What do you do to get minis ready for winter?

[wingnut]

Spray a light mist on the legs of Listerne straight for daily grooming routine. It may help ward off some nasty crud that may occur from the wet days yet to come. I think it does.

Marty: Could you expand on this? During a clinic this spring, the trainer/owner mentioned doing "Listerine baths" so I've heard of it before.

 

[Thinking small]

I am going out soon to do my minis to get them ready for winter.

I do cleaning with the vacuum, redo the V top of tail, shave both sides of the neck along the mane I have found this helps with scratching over the winter months, bridle path, & just a bit of the face trim.

What do yous do?

hmm.. i guess nothing?

At this point their already getting their winter woolies... they do need bridle paths done again but it's a bit of a chose the old clippers just aren't up for the task sadly. Otherwise i am more worried about myself getting ready for winter lol

i just keep thinking of all the -25 days and want to hide.

 

[dali1111]

Do others cut their tails, how much and is it just a straight cut?

I cut my horses' tails to around their fetlocks during the winter. I see it as a precautionary measure. One morning I went out and found my poor horse stuck because the end of his tail was frozen to the ground! I would imagine that this would be quite painful. I realize that this would likely never happen again but I don't feel like taking the chance. I don't use regular scissors. I have a pair of thinning/layering scissors that I use and they make it much easier to achieve a natural look. Here is how I do the cut (I am right handed. If you are left handed just flip everything):

1. Make sure to brush the tail thoroughly and remove any knots or debris.

2. Take a good look at the end of the tail. When you are done trimming you want the end of the tail to look the similar, minus the split ends of course.

3. Cut straight across about a finger width longer than you want it to end up. To do this, place your right hand around the top of the tail (like if you were to hold a bottle around the middle) and run it down to just above the end. Without letting go, take your left hand and place your pointer finger horizontal on top of the tail and your middle finger underneath. Squeeze your fingers together and run them down until the top of your fingers hit the point you want the tail to end up. Then cut directly BELOW your fingers, using them as a guide to make the cut straight.

4. Then, like Leia, I will kind of snip at the end at different angles (almost in little upside down Vs) until I reach the length I want it to be. I will snip a little more on either side than I do the middle.

5. Stand back and see how it looks. You may need to thin the end some more.

I hope this helps and makes sense. I know I need to be able to visualize something before I do it.

 

[Reble]

I cut my horses' tails to around their fetlocks during the winter. I see it as a precautionary measure. One morning I went out and found my poor horse stuck because the end of his tail was frozen to the ground! I would imagine that this would be quite painful. I realize that this would likely never happen again but I don't feel like taking the chance. I don't use regular scissors. I have a pair of thinning/layering scissors that I use and they make it much easier to achieve a natural look. Here is how I do the cut (I am right handed. If you are left handed just flip everything):

1. Make sure to brush the tail thoroughly and remove any knots or debris.

2. Take a good look at the end of the tail. When you are done trimming you want the end of the tail to look the similar, minus the split ends of course.

3. Cut straight across about a finger width longer than you want it to end up. To do this, place your right hand around the top of the tail (like if you were to hold a bottle around the middle) and run it down to just above the end. Without letting go, take your left hand and place your pointer finger horizontal on top of the tail and your middle finger underneath. Squeeze your fingers together and run them down until the top of your fingers hit the point you want the tail to end up. Then cut directly BELOW your fingers, using them as a guide to make the cut straight.

4. Then, like Leia, I will kind of snip at the end at different angles (almost in little upside down Vs) until I reach the length I want it to be. I will snip a little more on either side than I do the middle.

5. Stand back and see how it looks. You may need to thin the end some more.

I hope this helps and makes sense. I know I need to be able to visualize something before I do it.

Great description, my daughter is a hair dresser, maybe she will let me borrow hers

I might just have to buy thinning shears. Another great ideal thanks.

 

[Relic]

We don't do a lot but after the first hard killing frost when we worm for BOTS we also cut of about a foot of tail straight across and for whoever needs it bang the forlocks above eye level..looks like crap but at 20-40 below who really cares because come spring it's all grown back..

 

[CCC]

We wont have our minis for another month yet

but the big horses we just make worm after the last frost, I also bag their tails for the winter after the bugs are gone (I don't bag them most of the summer as the bugs are so bad

) and I was hoping to bag the minis tails too

I also get my winters shavings (although they aren't in much during the winter, just for feeding morning and night and bad storms) and make sure they have new mineral/salt licks in their shelter.

It's neat to read what all you are doing to get ready for winter.. (I really like the idea of clipping bridle paths when you worm! that would be great for people that have a lot of horses!)

I was thinking it is best to leave them as long haired and natural as possible to keep warm for winter, but I hear many of you clip faces and such even in the fall.. Do they not get cold? we have heard a lot of people don't turn their minis out much in the winter here as the snow gets so deep and such, but we were planning to let ours out a lot. (DH is going to plow their pasture so it's not deep.) I'm a seamstress so I plan on making them each a little blanket for when it's -30 :S I HATE winter

 

[Kellie in OR]

Yesterday I gave my two mini's and one saddle horse a belly, neck & 1/2 head clip. I also trimmed their bridle paths, took the long feather off their legs, and trimmed tails to just above the fetlock. I plan on keeping them fit through the winter (longing, long lining & driving) as much as possible. I always clip them now, and by the time it gets real cold here (Dec/Jan) the shaved parts are 1/2 grown out, but still much more manageable than their super long yak hair.

http://www.peasridge.co.uk/clipper-advice/clippers-clipping-advice-horses-types-of-horse-clips.shtml

I also bought a water tank heater from Coastal Farm. We normally only get a hard freeze a few times per winter, never long enough to need a tank heater. Last year my 100 gallon tanks froze so hard I could not keep them busted up! The buckets IN the stalls would be froze up by morning. And of course all the facets and spigots froze, so I was hauling water from the house to the barn. By the time I realized the freeze was going to stick around, all tank heater were sold out. So this year I am prepared.

 

[albahurst]

Do others cut their tails, how much and is it just a straight cut?

I trim them if they have gotten near the ground. The way I do it is to twist the tail hairs (all at once) and then cut it off. The twist seems to help make the cut look less 'unnatural' and straight. I have also seen others take a clipper blade and feather it out. I haven't tried that way yet, but I do seem to have good luck with the twist.

 

[Reble]

I trim them if they have gotten near the ground. The way I do it is to twist the tail hairs (all at once) and then cut it off. The twist seems to help make the cut look less 'unnatural' and straight. I have also seen others take a clipper blade and feather it out. I haven't tried that way yet, but I do seem to have good luck with the twist.

that seems simple enough, thanks for the info.

 

[Marty]

Hi Reb: I cut my tails straight across with a scissors. I have some horses that grow a really thick and long tail fast and others don't. Just depends on the horse but by springtime, they are mostly all back down long again.

Hey Wing: I put straight Listerne in a spray bottle and after grooming I mist the legs really good. I always do a full body mist after a summer bath but in winter, its part of the daily grooming on those legs and fetlocks and pasterns. I started this about 25+ or so years ago in Florida as part of my regimine because so many horses down there get rain rot and skin nasties from heat + humidity + dampness and that freaked me out. EEEEKSSSSS. I would rather hang myself and be boiled in oil than to have some creepy scabby ugly crud get on my horses. So I've been doing it ever since and I don't ever get that stuff on my horses so I feel it does make a difference.

Now that I think about it, the cashiers in Walmart must think we have a real chronic problem in my house with bad breath.

 

[wingnut]

Hi Reb: I cut my tails straight across with a scissors. I have some horses that grow a really thick and long tail fast and others don't. Just depends on the horse but by springtime, they are mostly all back down long again.

Hey Wing: I put straight Listerne in a spray bottle and after grooming I mist the legs really good. I always do a full body mist after a summer bath but in winter, its part of the daily grooming on those legs and fetlocks and pasterns. I started this about 25+ or so years ago in Florida as part of my regimine because so many horses down there get rain rot and skin nasties from heat + humidity + dampness and that freaked me out. EEEEKSSSSS. I would rather hang myself and be boiled in oil than to have some creepy scabby ugly crud get on my horses. So I've been doing it ever since and I don't ever get that stuff on my horses so I feel it does make a difference.

Now that I think about it, the cashiers in Walmart must think we have a real chronic problem in my house with bad breath.

Thanks Marty!!! I'm going to add this to my list of things to buy soon

One of our yearlings got a small case of rain rot last year and I agree, I'd really like to keep that from happening again!

 

[Sue_C.]

one swipe from tail to mane so I can see how they are doing with winter feeding.

We get too much rain here to do that. That is the last place I would think to clip, as it leaves the entire back open to the cold. Leaving it on will help protect the back from water or snow melting down under the rest of the horse's back and sides. It is easy to tell, even under the winter fuzzies, if you just dig for it.

I keep tails banged all year, so the only thing I do differently is trace clip my driving horse...the rest just "do the shaggy".

 

[Tab]

We just make sure that hooves are trimmed nicely before the snow falls, make sure the barn is ready to receive, and make sure that everyone has been dewormed. I'm so glad my husband patched up the barn this year!

 

[Matt73]

Nothing special. Horses are looked after that same as in the Spring/Summer (aside from a bit more hay and a blanket on Lex).