes total) makes them look great and keep the winter coat off! Then make sure you blanket heavily enough and give them lots of hay at night to keep them warm. Sheets go on our horses starting around 60 degrees at our barn to keep them cozy :)

[Go Fish]

I only clip once...usually around the first of November, after the winter coat has completely grown in. Of course, blanket appropriately.

If we leave the lights on 16 hours a day starting around the first of July, we don't have to clip at all.

Why are you having to clip this time of year? Are you in the Southern Hemisphere?

[neigh.neigh]

I live in New York and every time I go to a show I see that the horses coats are short, like they have just been clipped. You can even see the triangle of non-clipped hair above the tail. I do the 3'6" division so it is competitive and I just want to look my best.

[broughton_sporthorses]

Only once, and only for the competition horses that get really hairy. But, I'm in Australia, so it doesn't get too cold. Still gets to low single figures in winter in my area though.
All the horses Summer coats are lovely, so they only need to be clipped for their winter coats.

[Alterrain]

I also show A circuit, and I clip my stallion probably every six/seven weeks or so? He's a jumper so if he's a little hairy its fine. My gelding (hunter) probably every 4-5 weeks. But the guys clip him b/c he's a PITA antsy pants OTTB :)

[DMK]

usually only once a year if I can clip after the coat comes in, but if there is a November show I end up clipping for that one and then again by December. It's really sad when you think about NOT going to a show in November solely based on how little you want to clip a horse twice.

[touchstone-]

I live in New York and every time I go to a show I see that the horses coats are short, like they have just been clipped. You can even see the triangle of non-clipped hair above the tail. I do the 3'6" division so it is competitive and I just want to look my best.

IMO the look of a well-groomed summer coat is head and shoulders more attractive than the best clip job. If you're currying your horse regularly and he's not some sort of wooly mammoth, I'd hold off on clipping until his winter coat comes in. A clipped coat never has that shiny, full look that a normal coat does.

To answer your question, I clip mine once or twice in the winter, depending on what my show schedule looks like. I try to hold off until December or early January if I can get away with it. I usually can--my furry horse doesn't do indoors, and my indoors horse doesn't get furry (and looks *much* better in his natural coat).

[Lori]

I blanket clip in late October or early November. Shedding in the spring is done with currying and daily flax year round. I think the coat looks better than that of a clipped spring coat and I have ponies.

[Go Fish]

usually only once a year if I can clip after the coat comes in, but if there is a November show I end up clipping for that one and then again by December. It's really sad when you think about NOT going to a show in November solely based on how little you want to clip a horse twice.

I don't have to clip my horses twice...clip them around the first of November and their hair look like they have a summer coat all winter. They do shed the remainder of the short clipped winter hair in the spring.

If a horse is continually growing hair all year round, something's wrong. Horses shed/grow hair in response to increased or decreased light to the retina. I think temperature plays a part, but don't quote me on that.

[kellyb]

Depends on the horse. In summer/fall I would probably never clip unless the horse had some kind of problem with an abnormally thick coat. I have a palomino now, I would not clip him in the summer because I can only imagine what's underneath is probably dull and mousey compared to his shiny outer layers.

In the winter, I clip anywhere from 1-4 times depending on how bad the coat is. My old mare was a wooly bear, she needed it about every 6 weeks.

[DMK]

I don't have to clip my horses twice...clip them around the first of November and their hair look like they have a summer coat all winter. They do shed the remainder of the short clipped winter hair in the spring.

If a horse is continually growing hair all year round, something's wrong. Horses shed/grow hair in response to increased or decreased light to the retina. I think temperature plays a part, but don't quote me on that.

Oh, I have had a few like that, and I think my two year old may get his coat in early. However Robbie looks like he is done growing that hair by the first week of November, but if I clip that coat, he immediately starts growing in those cat hairs and just enough add'l coat that I have to drag the clippers out again. Then the poor thing grows no more coat, leaving me guilt-ridden at his baldness all winter long. Clip him the week of or after turkey day and he's done for the year but he is a horrific fuzzball the 2-3 weeks before (coincidentally the 2 weeks of the fall classic)

It's kind of a win-win for Robbie: No November show on the schedule or a mom who is angsting about cat hairs or a bald horse the rest of the winter. Most likely your horses just haven't figured out this particular way to torture your human. ;)

Also the people I know who clip more than in winter do not necessarily have horses who keep growing coat a la cushings, what they usually have is a WB with an extra thick coat with just enough length to it to make the horse fairly hot here in the south.

[otwist123]

Just once a year. I usually do a partial clip in Feb, and the rest in March. It's just way too cold here in the winter to fully clip them before then. Even with blankets, they still need their hair to keep warm.

I don't see the point of doing it in the summer. My horse's coat is the nicest in the summer, dark, shiny and soft. Right after a clip he looks terrible, no matter what.

[Luv2Show]

I don't have to clip my horses twice...clip them around the first of November and their hair look like they have a summer coat all winter. They do shed the remainder of the short clipped winter hair in the spring.

If a horse is continually growing hair all year round, something's wrong. Horses shed/grow hair in response to increased or decreased light to the retina. I think temperature plays a part, but don't quote me on that.

I showed USEF hunters for years in San Diego and Texas. I use to body clip twice a year. I have since switched to showing AQHA and they dont believe in clipping at all. In fact people cringe at the thought. I thought it was bizarre but their method with lights works awesome.

Put 1 or 2 100 watt bulbs on their stall. If a horse has no more than 6 hours of 'night' in their stall then they simply do not grow hair. I didnt believe it until I witnessed it over the past 4 years. We can pull one in from the pasture in the winter, put them under lights, and BOOM - hair just starts falling out! It doesnt grow back in as long as they are under lights - summer coat year round. If you use this method remember to light their stalls at shows as well.

Conversely, if your stalls and barn are dark you are forcing your horse's hair coat to grow in just like it is winter...year round.

[Go Fish]

I showed USEF hunters for years in San Diego and Texas. I use to body clip twice a year. I have since switched to showing AQHA and they dont believe in clipping at all. In fact people cringe at the thought. I thought it was bizarre but their method with lights works awesome.

Put 1 or 2 100 watt bulbs on their stall. If a horse has no more than 6 hours of 'night' in their stall then they simply do not grow hair. I didnt believe it until I witnessed it over the past 4 years. We can pull one in from the pasture in the winter, put them under lights, and BOOM - hair just starts falling out! It doesnt grow back in as long as they are under lights - summer coat year round. If you use this method remember to light their stalls at shows as well.

Conversely, if your stalls and barn are dark you are forcing your horse's hair coat to grow in just like it is winter...year round.

Yep...I showed QHs for years. All the barn lights were on a timer starting July 1 for 16 hours a day. Horses never grew hair at all. If you start with a hairy horse and put them on a light program mid-winter, it usually takes 90-120 days to shed out completely.

Body clipping in my area runs about $200. If you have to clip a couple of times each winter, I'll bet it's plain cheaper to leave the lights on and avoid clipping altogether!

[Gwendolyn]

LIGHTS!

Dora is buckskin and I'm petrified to clip her at ALL (I've heard horror stories of buckskins being hideous colors when they are clipped :eek:).

Most of the time I just deal with the hair, but she came from a QH breeder that used the lights, and her horses had LESS than a winter coat year round (you could barely grab a pinch of hair on their coats). You want enough light that you can read a newspaper in the darket corner of the stall. I was told to start in August/September and keep the lights on starting at 6am to sunrise then sunset to 8:30 pm.

[DMK]

Lights work, unless of course your horse goes out all night from May to October/November!

[RomeosGirl]

Lights work, unless of course your horse goes out all night from May to October/November!

What about a battery powered light attached to their halter!?:winkgrin:

[5]

What about a battery powered light attached to their halter!?:winkgrin:


How about racehorse blinkers lined with foil with two christmas lights? Then when the horse looks in your direction he looks like a truck at night.

If you have the lights on 24/7 do the horses go bald?

[DMK]

actually I was just going to follow them around all night with a big old spotlight. :D

Every year I think about putting up lights and then I realize it is 3,456 degrees outside in the middle of the day in early September and you really need to start this in August (or so my long forgotten memory of my app/QH days tells me) and its too late even if I did want to torture my horse, so I spend the next few months emotionally preparing myself to get hair in places even beach sand dares not go. And inventing insane outrageous prices for clipping other people's horses should they ask ("Does $200 a minute sound excessive? A little? You will shop around? Good idea...")

Can you tell that if I could find a way for night turnout and lights top work I'd be all over it! Hate. Clipping. Hate. It. I wish I was really bad at it so I could justify paying someone else to do it, but I actually am pretty good. It's a curse I tell you.

[Gracious]

I'm going to hijack this thread since I didn't get much response in the Horse Care forum.
I have clients with a little palomino paint pony who keeps his thick pony coat all year round. I body clipped him this winter and his clipped coat made him look all white - no palomino to be seen for weeks. He's starting to get really hot while being ridden, but they would like to show him and keep his spots. It was recommended to me to use a 7F blade, but I'm having a hard time finding one for our clippers (Oster Clipmasters), so any suggestions there would be fantastic. Also, is there anything we can do post body clip that might help bring back the palomino spots?

Normally I'm an elbow grease person but his hair is just not coming out and SO thick.

Thanks for the help!

[monalisa]

I have one horse that quite honestly needs to be clipped 6-7 times a year. His coat grows that fast. Another one I clip typically in early spring (March), she is going to get clipped this week, will need to be clipped again late summer, and then possibly again at the end of the year if she is horse showing then.

[Gwendolyn]

I'm going to hijack this thread since I didn't get much response in the Horse Care forum.
I have clients with a little palomino paint pony who keeps his thick pony coat all year round. I body clipped him this winter and his clipped coat made him look all white - no palomino to be seen for weeks. He's starting to get really hot while being ridden, but they would like to show him and keep his spots. It was recommended to me to use a 7F blade, but I'm having a hard time finding one for our clippers (Oster Clipmasters), so any suggestions there would be fantastic. Also, is there anything we can do post body clip that might help bring back the palomino spots?

Normally I'm an elbow grease person but his hair is just not coming out and SO thick.

Thanks for the help!

I don't want to start an argument about thyroid/cushing's, but you MAY want to have a vet check his bloodwork, he may have some issues causing his hair growth.

Besides that, LIGHTS. This pony is actually palomino:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1440862758#/photo.php?pid=204536&id=1081821786

He gets clipped 4-5 times a year :(

If you keep lights on him, his coat will stay short, and you won't need to clip. Also, get a super lightweight sheet and sheet him when it falls below 60. Every little bit helps.