Clipping Horses -

[dgrminis]

I know this has been discussed before so I am sorry for asking...

I am in Kansas -- We have temps that vary from one day to the next and Lots of wind..... I have several foals that are pretty shaggy and I am wanting to clip but I want to know what temperature it needs to stay above for me to clip them without having to worry about blanketing them.

Thanks!

 

[MiLo Minis]

I wouldn't say there is any one particular temperature that it must stay above before you can clip. A horse that is from a warmer climate is going to get chilled at a higher temperature than a horse that is living in a cooler climate. I think the important thing is that you realize you must blanket your horse if the temps in your area go down low enough that your clipped horse is going to shiver. Sometimes that means blanketing overnight and removing the blankets during the day if you clip too early. If your horses are too warm during the day or when being exercised but the temps are still cool at night you may want to consider a partial clip such as a blanket or trace high to keep them comfortable and you may then still need to blanket.

 

[dgrminis]

Ok -- that makes sense... Normally we havent clipped before May because the nights can still get a bit chilly but on the other hand the days get pretty warm so I didnt know if I was just being overtly cautious...

Thanks for the response.

 

[minih]

We clipped our show horses last weekend here in Arkansas. The nights have been down in the 40's but the days have been around 70 something. With that said, we do have a barn we can stall them at their evening feeding and put blankets on them until it is warm enough in the morning to pull them off. If the sun is out somewhere around 55-60. If the sun is not out, and it is cloudy we may not take their blankets off until over 60 degrees, depends on how it feels with the humidity and all.

 

[dgrminis]

minih ~ That is how our temps have been here too -- I looked at the 30 day forcast and there is some 40s at nights coming up but the days have been in the upper 70s... They all have sheds that they can go in and we do have several enclosed stalls that they could go in but I have limited blankets so I didnt want to clip them and not have enough blankets for all of them. But I guess that said I could just clip those I have blankets for.....

 

[Joanne]

The weather is still so variable in spring. We had great spring weather and now we are having a true winter storm with 1-2 inches expected in the next 24 hours. Also windy here.

If you can just use shedding blades and brushed to remove what they are loosing for now I think that may be a better choice.

We usually cannot clip until May or even June here some years, even with blankets.

 

[dgrminis]

Joanne,

Yep that sounds like us -- we had snow last year in April.... So I guess I will just keep brushing

Just a little anxious to see what my three 2009 foals that I still have look like under all that hair -- haha

 

[barnbum]

IN NY, one year I clipped in May--never again. I hate having shivering horses. No clipping before June here.