I cant help myself. I clip every thing. Spring, Summer, Fall, Middle of
winter. (need therapy immediately)
Have harry horses. The Minnie horses can grow from 4-6 inches of hair.
While most people in this area have problems with Lice, ring worm, fungus,
and all sorts of iching problems, since clipping (cross my toes) have not
had this problem.
Although I do not clip the riding horses. (not for any specific reason)
All horse weanling get clipped. When there baby hair starts shedding and
the weanlings start iching that's when I get them,,,,,,, This saves me on
skin abraisions, cuts, etc..... (Making sure light horses are not in the
sun to long and have sun screen on them or any just clipped horses.)
This is also timed with the bug season. If it is unseasonly hot, the hair
is not clipped at that time. We are more concerned about the heat when
clipping and having a horse over heat. (not to be mistaken for clipping and
allowing your horse to sweat during activity)
We don't clip legs and ears in the winter.
The one thing I notice is: If The horse is clipped early enough in the
spring so it does not interfere with normal shedding and you are not
cutting new seasonal hair growth. You don't get that stubby fast growing
hair ya feel must be cut all year long. It normally will take a year to
discontinue the cycle of body clipping. It is a mater of the horse
shedding all of its hair. (Does any one out there know the amount of time
it takes an equine to totally replace its body hair?) I would like to
know..............
Think it may be true if clipped after that point, the end of the hair shaft
by the start of summer (or sunny states) does not lay flat on the body, and
drys out loosing its sheen and color. That is why my clippers come out
again for the Minnies
I know by now you are saying to your self, this is more than I want to know
about hair clipping (can't stop now, on a roll and an ex-hair dresser too.)
Some times those saddle soar problems and white hairs (Mabe?) caused buy
sand particles under neath the saddle blanket. It is just impossible to
brush them all out. This year We went nuts and invested in one of those
big old horse vacumes. Should have done it years ago. My riding time has
trippled.
Here goes the disclaimer again, non of this is based on anything except my
hair clipping fetish over the years.
Sigrid
P.S.
We are going shopping for clipper blades this afternoon. Look out
Minnies......
the clippers ar revvvvvviiiiinnnnnnnnnngggggg.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>K S Swigart wrote:
>>
>> Horses in Southern California (unless we are talking about in the
>> mountains where it snows), do not need to be blanketed (acutally, I am of
>> the opinion that the only horse that might "need" to be blanketed is one
>> that lives outside with absolutely no shelter from the wind or the
>> rain/snow--otherwise, the one that they grow is perfectly adequate for
>> keeping them warm...but that is beside the point).
>>
>> Additionally, I cannot recommend clipping a Southern Californian horse.
>> Clipping will ruin your horse's natural coat, and it will take years for
>> the coat to recover (just like shaving your legs makes the hair on your
>> legs grow back faster and courser...the more often you shave, the more
>> often you have to shave).
>>
>> I have found that there is no Arabian (or Thoroughbred...which is what I
>> have got) grows a long enough coat in the Southern California wintertime
>> that it needs to be clipped at all...even if you keep your horse in
>> regular work.
>>
>> It just doesn't get that cold here.
>>
>> I have competed through the winter with my horse's "winter" coat. I takes
>> a little longer to dry out, but I have found that if you keep the horse in
>> regular training, they do just fine wearing their winter coat all winter
>> and shedding it out naturally in the spring.
>>
>> kat
>> Orange County, Calif.
>>
>> p.s. If your horse has already had its natural coat ruined by clipping,
>> this may be something that you will have to do forever....or go through
>> the years that it will take for the coat to recover.
>
>A question to ask first of you Kat. Where do you finish in the pack and
>what milealge are you doing.
>I disagree with you kat. Where I complete blanket use and clipping are
>the way I go. My clipping is minimal because of the blankets.
>
>When I clip it is jugular over the poll, belly and up the sides for
>better sweat fall, and the rump is in squares for when it is hot or cold.
>Their legs where the sweat fall is clipped to pervent skirf (sp). A lot
>of people forget the rinsse the back of the legs which ends up burning
>them. I have been sucessful with this and would not change my way.
>
>Also the blanket keeps the horses cleaner and I then do not spend a lot
>of time cleaning. (I am working 4 horses and they are all going now so I
>don't need to spend a lot of time grooming.) Also after their rinse off
>(bath no soap), if to cool or cold I put a blanket on.
>
>Suzy Kelley (Orange also)
The Space Cadet