So let's try a blog hop.
How are you clipping your horse this year? More or less than last year? Are you doing any fun designs?
Let's make this a bit more appealing, too. If you participate in this blog hop, please come back here and tell me you did so to enter to win a $10 gift card to the horse retailer of your choice!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Last year, Tristan got basically a light strip clip: down his throat and to his chest. It helped.
(Oh, and lest we forget, I finally got into the world of detail clipping and he rocked a Rebel Alliance insignia on his butt. I'm still insanely pleased with how that turned out.)
He needs more this year.
Because this happened after 35 minutes of dressage work.
I'm pondering an Irish clip. Not his face, because I do not have a death wish, but something that would expose more throat and more chest & stomach, possibly shoulder. No way am I doing a full body clip (he doesn't need it, I don't own the clippers for it, see above re death wish).
I am experiencing my usual seasonal anxiety about taking off too much hair, though. I have no idea what this winter will be like. He has all the blankets he needs, but what if? Ugh.
I also need to decide what to put on his butt.
Right now, I'm leaning toward making him the Flash or Captain America.
We'll see!
So: please tell me what you're doing so I can pick your brains and relieve some of my anxiety.
I did a full body clip (except for legs) on Fiction last year which I liked but it was too much work. This year I'm keeping it simple and doing an Irish clip. I'm going to be taking a bit more off the neck though because that is primarily where he sweats. This way I can keep his blankets relatively light (he runs hot), which saves me money (he needs new blankets desperately).
ReplyDeleteI did the irish clip on my furry pony last year and again this year (this year I clipped the underside of her head as well). I LOVE this clip it is easy to do and looks sharp. Even in very cold weather she was never shivering with her medium weight blanket on, you can always add a neck cover if you feel like he needs more coverage :).
ReplyDeleteNo horse this year so no clipping, typically though go for something super traditional due to showing and clinicing.
ReplyDeleteI usually do a full clip the first time and then a hunter clip after that (I clip 2-3 times). This year I think I might do the Irish first and see how that goes... if I hate it, it can easily be turned into a hunter clip. Henry is such a shit about his legs, I think I've lost the desire to even bother anymore.
ReplyDeleteI most likely won't be clipping Roger over the winter, because I'm not really planning to show over the winter season and Roger grows a really nice thick winter coat. Post-ride, I throw my SP wool cooler on him and that seems to do the trick. I'll save my clipping until the spring :)
ReplyDeleteI ended up doing a modified Irish clip this year, will do a post with pics when I can get ones that don't make my pony look like a badly-bred quarter horse. I try to leave as much hair as I can get away with since Dino lives outside and I'd rather not go broke buying blankets, but I do also try to ride as much as possible throughout the winter so he needs some kind of haircut so I'm not at the barn until midnight waiting for him to dry.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure how much riding I will be doing this winter so I haven't decided how much I will clip. Annie made it through a large part of last winter without clipping though so I might try to avoid it again this year as I plan to give Annie some time off.
ReplyDeleteSide note you can get the wool cooler for less not branded SP :) I think horseloverz usually sells them and even victory canter.
I think she's aware that there are other retailers than SP that sell wool coolers. Thanks though.
DeleteOMG I love clipping and designs are my favorite. Last year I did chevrons and the year before that I did checkerboard butt. I LOVE cant america. Make that a thing plz. Once I fully clip both boys I'll def enter the hop with pics!
ReplyDeleteIdeally no clip at all. With each passing day tho I'm less certain about the viability of that plan. So perhaps something conservative like an Irish or minimal trace? Idk. I'm gonna try to hear from the new horse himself how he fares in winter. Maybe. Lol
ReplyDeleteNot clipping Willow at all this year.
ReplyDeleteI vote for FLASH as it runs in the family...
I'm a huge fan of trace clips - it gets the neck and shoulders clear, and also the belly, and forward of the gaskin where several horses I worked with had sweaty patches. Alternatively, work him moderately hard, see where he sweats, and clip that after the fact - so long as the edges are straight, it looks official!
ReplyDeleteI shave all of mine. In the past I just did a trace clip, but last year I fully shaved Nilla and that worked really well. Thankfully she is so good about shaving I can do anything with her. Eugene tried to kill us when we were shaving him so he got a completely terrible clip job that was kinda like a Irish clip but with random patches left attached since he wouldn't let us touch them.
ReplyDeleteIt is so hard to anticipate the winter weather
ReplyDelete