Clipping in winter permits a horse to be labored in consolation, as a horse’s winter coat is designed for insulation to maintain the horse heat in opposition to the tough chilly and moist winter situations. When a horse has a winter coat and is labored, the coat turns into soaked in sweat making it heavy and taking a very long time to dry out – the winter coat shouldn’t be designed for cooling down the horse!
Clipping shortens your horses coat to across the size it’s in summer season – this enables faster evaporation of sweat and fewer time grooming, however sadly implies that in the course of the chilly months, it is very important rug your horse nicely always to ensure they keep heat! At Ebony Park, we attempt to preserve our horses rugged all yr spherical, retaining them particularly heat throughout winter, as this typically permits us to keep away from having to clip the coats of our purebreds – rugging them makes certain the coats keep quick all winter! Nonetheless, there are occasions when nature takes is course, and the coats of our horses begin getting too lengthy, and clipping is then our savior!!
Not all of us want or wish to do the complete physique clip – you probably have no secure or your horse shouldn’t be in full work there are variations of clipping patterns which can enable your horse to work in consolation and nonetheless keep heat within the paddock with using an additional rug or two. At Ebony Park we use the clip that fits the kind of work, and the situations that we will provide for our horses – a few of them are stabled, and a few of them are out in paddocks, some in heavy work, and a few solely frivolously labored!
In the event you determine to go together with a hint clip (the place not the entire hair is clipped off alongside the highest of the physique), our tip is to attract a chalk line of the sample on the horse in order that it’s even earlier than you start clipping.
Whenever you determine to clip your horse, be certain that the horse has been washed clear, and is absolutely dry earlier than you start. A clear horse is much less prone to get these inform story clip strains. Freshly sharpened blades for every horse additionally give a cleaner and neater clip.
Make lengthy strokes with the clippers, overlapping every stroke with the subsequent, At all times work in opposition to they lay of the hair, and use pretty agency, even stress.
It could be an absolute catastrophe if we by accident clipped the stunning lengthy manes of our Friesian stallions, so to assist defend the mane from being clipped, we divide the mane into sections (the manes of our stallions are all the time plaited which helps!) and maintain that part out of the way in which as we get near it.
As soon as our horses have been clipped, we brush them with a delicate brush to take away any hair that’s hanging round after being clipped off.
On the purebreds which are hopefully not needing to be clipped, we typically solely clip round their faces and toes. Friesians develop beautiful lengthy beards, particularly within the winter, and we prefer to make their faces look neat. To do that, we use a smaller set of clippers to trim below their chins and to clip the within and edges of their ears. We additionally neaten up their toes by straightening their feathers after they come over the hoof, and ensuring the feathers aren’t too lengthy and keep neat on the again coming from their fetlocks.
After we experience our clipped horses on a chilly day, we be certain that to place a woolen rug or quarter sheet over the again finish of the horse whereas we’re warming up to ensure they keep heat!
Ideas when clipping a horse:
- Begin with a clear horse! Soiled horses are likely to make the clipping messy and boring the blades of the clippers sooner!
- Make sure that the blades are sharp and nicely lubricated – boring blades imply a messier clip – and it takes for much longer too
- Make sure that your horse is safe – cross tie him or get a helper to ensure your horse stays nonetheless while you’re clipping in order that your clipping stays neat!
- Guarantee you might have loads of time to clip your horse and do not rush – this makes the job neater as after clipping you need your horse to appear to be it hasn’t really been clipped, solely that the hair is brief!
- Maintain the blades parallel to the pores and skin, as this makes you much less prone to nick your horses pores and skin with them as you clip!
- Clip away from the way in which the hair lays on the horse, as this makes a neater and extra even end result.
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