# Spring clipping in temperate climate on late-shedding horse?



## bagof4grapes (Jul 31, 2011)

My horse is a very woolly BLM mustang and he tends to shed very late. It's already mid-April and he's still fluffy as can be. He's only *just* started showing a tiny bit of sleek summer coat on his shoulders. His coat was the same way last year and he was *miserable*. Didn't completely lose his winter coat until June!

We live in sunny Southern California where the climate is temperate and even a bit tropical. We've had a few mid-80's days already and even though I only do light riding with my horse he still manages to get super sweaty and I have to be careful that I don't make him overheat.

Typical night temperature around here at this time of year is around 50-60 F. I don't have a blanket for him and even if I did he'd rub it off and destroy it in one night.

I have very little experience with clipping so I'd like to know if I would run into any problems if I gave him a bib or trace clip (or even a full body clip) at this time of year, especially since his summer coat is already starting to show a little bit.

I don't show him so I don't care if he's left with "lines" on his coat for months. His appearance doesn't matter to me, I'm just concerned about his health and comfort.

Also, should I stick with a minimal clip since I'm not blanketing him or is it warm enough here for a full body clip? He's young and extremely healthy. Before I brought him down here he lived in Fresno for several years where it gets well below freezing on a regular basis and he absolutely thrived.


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## GamingGrrl (Jan 16, 2013)

I would go ahead and clip him, especialky with the warm weather you've had. I clipped my mustang fully about a month ago, but I live in a wet cool climate. He does fine with a blanket to keep the rain off him. 
Just remember to keep your blades well oiled, check their temperature often, and never bathe a dirty horse!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## 4horses (Nov 26, 2012)

For Florida I do a reverse trace clip. I make a straight line running down the neck all the way to the rump. I do that first. Straight lines are the hardest part of a good clip job. Once your arms get tired it is even more difficult so that is why I do it first. Do your line next to the mane next, and a cutout area of hair around the withers/ tail. You want the full length hair to make a ^ shape over the tail. 

After that everything above the first line gets clipped. 

I would do the opposite of this clip here, except maybe bring the clip lower down:
Clipping Your Horse - What time of year should you clip your horse?

Most clips are designed to give the horse protection during the winter. Something you don't want. The belly area is hard to do which is another reason I prefer not to do it unless I am showing.


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## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

I am very close to breaking out the clippers on one of the ones I ride as well.
At this point in the year, its full body clip or bust. If you leave any patches it will show in the summer coat all summer. Any streaks from the clippers will fill in at some point, but lines will not. An option is to get clippers with a spacer on them and clip with the spacer on, but it might look funky for a while...


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## Whisper22 (Jan 2, 2011)

I asked this same question a few weeks ago. I have a 10 month old colt that started shedding his extremely thick coat a little late. I believe it is his winter coat plus his foal coat. I was wondering about clipping because I live in AZ and we've had some very warm days. I was told by a couple people here that you are not supposed to clip if they've already started shedding, no matter how late or how little. I also spoke to the owner of one of our local tack shops who said the same thing. Something about clipping into their summer coat is a bad thing, maybe some of the experts here can clarify why that is. I just bought a shedding blade and have been taking off arm fulls of hair every couple of days. I still have quite a bit to go, but I'm starting to see a noticeable difference.


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## bagof4grapes (Jul 31, 2011)

I'm glad there are people who seem to have clipped their horses around this time of year with no ill effects and that's what I was hoping for, but Whisper22 voiced exactly what I've heard and what I was worried about.

I always hear that you shouldn't do any clipping on a horse at all past a certain point in the year, that it "messes up" the summer coat somehow. But that doesn't make sense the way I understand horse physiology. The coats grow in based on length of the day.

Long days bring the summer coat and short days bring the winter coat. So it shouldn't matter what's been done to the coat so long as the horse is exposed to the proper day cycle, right?

The only undesirable thing that I can imagine happening are the "lines" that will show on the coat all summer if you do a partial clip but I already said that I'm not worried about that. I just want my horse to be comfortable.

Does anyone know the reasoning behind this "don't clip in the spring" rule?


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

I just started another thread about this, as this convo hadn't moved that way yet - and I want to summer clip.


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## Delfina (Feb 12, 2010)

I clipped a TB last year about this time. She was one heck of a wooly mammoth and wouldn't shed out (according to her owner). Since I'd never touched a pair of clippers before it turned out rather *interesting*. I did a partial clip (it was still chilly here) with the intention of clipping the rest when Summer hit. By Summer there was zero indication that I had clipped her.... she shed out completely and you couldn't tell (not even where I had all sorts of clipper marks).


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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

I have body clipped in mid April before, blanketed for about 2 weeks, then removed it totally. Horse was kept outdoors and looked very slick after the blankets were removed. If I had a horse that was a late shedder in a warm climate, I would bodyclip. I hear ya about the blanket destroyer, mine tear each others to shreds, annoying!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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