# Body clipping?



## jillybean19 (Dec 23, 2011)

Does anybody do or know of anyone that does body clipping for endurance? I haven't seen anyone here do it, and my boy keeps a pretty light coat (he's got a blanket on, now, so he's staying short-haired). But would it be good for endurance riders, particularly in the summer?

I wonder if heart rates would come down faster, if they would loose less water through sweat, if sponging would be more effective? Would they be more likely to get rubs?


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

I know people who body/trace clip when they go from here (the NE) to Florida for winter rides. Others will do a modified trace clip for the early spring rides in this region, depending on the weather. 

I clipped Dream's neck for the March ride, when the temperature spiked into the upper 70s and she still had most of her winter coat.










Annie, who is a draft cross and grows a massive winter coat, at the April Foxcatcher ride:


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## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

phantomhorse13 said:


> I know people who body/trace clip when they go from here (the NE) to Florida for winter rides. Others will do a modified trace clip for the early spring rides in this region, depending on the weather.
> 
> I clipped Dream's neck for the March ride, when the temperature spiked into the upper 70s and she still had most of her winter coat.
> 
> ...


Haha I have to ask, was the draft x finished being clipped or were you half way through? I ask because I used to do clipping as a side job and was once a professional groom......sorry, it's funny, and I have a terrible sense of humor! Not being mean!!!! :lol:

As to the OP, I did a modified trace on my horse this winter because he is kept in and he was sweat g too much and getting too hot and not drying......now he cools fast, doesn't sweat as profusely and stays comfortable during work


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

Muppetgirl said:


> Haha I have to ask, was the draft x finished being clipped or were you half way through? I ask because I used to do clipping as a side job and was once a professional groom......sorry, it's funny, and I have a terrible sense of humor! Not being mean!!!! :lol:


Oh, you can laugh.. we all certainly do. That _was_ the finished product. 

There is a reason we are not show riders. :rofl:


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## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

phantomhorse13 said:


> Oh, you can laugh.. we all certainly do. That _was_ the finished product.
> 
> There is a reason we are not show riders. :rofl:


Ha that's too funny! I am a perfectionist clipper, as when I was taught I was drilled to get it perfect, so I always crack up when I see someone's first attempt or when it's not quite 'finished'. I'm not being mean! I'm the kind of person who will tell you if you have spinach in your teeth or if your pants make ya look fat!:lol:
Just too funny! Youre good to share:lol:


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## EnduranceLover6 (Jul 4, 2012)

I also do a neck/chest clip job in the spring. My previous gelding was a wooly mammoth in the winter and didn't shed out quickly. Clipping the underside of his neck and chest allowed him to cool down faster and eliminated a lot of the sweating. Here in VT the weather changes fast and drastically so I had to keep up with blanketing after he was clipped. I think that it really depends on the horse too. With the arab I have now I may not feel the need to clip her because she keeps a pretty thin coat.


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## jillybean19 (Dec 23, 2011)

Speaking of not quite finished, I clipped my horse because I couldn't breathe around him as he was shedding his cotton-ball coat this Spring. However, the clippers went dull about halfway through...


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## jillybean19 (Dec 23, 2011)

Do you only clip in the spring/winter? Or would you ever clip in the summer? Sorry, I've never body clipped, other than the above mentioned incident!


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## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

jillybean19 said:


> Speaking of not quite finished, I clipped my horse because I couldn't breathe around him as he was shedding his cotton-ball coat this Spring. However, the clippers went dull about halfway through...


BAHAHAHAHA! Too funny! I keep four sets of blade and keep them all sharpened routinely! But I guess because I was doing this as a job I was sure not going to go through the embarrassment of leaving a client with a half clipped horse:lol: if its your own who cares!!!


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## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

jillybean19 said:


> Do you only clip in the spring/winter? Or would you ever clip in the summer? Sorry, I've never body clipped, other than the above mentioned incident!


Well I live in Alberta, and I clipped my horse early November, and only now ca I really see his coat growing back in. The rule (and it's not a hard and fast rule) for here (AB) is to not clip after January 31st.....as it is believed to interfere with the summer coat coming in. However I have talked to folks who say that they really haven't had an issue.

You can clip in the summer for sure


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## jillybean19 (Dec 23, 2011)

So I'm wondering, why would you clip in the summer? Are there specific situations where it'd be a good idea or a bad idea? I'm specifically asking about this as an endurance rider. I hesitate because I wonder if there would even be any benefit or if it might cause issues since I've never seen any other endurance riders in my area do it.

I'm in Idaho, so there's predominantly western riders here, and we don't usually clip our horses in general - but I'd like to know if there's a reason I might want to!


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## jillybean19 (Dec 23, 2011)

Muppetgirl said:


> BAHAHAHAHA! Too funny! I keep four sets of blade and keep them all sharpened routinely! But I guess because I was doing this as a job I was sure not going to go through the embarrassment of leaving a client with a half clipped horse:lol: if its your own who cares!!!


I thought you'd get a good laugh out of that. Since it was at a boarding facility, I felt so bad throwing him back out there looking ridiculous! At least he didn't know how silly he looked.

I fixed him all up the next day, and he was very handsome (minus a few hairs I missed and the areas that I just didn't feel like messing with):


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## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

You know, in all honestly when I was a pro groom at a show jumping facility we full clipped the horses late spring early summer for the showing season. It was really for appearance sake than anything. Nice clean fetlocks and ears etc.

But it really wasn't a 'functional' clip, more of an aesthetic clip.

You more than likely wouldn't really get any benefit from clipping in the summer in regards to cooling etc


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## Sharpie (May 24, 2009)

I'm still at 'aspiring' endurance rider stage, but I got my clipping info from my endurance rider friends in the PNW, and they said to go for it. They advised starting with the neck, but that everything was fair game other than under the saddle and girth (for fear of rubs). My guy was sweaty and miserable, then I clipped him and he's happier now. I don't know what you'd call this pattern though, lol!


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## Muppetgirl (Sep 16, 2012)

Sharpie said:


> I'm still at 'aspiring' endurance rider stage, but I got my clipping info from my endurance rider friends in the PNW, and they said to go for it. They advised starting with the neck, but that everything was fair game other than under the saddle and girth (for fear of rubs). My guy was sweaty and miserable, then I clipped him and he's happier now. I don't know what you'd call this pattern though, lol!


Haha um modified bib clip


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## jillybean19 (Dec 23, 2011)

So maybe something like this? But would you get rubs from the breast collar?

My horse usually comes down pretty quickly but anything that would help him stay cool and maybe even reduce sweating on a ride would be great.... But if it doesn't help any, I probably wouldn't do it.


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## jillybean19 (Dec 23, 2011)

Sharpie - What benefits did you see with it? Did he mainly not sweat as much, or did it just no stick in his hair?


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## Sharpie (May 24, 2009)

He was hot enough that he was getting sweaty enough for me to consider hosing him down (yes, even in DEC here on the TX coast) after only 20-30 minutes of arena work. Not just walking around, but still... He was also kind of 'dull' because he would get hot and want to quit on me.

Now I can do our normal hour give or take in the arena and he'll be sweaty under the saddle and girth and damp elsewhere, but not really wet, and certainly not bad enough to worry about hosing/drying/avoiding a chill. No more sluggishness either. He's still wet after one of our long rides, but he seems to cool off and dry faster even then, so I think he's not getting as hot and sweating as much to start with. If it weren't for the fact he's going to be nekkid and lazy in a buddy's pasture for a while this winter while I am away for classes, I'd clip more! It's easier to groom too.


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## phantomhorse13 (Feb 18, 2011)

jillybean19 said:


> So I'm wondering, why would you clip in the summer? Are there specific situations where it'd be a good idea or a bad idea?


Personally, I don't see myself clipping in the summer unless it was for some sort of medical reason (like rain rot or lice or cushings making them not shed).

I would worry about sunburn, as the sun is so much stronger in the summer and after clipping, the skin would be a lot more exposed. I would also worry about tack possibly rubbing, as there would be a lot less protection.

Hair also helps the horse thermoregulate.. so I wonder if taking it away would actually make the horse more hot, as it loses that layer of buffer between the skin and the heat?


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## jillybean19 (Dec 23, 2011)

Thanks! I think I learned enough to make a decision about body clipping! His hair is generally pretty short and he can be a weenie about things, including the cold, so I think I'll hold off on body clipping unless it gets warmer and he still hasn't shed enough to condition comfortably. But I'll leave his normal summer coat alone


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