Lesser of 2 evils......???

[Tami]

So, I have 6 foals....and we have had lots and lots of rain so we have horrible mosquitoes.... most of the foals are quite hairy, but I figure it helps keep the mosquitoes off of them...but now it is hot...so do I clip them and then have to keep the sprayed which doesn't work as much as I would like it to...or leave their hair and then they are hot?

 

[lilnickers]

This is a very good question

I have one especially hairy one that I think I will clip. Another one is already shedding his baby coat.

I think it depends on if the horses are indoors at night to cut down on mosquitos. But then there are also daytime biters...

I also worry about spraying the foals. What is safe? I have used apple cider vinegar.

I am very interested in other's answers

 

[Miniv]

Where are you and how hot is hot?

We get up into the 90's with blips over 100 and we don't clip our babies.

What we do is spray off the ones that allow it and in our "baby pasture" we put a plastic wading pool filled with water. When it gets really dirty (about every couple of days) we dump it and refill.

Frankly, we have more problems with flies......

 

[Minimor]

If they are very fuzzy and it is so hot that they are in danger of suffering heat stress I would clip, but I wouldn't actually shave them--I never shave my foals, I just do a rough clip, clipping with the hair. It takes off the excess fuzz so that they stay cooler, but it leaves them with what amounts to a normal summer hair coat, which offers some protection against sun and flies/mosquitoes.

And yes, I do use some mosquito spray on them if the mosquitoes are very bad (as they are this summer!)

 

[Mini Gaits Farm]

Tami...it is hot here...been in the 90's....my pastures have lots of shade, but I just don't clip the foals for a few reasons....I believe it is nature's protection for them...when we first started, I did clip and watched them suffer to fight the flies and mosquitos....and also the lighter colored foals sunburned. We let them run out with their dams and just be babies....my thoughts are as long as there is shade and they are not so wooly that they are miserably hot...then we just let them be. These are just my thoughts and several may disagree. I have even noticed that the March foals who were born wooly...have lost most of that now and have just enough hair to protect them from the insects and sun.

 

[wildoak]

It does get HOT here and I end up clipping most if not all of my foals. It is possible for them to overheat and just literally bake to death in the extreme, and I see them sleeping out in the sun (when they have access to plenty of shade). Mine are out 24/7 as a rule with access to a run in shed and trees for sun protection. I don't clip the white hair off pintos though unless I can keep them in days, have seen the results of pink skin sun blistered and it's not pretty. I spray them as little as possible but when necessary - we worry more about sun & heat protection than bugs initially, and I did actually have a colt sunburn here not long ago. I'd posted about his weird symptoms but later realized

that he was sunburned on his back and sensitive to touch. He's a dark colt but had been freshly clipped.

If you have a big mosquito or fly problem where you are then it's a more difficult choice, but you can always protect them with insect repellent.

Jan

 

[Marty]

I myself and some of my horses have experienced heat stroke in the past. Not a pleasent thing so I do clip. If you are concerned about the flies, etc. try using a #8 blade. This will leave enough hair on the horse for protection, but also will remove that excess hair and give your horses a good deal of relief. Try it! #8! Its a good thing!

 

[Tami]

Thanks everyone.....lots of good info....There are a couple that seem warmer than the rest so maybe I can do a rough clip on them.....

 

[~Lisa~]

I rough clipped all babies. In So Cal we had one born in July he was clipped by noon that day. They can and do overheat pretty easily like Jan said laying out in the sun they do not realize they are in trouble until it is to late.

A rough clipped horse should have as much as your adult horses when it comes to hair and of course we did vaccinate for WNV as soon as the vet felt it was appropriate It has been a year or two but I think4- 5 months was the age

 

[albahurst]

We clipped with the hair using an 8 1/2 on one foal and on the other one I did a blanket clip with the same blade. They had different amts of hair and were reacting to the heat differently, so that is why the different clip jobs.

 

[CyndiD]

Tami...this is a question I ask myself a LOT!! I have 3 babies this year and they are wooley and while the oldest is shedding some of his baby fuzz I see them lying outside in the SUN. So, I have to ask just how miserable are they...LOL

To ease my mind when its really hot I spray them with the hose a couple times a day. Mom`s think its bath time and took off at first, but now they will stay for some cool water from a soft sprayer.

Just love spring and fall not this really HOT humid stuff...

 

[~Amanda~]

I was thinking about this myself recently as well. I don't have any foals to clip, but it is very hot and the bugs are getting nasty around here.

 

It's wonderful to hear the various ideas and what works for others for future reference.