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Clipping shortens the coat to a bit below its summer length, allowing quicker evaporation of seat, more rapid drying and easier grooming. So while clipping gives the horse and owner the freedom to continue their work minus the discomfort of long thick coats, it doesn't mean less work for their human partners! Full on stabling, careful rugging, ensuring the horse is kept warm at all times, by warm we don't mean stuffy  it is so important that the horses coat can breathe, any rug that claims to trap heat or cause heating should be avoided for your horses health. Ideally pure cotton as the first layer, and then pure woollen rugs ...it is not unusual to see freshly clipped horses standing around pre-comps waiting for their turn to compete whilst their human counterparts have layer upon layer on to keep out the winter chills! Clipping horses and after care has to also mean using a lot of common sense.

What style of clip

Not all of us need or want to do the full body clip, if you have no stable or your horse is not in full work there are variations of clipping patterns which will allow your horse to work in comfort and still stay warm in the paddock with the use of an extra rug or two, we strongly recommend that the clip you do suits what type of work and the conditions that you can supply for your horse.

For those riders that have limited time and may only ride a few times a week, one of the trace clips shown are more suited, the Strip Clip is ideal for those with agisted horses, and who cant regulate body tempeture by applying more or less rugs thru the day or week.

If you decide on one of the trace clips shown, drawing a chalk line of the pattern on the horse so it's even before you begin is an excellent idea.

When to clip

When to clip will depend on reason you need to clip, the show horse that is been prepared for a upcoming Royal will be given a full body clip just as their natural coat shows signs of shifting, other horses used for performance will be clipped as required, sometimes they even maybe clipped twice in the one season.

Once the decision is made, make sure the horse has been washed clean, and is fully dry before you begin. A clean horse is less likely to get those tell tale clip lines.

Make long strokes with the clippers, overlapping each stroke with the next, Always work against they lay of the hair, and use fairly firm, even pressure.