What to do clipping wise

[mydaddysjag]

What do you guys do when you have a show 30 days away, and still chilly weather some days?

I was planning on going to show on may 2nd, but some days it's still in the 40's and rainy, so it is chilly. I'm trying to hold out as long as possible, but at the same time I'm not sure how his body condition currently is under his winter woolies. I also think he might have something going on with his skin under his coat. It almost feels like there are some little scabs on his neck under his coat. Not sure if we just have some dry skin, a rash, or maybe some kind of fungus?

A few big horse people told me to leave his leg hair and belly hair since even the belly band blankets don't completely cover the belly, then go ahead and clip him, then blanket well. They said that with the big horses a lot of people body clip their show horses in december and january, you just have to blanket well, and make sure you have a few blankets on hand, hoods, and neck wraps.

I do have atleast 3 winter blankets that would fit him, a few sheets, a blanket liner (and im going to make a few soon) A few slinky hoods, and a few fleece lined neck and throat latch wraps.

How much longer can I hold out to clip if I have a show in 30 days and dont know whats going on under that hair? I've seen people in canada are clipping, and its much colder there than here, so in one way I think he would be alright as long as he is blanketed, but at the same time I dont want him to get sick. Im just not sure what to do. I dont want to find out he's not conditioned enough, and miss the show, its the closest one to my house, and we're only planning to hit a few AMHR shows, so I would really like to hit the ones close to home.

 

[Maple Hollow Farm]

I have already body clipped all of mine for an April 4th show and I just have two heavy winter blankets and a sheet and a hood on all of them and sometimes remove one of the blankets if it gets warmer during the day. They are all in stalls in my barn though so that will be one factor you have to look at.

If you dont want to clip now and want to wait until two wks or so before your show (which you will want to do a full clip before your show clip for color and so you can bathe easier and get a better final clip) you can just clip a spot by the hip bone to see how the weight is across his back and even clip a small spot where you think there is a skin problem just to better see what you are dealing with and how it looks clipped.

That is my advice hopefully someone else will speak up if they have better advice!

 

[nbark]

I have already clipped mine too, not for show exactly, but for their nursing home visits. Have blankets on them and slinkys to keep the necks warm.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

Our weather is very similar to yours at this point and that damp chill makes it seem the height of cruelty to clip.

If it doesn't warm up in the next week or two I think I'm going to give up and start stripping the fur but I'll use a longer blade like an 8 or 7F and will definitely leave the legs and ears furry. Usually I've done a trace clip by now (a low clip that follows the sweat pattern and involves the bottom of the head and neck, between the forelegs and down the belly) for driving but it's been so cold he hasn't needed it yet.

Unfortunately he's got the same fungus thing your horse has and I really need to clear off his neck so I can start treating it in time for the hair to regrow for a late April show. If I'm going to clip the entire neck, I might as well do his whole body since I'll have to blanket him in order to use my neck hoods anyway!

So this year I think we'll skip the pretty partial clips and just go for an ugly-but-functional long hair full-body clip prior to the show. I'll just have to be careful not to get pictures until it's been neatened up!

Leia

 

[mydaddysjag]

I did a rough clip today. Legs are still fuzzy, and left some hair on the belly since my belly band blankets done cover everything. We have that funky dry skin fungus type deal on his entire body, with the bumps, or "scabs" about every 4 or 5 inches. I'm glad I decided to clip because I'm gonna need some time to clear it up. He is kept stalled in a barn, which has an attached indoor arena that he can be turned out in if it is cold. It it's too cold, he wont even have to leave the barn. He is bundled up in a slinky hood, fleece neck wraps, and two winter blankets. He really thinks he is THE MAN with his new haircut too. He used to be super easy, and maybe even a little bit of a dead head. He would half heartedly give ears and stretch his neck, and until today I never saw him buck and play when out. Now he struts his stuff, stretches his neck and perks those ears up, and even bucks when I turn him out inside. I do like what I'm seeing condition wise, I think we're on the right track. I need to canter him a little more to get him tucked up a bit more (but Ive just added cantering into his routine 2 or 3 days ago) and I've added a few more minutes to his workout. I'm pretty sure once his neck and shoulder sweat get here and I can work him with it on and a sweat lotion, we'll be all set. I was worried about his condition, since he's been home I changed his feed to something higher in fat and protein, and drastically cut it back, so I wanted to make sure he wasn't too thin. Nope, not too thin, heck, I might even be able to cut it back a tiny bit more if we aren't able to get a little more weight off. No, i'm not one of those people who think skinny is refined, so I'm trying to find the perfect balance of enough feed to keep him looking solid and muscular, but still refined. In a week or so I'm going to find a warm day and bath him really good in a moisturizing shampoo, and clip him again to get rid of the lines I left. Some of you can get a pretty clip with no lines on a dirty horse, I'm unfortunately not one of those people.

On the bright side, even after his hair was clipped it was shiny. Even where there was a bunch of sand and dust, once I brushed him off I could see some shine on his coat. I was pretty pleased since I wasn't sure how well this coat supplement was going to work, and hes only been on it about two weeks.

Anyone have suggestions on what to bath a horse with who has some dry flaky skin with? I have a shampoo thats for extra dirty horses. I was thinking to bath him with that, then bath him immediately after in something moisturizing, then use showsheen before I clip again, then rinse him out, give a hot oil treatment, and use healthy hair spray every day on him. Sound like im on the right path?

 

[kaykay]

he probably has a bit of rain rot which is really common after winter. If you spray him with listerine or a mix of water and listerine it clears it up faster then anything I know

 

[mydaddysjag]

It dosent look like any rainrot I've seen before, but maybe theres different types of rain rot? Ive only ever dealth with it on two big horses who had it when I purchased them.

Honestly, you know how if horses nit pick at each other they get the little dry scabs and scars? Thats what it seems like now that I think about it better. Nothing oozy, pussy, or wet, no smell. He also has some dry skin, which I think is pretty normal after a long winter.

Should I still try out the listerine?

 

[kaykay]

well i know jet every year gets those little scabs and I was told it was rain rot. It only gets pussy and oozy if you let it go on too long. I really dont think it could hurt as listerine kills fungus so even if its a different fungus I would think it would help. The thing is though you have to clip the hair off or it wont do any good. it is best to get the scabs off then spray. But you have to do what you think is right and its harder as I cant see it.

MTG works too but I have found for this its not as fast as Listerine

 

[mydaddysjag]

The hair is gone other than the under side of the belly and the legs. I'll get a picture tomorrow for you. I have a few bottles of listerine here for the horses, so I'll start spraying him. It cant hurt. Yes, I buy special Listerine for my horses, lol.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I have a few bottles of listerine here for the horses, so I'll start spraying him. It cant hurt.

Unfortunately, yes it can! *LOL* I used diluted Listerine on some rain rot a couple of years ago as I was advised to here and after a few days it started burning the skin. Both of my horses objected to it so I stopped before getting the fungus cleared up. I have since switched to the anti-fungal spray Absorbine makes and love it! It even smells good with the tea tree oil and works wonders for clearing stuff up. It seems to leave the skin healthier than before as the oil moisturizes as well. Both horses like being treated with it so it must soothe the itchies.

Leia

 

[mydaddysjag]

I'll test it on a small patch first, diluted, to make sure it doesn't irritate him. I have always diluted it and never had problems with it on my horses, but I do dilute it very well. If it's irritating him, I have the absorbine medicated shampoo and spray. I'd just rather use the diluted listerine if it dosen't irritate him, since its over pretty much his entire body, and the Absorbine spray and shampoo pack is like $18

I think what he has are those funky black scab/scar things. Like when the scars get peely and get the black skin on them, but the vet is gonna be out this week to do shots, and im going to get her input too. If so, what works well on those to grow hair back? should I apply bagbalm to soften them a bit, then use something else to try to grow hair?

 

[kaykay]

I would never do anything that would hurt my horses. Using listerine on horses probably goes back many many years, before any of us had miniatures LOL. This isnt something new and I know tons of farms that do it. There are other things that work but they sometimes discolor the hair around it or take quite some time to work. Everyone needs to use common sense. If the horse is RAW no I would not put undiluted listerine on the horse.

 

[Marty]

OH heck yea. Us old old old dinosaur horse people Floridian's new about using Listerine full strength and watered down both in a spray bottle for a good 30 odd years or so depending on the problem. We battled every kind of skin fungus nasties and cooties with it and its always been part of my grooming regimine down there and still up here for the minis too. I suppose any horse with sensitive skin would react to it but I haven't had that problem yet but there is always a first time. I use a light mist over the body and full strength on the legs usually and I don't end up with the creeping crud. I also wouldn't put it on a raw horse full strength like Kay said. Just use your noggin sensibly and you'll be fine.

Jeffers also sells this fungal spray which also works fast and very well.

http://www.jeffersequine.com/ssc/product.a...CDAE4DEJXDL22N5

Best wishes to all and good luck to you.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I wasn't saying anyone was doing anything to hurt their horses Kay, or that I thought it was a new thing!

I was only adding a caution that yes, it can technically hurt if you DON'T (as ya'll said) "use your noggin" when applying it. To be honest I was quite disappointed that it didn't work on my horses as most things I get from the forum here do and it saves me a lot of money.

Oh well.

Leia