Body Clipping question

[tbchick84]

Hi guys. I’m not a fox hunter, but love to do hunter paces. I figure you guys are the closest to what I do, so I put my question to you.

My OTTB grows a very thick winter undercoat. He’s grown it in thick since I’ve had him at age 4. He’s 14 now. I normally let it all stay since he is on 24/7 pasture board and I like to leave him to his own body defenses instead of blanketing.

This season, his abnormally thick coat has created a situation where he has been sweating a lot more than normal for him when we’re doing hunter paces. We like to boogie, so we usually just take short walk breaks where footing is not good for anything faster. He crossed the finish line lathered in foam last week, but was back to his resting heart rate within a few minutes, so he doesn’t seem any worse for wear.

My vet suggested trace clipping him to prevent him from overheating on the rest of the paces we are doing this fall. He says, as long as I do it before November, there is still plenty of time for it to grow back before the extreme cold sets in. (I’m in New England) Can anyone confirm or deny this information? Have any of you had horses actually over heat due to having full coats?

[cayuse]

My welsh pony gets pretty hot just while grazing on those occasional really warm Fall days after his coat comes in. I could see him overheating easily. He has an average coat, not a super heavy “pony” coat. I did clip him one Fall and he grew in his winter coat just fine.

[GrayMare]

A trace clip at this time of year and you should be just fine, I would think. However, I think anytime you clip a horse it is a good idea to at least have access to a properly fitting blanket (or a stall) just in case something weird happens with the weather. But a trace clip is great because it leaves the protection on the horses backs, which I think really helps them stay warm. If you don’t like blanketing, clipping earlier is better.

I don’t know if it is something specific to this year, but I feel like several of my horses are starting to grow longer, thicker hair earlier this year. I never feel like I have to clip this early…but right now I have two horses that look ready to be clipped.

[OverandOnward]

A partial clip is a great idea for a horse in work with a winter coat. Especially where it is cold as a heavy coat makes it difficult for them to dry out thoroughly before nighttime.

The downside is that it definitely puts the owner (and/or barn manager) in the daily blanket/no-blanket cycle. But so long as blanketing is done properly, I do think the horse is better off with the partial clip. Probably more comfortable daytime as it seems to me they grow the coat for the coldest period of the day more than the warmest.

I say “partial clip” because you can customize the traditional patterns to suit your horse.

I’ll be partial-clipping mine, and he’s only in light work.

[gypsymare]

It is early and it will grow. For a bit less check out an Irish clip. They are also quite popular but take off a bit less hair and are easier to get even.

[Showbizz]

We show into early October each year, so the horses get full clips the beginning of September. They are blanketed as needed, but typically by December 1st the winter coats are fully grown back and blankets come off.

[kcmel]

I did a modified trace/strip clip last fall. Below is a picture of my trainer on my young horse just a few days after the clip. It worked really well. I meant to run the clip along the chest and front of the neck instead of the side of the neck but my “clipper-er” misunderstood my plan. But it worked really well and I did not clip this horse again and did very little blanketing in the fall.

[jawa]

If the worst place your horse got sweaty was his chest, then a bib clip would work well.

In the past, for my yak, I have clipped every 30 days from mid Sept through Jan. I would do 2 full body clips, then a blanket clip, then just a bib clip. Each of the last times clipping leaving more hair over the back and body. He was blanketed through the winter.

If you are hoping to not blanket, then a bib clip early will be your best bet. And yes the hair will grow back plenty thick if you clip now. Within 30-45 days it would be so shaggy you’d need to re clip.