Winter Clipping Link Roundup

So early last week, I went out to the barn around 3 PM and found poor Sparky standing in his stall sweating and looking miserable. It’s been over 70 every day for the last week or so and he still had his full winter coat.  I hadn’t had to blanket him at all up until this point because his fuzzy coat kept him nice and toasty since here in the San Francisco area we rarely even get close to “winter weather”.  Typically we are in the high thirties to forties at night and 50-60 during the day. Which means he typically does just fine without a blanket or a clip job.  Not this year though. 

It’s been so warm that his coat was waaay too much fur for the daytime temps.  So I broke out my clippers and generator (we don’t have electricity at our stables).  Luckily he stood like a statue and let me tape the pattern and clip clip away.  He now has a lovely trace clip and is much cooler and happier during the day.  Of course, now that he’s clipped I have to blanket him so he doesn’t freeze his tush off at night.  I tried leaving the blanket off at night to see if he’d be warm enough (Dusty spends all winter in the pasture happily with a trace clip and no blanket, but he has ALOT of hair).  He was soooooo cranky the next morning when I went to ride him so blanketing it is. He’s much happier now.  

Here are some great links to help you as you dive into the horse hair removal process:

Great wikihow article on clipping -

Pictures of Different Types of Clips

Stress Free Body Clipping

Horse Clipping Video

Clipping Your Hores Ears Video  

Fantastic Clipping Tips From a Vet

Happy clipping!