[e_watson09]

Well I've noticed people tend to clip their horses in the winter and I was just wondering why other than to show. Well I work my boy pretty hard each ride to keep him in shape. He usually works up a pretty good sweat, more than normal. He has been really fluffy lately so maybe should I clip him some?

We're located in southern ohio so it gets cold but he's inside during the nights and if it's too cold the barn owner leaves the horses in.

[MischiefManaged]

I clip to show, but I also clip for the reason you mentioned. I have a yak that sweats a lot, and I just don't have time to stand around for hours waiting for him to dry. If you work a horse into a sweat in the winter and then throw them outside, they'd freeze with all that wet hair. With clipping, they're less likely to sweat much in the first place, and they dry quicker when they do sweat.

Don't go into clipping lightly though. You'll need quite the arsenal of blankets, even for a stalled horse. You'll need at least a sheet, medium weight and a heavy (or an equivalent layering). Depending on how cold it gets, and if you ride outside, you may need a quarter sheet as well. Beyond the actual cost of all of those blankets, don't forget to check and see if your barn owner will actually blanket for you and how much that will cost.

You could probably get away with a small bib clip without a blanket, but I wouldn't push it any farther.

[horsecrazy1982]

i cliped my horse for the first time this year she has a thick coat it helps her from getting so sweaty and she cools off eraser without getting cheled

[WashingtonBay]

Beyond just the extra time to get them dried off, it's not as comfortable for the horse to work hard in a heavy coat and get overheated. If you work them to a sweat very often in winter, it's best to clip at least the heavy sweat areas and then blanket appropriately.

[Jim_in_PA]

We just clipped Elvis last weekend...he was sweating like no tomorrow while being ridden and it was getting nearly impossible to get him dry in any kind of reasonable time. He now is fuzzy enough to be warm with a sheet (he wasn't "shaved") and is no longer sweating with a hard workout. When it gets colder, the sheet will be exchanged for a mid-weight, etc. Clipping also means that an occasional bath will be possible during the colder months as we will be able to get him fully dry quickly. Trust me, I resisted this, but it made more and more sense.

Now, Elvis is stalled with turnout, so he's not out in the elements 24/7. That can be a factor in some geographies. It sounds like your horse is living similarly.

Oh, the comment about the quarter sheet is spot on...at the beginning of a ride for warming up and at the end for cooling down, a quarter sheet is a good idea to insure that the horse's muscles aren't effected by the sudden cold.