So, winter is on its way and people are starting to clip their horses, but why do they do this?

Many horses can manage the winter without being clipped particularly if they are only in light work, do not get particularly hairy or do not sweat much. However if you are finding that your horse gets sweaty when he is being worked then you may want to clip him.

Every winter you will find that as soon as the weather turns cold your horse will grow his winter coat. When horses have longer winter coats they will sweat more easily, the length and thickness of the coat means that they take much longer to dry out after exercise as the coat holds the sweat. This can cause problems particularly for those being turned out as you can't put their turnout rugs on while they are still wet. They will also get cold easily as the sweat will cool and become cold water against their skin.

Clipping off the horse's excess hair will mean that the horse will sweat less during exercise. They will be easier to manage as they will dry quicker so you will not have to worry about changing their rugs several times as they get wet. If you clip your horse this will mean you will be able to exercise them as much as you like at any time of day as you will not need to worry about leaving lots of time for them to dry before evening chills set in.

If you have never clipped your horse before there are some considerations to take into account. Do you have adequate warm rugs for stable and turnout to keep them warm, when exercising them at a slower pace will they be warm enough? You may want to consider investing in exercise sheets for this purpose. If it is your first time clipping then ensure you enlist the help of someone more experienced as it can be difficult clipping straight lines to start with until you become accustomed to it.

There are many different types of clip including: full, hunter, trace, blanket, chaser. These all involve taking different amounts of hair off. Consider the amount of exercise your horse is doing and where he sweats then decide which clip may be more appropriate. Some people prefer to take off the least amount of hair possible however others prefer a full clip as it looks very smart and tidy.