slicking up for a show

[jonem004]

Pasture pony has a show in about 30 days. She has been shedding but is still hairy. Show is B rated H/J show, so I would like her looking good, but doesn’t have to be perfect. I will clip head and legs but I’m hesitant to body clip this late in the season. She has been living out with no blanket, but with shelter. We are in central New Mexico so it’s cold at night. She will continue to live out, but I can blanket.

I can body clip and blanket.

I can just blanket.

I can get a Sleezy? (recommended by trainer, I have no experience with these.)

I can Irish clip and blanket. (NOT ideal for H/J show but probably nicer to mare, but what about her summer coat growing in?)

What will get her slick(er) fastest? What about her coat growing in? Tips/tricks to help speed shedding? Thanks in advance!!!

[tinah]

Sleek ez and curry every day. Assuming her diet is on point, she’ll look good.

[Scribbler]

I find if you blanket a fuzzy horse, the hair will lay down more the next day. They don’t need to loft to stay warm.

[SuzieQNutter]

A rug makes them look better by bringing the oil to the top or somethingorother. So they look better than unrugged horses. Curry comb and groom daily. Apply plenty of elbow grease and you will have a different looking horse in a month.

[mmeqcenter]

I’d just clip, there’s no evidence that clipping affects the summer coat, I believe this has been discussed in at least one other thread in the last few weeks.

[Laurierace]

Absolutely, positively clip. No doubt about it.

[Highflyer]

I would clip.

[Redlei44]

@mmeqcenter

I’d just clip, there’s no evidence that clipping affects the summer coat, I believe this has been discussed in at least one other thread in the last few weeks.

Agreed. Some horses don’t have the best color immediately after clipping, but that’s a separate consideration regardless of time of year. I would clip now and blanket until the show.

[jonem004]

@Redlei44

Agreed. Some horses don’t have the best color immediately after clipping, but that’s a separate consideration regardless of time of year. I would clip now and blanket until the show.

LOL, little mare is strawberry roan so I bet she’ll clip out the cutest pink! I’ll get a Shedez and order a blanket just in case. I hate to clip, but better than taking a woolly horse to a show. Thanks all!

[CHT]

I would be surprised if your horse wasn’t mostly shed out in 30 days, unless she has an underlying health condition, so I would wait it out. Clipping now will likely clip the summer coat (as it has likely already grown in under the wooly coat), but with her colour, I am not sure it will matter. Either option will likely equal a show ready horse.

[PonyPenny]

@CHT

I would be surprised if your horse wasn’t mostly shed out in 30 days, unless she has an underlying health condition, so I would wait it out. Clipping now will likely clip the summer coat (as it has likely already grown in under the wooly coat), but with her colour, I am not sure it will matter. Either option will likely equal a show ready horse.

Clipping now will not clip the summer coat. Why does this myth keep going? Unless you clip with a surgical blade, your clippers will not touch the summer coat.

[sunkistbey]

I would clip.
We just body clipped one of our show horses yesterday. He gets clipped 2-3 times a year and his summer coat always looks fabulous.

[DarkBayUnicorn]

I clip my hunters year round and their coats are, dare I brag, impressively gleamy.

[DiamondJubilee]

I would also clip. I clip my ponies several times a year and have always had them gleam (have had comments on how nice their coats are - shiny through the summer. Hard to do with plain bays!).

I will be clipping my ponies in the next month. I always clip in April for the show season.

[CHT]

@PonyPenny

Clipping now will not clip the summer coat. Why does this myth keep going? Unless you clip with a surgical blade, your clippers will not touch the summer coat.

Maybe it depends on your location, but in the past I have clipped past the mid winter shed (usually January), and you could see where the horse was clipped vs unclipped into mid summer. I don’t clip with a surgical blade, but the clip is still shorter than their summer coat.

[PonyPenny]

@CHT

Maybe it depends on your location, but in the past I have clipped past the mid winter shed (usually January), and you could see where the horse was clipped vs unclipped into mid summer. I don’t clip with a surgical blade, but the clip is still shorter than their summer coat.

Get a different blade. Andis T-84 are the best. Absolutely no lines and the coats look fabulous. You should clip the entire horse. Why would you leave some parts unclipped?

[jonem004]

So I previously thought they were a gimmick but after the comments on here I bought one of those Sleekez things and BOY that got a lot of hair out! I’m going to clip legs and head now and see how she looks in another week. Might still clip, but that sleekez is no joke!

[SuzieQNutter]

@PonyPenny

Get a different blade. Andis T-84 are the best. Absolutely no lines and the coats look fabulous. You should clip the entire horse. Why would you leave some parts unclipped?

You can leave the saddle and girth. You cannot see them when the horse is tacked. It is more comfortable for the horse and the hair left behind seems to start shedding very quickly.

[Palm_Beach]

@jonem004

LOL, little mare is strawberry roan so I bet she’ll clip out the cutest pink! I’ll get a Shedez and order a blanket just in case. I hate to clip, but better than taking a woolly horse to a show. Thanks all!

Oooh yes you must clip and then post a photo!! I usually clip in mid March and the summer coat is gorgeous.

[Denali6298]

@PonyPenny

Get a different blade. Andis T-84 are the best. Absolutely no lines and the coats look fabulous. You should clip the entire horse. Why would you leave some parts unclipped?

Many people clip in the winter for reasons that go beyond horse shows and “the look.”