When is it safe to clip?

[Brandi*]

It's been getting into the 80's and 90's here during the day. I have clipped Melody in all of her really sweaty areas but she still has the majority of her coat. It's been in the 40's and 50's at night. How do I know when it's safe to clip her completely? She grew out of her blanket so I don't have anything to wrap her up with if it gets cold at night. Advice and suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

[chandab]

Well, I probably just clipped everyone to early, but everyone now has a bad clip job. Its been unseasonably warm here and they were all throwing themselves at anything they could scratch on, some to the point of leaving raw spots. so, I bit the bullet and just clipped them. Usually, I don't clip before the end of April, but they were just miserable, so they got clipped. [somewhere in my tack room, I think I have blankets for all, but I'm not sure. Only two have actually worn blankets, so I know those two have blankets that fit, the rest, I'm not.] If the weather turns nasty, then all will go in the barn.

 

[Leeana]

I have four horses in the barn head and necked right now, i dont have a full body clip yet. I have a classic gelding who is shedding out like crazy, its really chilly tonight so i did blanket him. My barn stays pretty warm though oddly.

If you blanket i would imagine you would be fine, i am planning my first clip in May sometime.

 

[barnbum]

I remember someone saying it should be warm enough for us to wear t-shirts all day before they're clipped. I clipped two in May once and they shivered. I'll never clip until June in NY.

 

[Brandi*]

It's 95.7 right now and it just seems like I should be able to clip OH! But just last week it was 65 during the day and I have no idea what it was at night. It is probably warm enough to do it but I still worry. I'm sure she would feel much better if I did it. I am just concerned about the evenings.

This is really crazy weather!!!!!! I have never seen it be 95.7 in April! It usually starts getting up there in June and July. Too weird!

I just know as soon as I do it the temp will drop again

 

[chandab]

I remember someone saying it should be warm enough for us to wear t-shirts all day before they're clipped. I clipped two in May once and they shivered. I'll never clip until June in NY.

Sounds like a good way to determine when to clip... I could have worn a t-shirt all day today (only wore my jacket to help keep hair from going down my shirt), but this MOntana, so it could be nasty cold tomorrow. I've seen it snow in August here, so who knows.

 

[kaykay]

I think you need to be able to wear a tshirt at NIGHT and be okay LOL. I cant stand to see shivering horses. I did some head/neck clips last week as Jet always gets rain rot on his neck and it wont heal unless you get the hair off.

I did notice last week some of mine were sweating but its still too early in Ohio for me to clip

 

[maestoso]

I don't buy the t-shirt thing. Horses skin is thicker than ours, and they have more fat(than some of us). I wouldn't wear a t-shirt outside if the weather was in the low 60's, but I have turned out clipped horses in that temp and they were fine. At night it gets colder, but many horses are inside at night, and guarded from the wind, and they are fine. Most of the time, it is the wind that causes problems, not so much the temp(reasonable temps). We clipped a horse last October for a fair show and she wore a blanket at night, because it got down to the mid to low 40's, but outside it was in the 50's, and she was fine, except when it got really windy. I'm here in Maine, and I plan on clipping them at the beginning of May. We have blankets on hand if needed but aren't counting on using them.

 

[jleonard]

Mine just got clipped and it has been getting into the 70's for the last few weeks here. I personally wear a t-shirt when it reached the 50's here after being used to the 20's-30's all winter, 50 seems pretty nice, lol. I usually wait until late april, but I needed them clipped a little early this year. Also, when it reaches the 70's, they get very hot with only a little work with all that hair. However, they do either go in the barn if it is cold and rainy, or they have blankets and blanket liners, so we can accommadate any suprises in the weather that come along (and in Ky you get a lot of them!). I think that if you are getting that hot in the day, and only into the 60's at night, you should be fine. Especially if you have a barn she can go in on chilly nights.

 

[dali1111]

Here's my two cents. Last year we had a show here June 2. The average low for this day where I live is 8 C or about 47 F. So long as your horse is healthy and in good shape i'd go ahead and clip her.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Never.

I do not clip horses I am not going to blanket.

If you are prepared to suitably clothe an animal, then any time is fine, if you do not have the blankets, do not clip, the weather can change in a moment, wherever you are.

 

[Songcatcher]

I don't know where you are at, but here in southeast Oklahoma it has been in the 80s last week. Yesterday the temp was in the high 50s and a cold wind blowing. This morning we had frost. Glad mine are not clipped.