Horse Clipping Patterns
When the days get shorter, the temperatures drop and the leaves become more colourful, horses start shedding their winter coat. Many horse owners ask themselves whether they should clip their horse or not. But getting rid of the horse’s winter coat should never be done for aesthetic reasons. Health considerations are always at the top of the list when it comes to clipping a horse: if the horse continues to be exercised during the cold season, causing it to sweat, the thick winter coat will dry poorly. This increases the risk of catching a cold. Clipping the entire horse or only parts of the horse’s body can counteract the risk of catching a cold.
Should I clip my horse?
The horse can build up its thick winter coat and thus form an additional thermal insulation in freezing cold. However, if the horse is clipped, it loses this ability. It is less able to keep itself and its muscles warm to regulate its body temperature. Before you reach for the clippers, you should ask yourself whether clipping your horse is necessary at all.
For horses with a healthy coat, you should ask yourself the following questions before a possible clipping:
- How much coat does the horse develop during the winter?
- How often and intensively is the horse worked during the winter season?
- Where does the horse sweat the most?
- Are there enough horse rugs available so that the horse can be rugged around the clock?
- How is the horse kept? Is it kept outside or in a stable?
- Has the horse ever been clipped?
For a competition horse that continues to be exercised in winter and therefore sweats a lot, clipping can support the wicking process. A large-area clipping can be helpful. On the other hand, a horse that is only moderately to rarely worked and is also kept outside should rather keep its winter coat.
Alternatively, you can already rug the horse in early to mid-October so that the winter coat does not become too thick. You should also put on a wicking rug immediately after riding so that the drying process can begin as quickly as possible. If you have the possibility, you can also put your horse under a solarium after training.
Attention!
Remember that a clipped horse should be rugged at all times. It does not matter how much hair has been removed. To prevent the horse from catching a cold in wet and cold weather, it needs an adequately warming rug. You can find out which rug is suitable in our detailed rug guide.
When is it best to clip the horse?
It is best to clip the horse when it has already developed its winter coat. This is the case from the end of October to the beginning of November. This prevents you from having to re-clip the horse after only a short time, which puts less stress on the horse. Afterwards, you should clip the horse again at intervals of four to eight weeks. The actual time interval depends on weather, how you keep your horse, use and thickness of the regrowing coat.
The last clipping should take place at the end of January, beginning of February at the latest. If clipping were to take place later, it can hinder the growth of the summer coat. Exceptions are old horses or horses with hormonal disorders, such as Cushing’s syndrome (PPID): These horses sometimes have a more difficult coat change and retain their thick, long winter coat even in spring/summer. Therefore, it may make sense to clip these horses also in the warm season to prevent heat stroke.
How should I clip my horse?
Depending on the chosen clipping pattern, the size of the horse and the horse’s experience with the clipping process, clipping can sometimes take four to five hours. However, if the horse is familiar with the whirring of the clippers and is standing quietly, you can allow about two hours per clipping.
Find a quiet place with dry, non-slip ground where you can tie up the horse. An electrical outlet should be nearby. Before you fetch the horse, have the following ready:
- Clipper with cable or fully charged battery.
- Clipper oil, to re-oil every 10 to 30 minutes.
- Brush, e.g. a body brush, to remove hair from the clippers in between use
- Chalk, if necessary, to draw clipping lines
- Time, quietness and patience
The horse should stand still for the clipping process. Let it work off any excess energy beforehand or give it a meal so that it is tired. However, the horse must not have sweated or be dirty beforehand, as sticky horse hair will dull the clipper blades.
For nervous horses, a hay net that they can chew on helps. For young horses that are being clipped for the first time, light sedation is recommended. This way they will remember the clipping as a positive experience. Music that drowns out the whirring of the clippers can also help to get the horse used to clipping.
To avoid accidentally clipping off long hair, bandage the tail and plait the mane.
Now you can start clipping. For the inexperienced, it is advisable to draw the desired clipping pattern with chalk. Then set the clippers at a 30 degree angle. Now clip in long, even strokes against the direction of the coat. For an even clipping pattern, allow the clipping paths to overlap so that no strands of hair remain.
Attention!
Start with the insensitive areas of the horse, such as the croup, rump and neck, and work your way to the more delicate areas of the body, such as the head and legs. For sedated horses, proceed in reverse order: While the sedation is still fresh and ongoing, the sensitive areas of the body should be clipped first and the large areas at the end.
The head is the showpiece in clipping and serves less of a purpose and much more for visual reasons. If you are clipping your horse’s head, use a thin clipper with fine clipping blades that allow you to work precisely. But be careful: Never shave off the hairs around the mouth, nostrils, eyes and ears! This is against animal welfare and has been prohibited at international FEI competitions since 2021. Those who still do it can expect severe penalties or disqualification from the competition in question.
After clipping, brush the horse off and immediately put on a rug.
Clean and oil the clipper and change the clipper blades if necessary so that they can be sharpened.
Attention!
The clipped areas are very sensitive to friction. Therefore, as a rule, the areas of the horse’s body where equipment rests should not have the hair clipped off. This includes the saddle area. The leg aids can also cause skin irritation, which is why horse hair should be left in the leg area.
Which clipping patterns are there for horses?
So that the horse does not sweat too much during training in winter, it can be clipped in different ways. There are a total of seven different clipping patterns to choose from:
Full Clip
The full clip is, as the name suggests, the complete clipping of the horse’s coat, including the legs and the head. This means that the horse no longer has any natural insulation and must therefore be rugged around the clock to prevent it from catching a cold. In particularly cold temperatures, it is advisable to put on a light rug and a somewhat thicker turnout rug on top of it. The rug is important not only for insulation but also as a protection against skin irritations that can occur when the horse is exposed to outside conditions without protection. Full clipping is particularly suitable for competition horses and horses that are in intensive training and therefore sweat a lot.
Hunter Clip
The hunter clip is very similar to the full clip, with only the legs and the saddle area not being clipped. This is due to the sensitive areas of the body where the saddle can cause chafing. A saddle pad can be laid on as a template and clipped around it. The horse must also be rugged after a hunter clip. Hunter clipping is recommended for horses that are exercised and worked a lot.
Blanket clip
For horses that are not exercised much in winter, but are turned out during the day, blanket clipping is optimal. Enough coat is clipped off so that the horse does not sweat excessively – the entire neck, chest, lower belly and croup are clipped. At the same time, the coat on the back remains so that the horse does not get cold.
Chaser clip
The chaser clip is a variation of the hunter clip. Here, the coat on the entire topline is left so that only the areas of the body that sweat heavily are clipped off. In this way, the back and loins area, which are sensitive to cold, retain the thick winter coat as insulation. Some horse owners visually match the coat left behind to the clip by trimming it superficially. The Chaser clip is particularly suitable for horses that are exercised moderately often and intensively, i.e. do not sweat daily.
Irish clip
The Irish clip is quick and easy and is therefore particularly suitable for young horses that are to be carefully introduced to clipping. Horses that are only lightly worked also benefit from the Irish clip. Here the horse is clipped in the front area so that the neck, chest and shoulders and the lower belly are exposed. The front legs are not clipped. The rest of the horse keeps its warm winter coat.
Trace clip
A slight deviation from the Chaser clip is the Trace clip. The clipped strip is smaller, with only the lower part of the neck and chest being clipped. The head is partially clipped or not clipped at all.
Bib clip
Probably the easiest and quickest clipping is the bib clip. Here, only the front of the neck is clipped along the throat. Due to the minimalistic clipping, this clipping pattern is particularly suitable for horses that are turned out a lot. With a suitable rug, these horses can even be kept outside day and night during the winter. Some horse owners broaden the bib clip by extending it between the front legs to behind the girth. This variation is called neck and belly clip.
There are no limits to creativity – clipping motifs
Extensive clipping should never be done for visual reasons, especially if it is not necessary for the horse. If the horse is nevertheless clipped, the clipping can be spiced up with creative motifs. These are usually clipped into the croup.
The motifs range from hearts, lucky clovers, stars and elaborate creations of one’s own – there are no limits to creativity. Simple motifs can be worked in with the help of clipping templates. For intricate motifs, small battery-operated clippers are suitable, which are useful not only for motifs but also for head clipping.
