Anybody else itching to clip horses?

[barnbum]

I can't wait to see dapples!!

I will not clip before June. I did once in May and they had the shivers on chilly nights.

 

[WhiteTailsMinis]

we're satisfying our urge to clip by shaving bellies just a bit before foaling.....LOL other than that - no other clipping.

 

[ruffian]

Buffaloes have moved into our barn

I wish that clipping was only 4 weeks away....more like 4 months here.
I saw that weather was beautiful in parts of B.C.......

Our neighbors have Scottish Highlander Cattle. I think they've moved into our barn!! Shaggy, long, dirty, only thing missing is the 4' horns!

 

[REO]

No way would I clip now!

But I AM dying to see what my babies have under that wool! I'll have to wait though.

 

[minie812]

My son is coming for a visit tomorrow so I asked him if I could clip his head

 

[ShaunaL]

omg you guys, I am clipping OBSESSED! Even my broodmares are fully clipped and kept pretty about 8-9 months out of the year and babies are clipped as soon as I can lay them across my lap at a couple days old

I live in Southern California though and under 50 is unusual here. I thought it was terribly cold today and it was 56

I already have two clipped during our 80 degree week last month and the rest are getting clipped as soon as this nasty rain is behind us, beginning with my Buckeroo daughter and my little tovero BTU grandson

 

[Leeana]

Yep.... I got a few in the barn that I am really itching to clip. I do not mind clipping at all, however, it gets old around July ....

 

[mydaddysjag]

Id love for Domingo to be clipped, I just dread when it actually comes time to clip. It'll probably be early april before its actually warm enough to clip him since im not showing this season, and by then I'll be 7 1/2 months pregnant. Ought to be interesting huh?

 

[Barbie]

I am so glad our first show is in a few weeks - can't wait to clip. Just hope we don't have anymore of the unusual cold once I do. Mine aren't really too bad as I clipped a few of them about 6 weeks ago, but I hate hair.

Come on Kim - clip that little boy!!! Show's in March so get him ready!!!

Barbie

 

[loveminis]

It has been so mild here, I rough clipped the heads of my two fillies. Left the ears and muzzle. They look so cute !

 

[Candice]

Yes!!! I have a young colt with a million pounds of fuzz that is just constantly sweating. I came so close yesterday, but knowing we've got another cold snap coming I just won't do it. Driving me nuts!!!!

 

[Shneighs Miniatures Horses]

I could kill to clip right now

I cannot wait to see how those odd looking yearling have grown up, Its always like opening a present, you never know what to expect, so I cant wait.!

We probably wont be able to clip here in Ontario till May or June, only if were lucky. But I can't wait to do those head and necks in march or april... Im all too excited to see how everyone unfloded this winter.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I'm a little torn because I love my boys in their winter fuzzies and normally have no urge to clip until the hair starts looking dead and nasty in March, but with these spring-like temperatures the fungus has gone mad in my older gelding's coat and the yearling is sweating when he plays. I normally trace clip the driving horse in February but since he's injured this year I can't justify clipping and blanketing him when he won't be working so I've got this half-bald fuzzy thing in the barn and no excuse at all to do anything about it. Waaah!!

I am excited about unwrapping the yearling but it's sort of fun seeing him fuzzy because I think I'm getting a preview of how good he's going to look filled out in a few years. I expect when I clip him he's going to look quite a bit skinnier!

Leia

 

[MooreAcres]

I've got two that I would love to clip right now

Both are my 2yr show horses. I think the filly is going to have a darling head under all that hair.

I would love to clip everyone, but honestly can't justify clipping my broodmares. They will shed out before too long, then I will get to see how gorgeous they really are. I can only imagine as I am already drooling over them in their fuzzies!

I'm taking my colt to a schooling clinic the middle of March, so will most likely do a head and neck clip. The rest will have to wait until end of April for the first show...

 

[Dontworrybeappy]

I'll admit it, I HAVE to do *SOME* clipping in the winter or I can't stand it! I wonder what these creatures are and why I got them!

I can get away with it being in SoCal, but I generally keep it to a minimum so that I don't have to blanket - but so that they don't sweat so much when it's warm.

Over the years we've done heads and necks and legs, or lowish trace clips... going higher when mares get to foaling, or naked when the weather is done going up and down at such extremes... and I've tried to "explain" or standardize what "kind" of clip we've done. I've heard people call the head/neck/legs a "llama cut" - but often llamas and alpacas are clipped sort of the polar opposite to that - just bellies and midsections (a "blanket" or "saddle" cut - and being a handspinner, that's the only part of an alpaca that I want to spin!)

This year with record rains, etc... I finally settled on what I started calling an "outline" cut - so that I can see a horse's outline and remember what they are supposed to look like!

So for the outline cut I've been trimming the underside of the belly, between the front legs, up the underside of the neck/throatlatch, under the face/jaw and up some edges of the lower face. I also try to "blend" the backs of the legs, removing and thinning all the leg feathering so that I can see pasterns and to reduce the buildup of mud on the lower legs.

My Dressage trainer here (for the big horses) at first laughed at my clipping (which is admittedly strictly rough-cutting), but one after another... AFTER the horses were clipped, she'd say "Oh, that one has a pretty head!" or "Oh, look at that one's neck!" - when before she'd say "what about that fuzzy brown one?" I finally told her that she was demonstrating to me WHY I was clipping them! So that we could still see the pretty even while they have most of their hair!