I normally clip these horses early in October w full body clip and manage them easily w Rambo different weight liners and turn out sheets. This year, due to extenuating circumstances, I wasn’t able to. Our weather is up and down like a yo-yo. One horse in particular is really sweating sometimes. What kind of clip would you do on these horses, and why? I’m thinking of an Irish clip or a polo clip. Thanks for your thoughts.
Do you get very cold weather in winter? If you get below freezing for long periods, consider leaving the belly hair unclipped as a naked belly is a large exposed area for heat loss, and it’s not a major sweat area.
Where I live we could drop into below freezing temperatures in November, and apart from a few days in January or February, not see the plus side of freezing until late March. I found a modified trace clip where the belly is left unclipped below the straight line from elbow to stifle to be very effective and easily managed with blankets even in very cold spells.
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Thank you!
Mine gets a blanket clip but she works and sweats a lot.
I also made this up (but have seen it on other horses) for a client horse a few years ago - I thought it looked very nice but left him with some more hair (in full work but ran cold).
In NorCal where daily high is usually 50-60 through the winter but we get some “heat waves” in January/February that get into the low 70s. Rarely get below 30 at night. Everyone has 24/7 access to the pasture and stalls.
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The last one is called an Irish trace clip, though sometimes people clip the face. It’s my favorite clip!
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I recently clipped everything off of mine except the face. She had so much hair, I was getting increasingly worried about missing ticks on her legs or under her jaw. I normally would’ve left the legs and just tidied up under the jaw. She was coming out of her stall already sweating in the morning (we were at 80 degrees on Halloween!!) and is so much more comfortable now.
I like the ears to stifles clip a lot, too, and have always heard it called a “chasers clip.”
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I’m too lazy to clip faces. 
Thanks for the info! I liked it a lot too - might do another one this way in a few weeks.
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@Demerara_Stables, I’ve also seen this clip called a polo clip. We had one I used to clip this way. I think this is what I’ll do. One will be fairly easy. His hair isn’t terrible. The other sweats a lot and bathing is not possible. I’ll try to hot towel or rub him well w Miracle Groom and then use show sheen. I’ll probably make it worse😀 Thank you!
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I do full body, face and legs this time of year. But my horse foxhunts in winter. He also runs hot and will act like I tried to kill him and scratch the barn down because I had the audacity to make him wear his Rambo supreme heavy weight unless its -10. He’s built for some steep highland weather.
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Normally, I do a high trace clip a time or two during the winters for my horses (have always had the type which naturally grow thick winter coats, and we don’t get severe cold here). First time is usually the last week of September/first week of October, leaving tummy hair. Second clip, if necessary, is around Thanksgiving; third, if needed, is around New Year’s. Face-wise, I only trim the beard.
This is my PPID horse’s first winter since being diagnosed, and he was last clipped the beginning of November. Will have to see how his coat does this winter, but I expect to do a similar clip. With him, I’ve been clipping up onto his lower jaw, and a lot at the throatlatch.
The Polo clip looks interesting. Might try my hand at that, but I would still leave hair on the belly.
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You’re welcome!
Not sure the reason you can’t bathe, but I’ve wet clipped a fair amount and really liked it if that’s an option.
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I did something similar years ago, but leaving the belly hair wasn’t necessary here and I thought it looked silly so I started shaving it off.
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I really like this shape! I can’t/ don’t want to bathe as it’s cold here😀-well, 40-50 degrees.
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That’s a higher version of my modified trace clip. I don’t go as high up the neck and shoulder with mine, but it does get very cold here and my horses live outside full time.
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Also in Northern California. I did a full body clip about 6 weeks ago. He has grown in a significant amount of hair already. Next clip will be near to Xmas and I’ll probably do the Irish clip including belly which I did last year and liked a lot.
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My horse is not PPID (yet) but he is a YAK. Gray (less melanin = thicker, harder to cut hair) and blessed with copious hair. I clipped everything but his legs 5 weeks ago but he was sweating copiously after a 30 minute ride in 40 degree weather. I did a full clip on him this weekend without a bath. I burned through three freshly sharpened sets of blades on my Lister Stars and two sets on my Andis clippers, but it was worth it. He is much happier and much less itchy.
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Mine is also a yak; one of those that you would have to clip if you showed any time after the end of September. This year he’s not showing so I did a hunter clip towards the end of October but left the head (saves time!) and spur patches. No photo but it would be hard to see much since he’s black on black at the moment.
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I know still cheaper than paying someone else, though!
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I use Andis clippers and with a T84 blade. Does anyone know if there is a blade that will leave the hair a touch longer???
