The mini’s finally made the trip to Texas! They went to Maine last summer so this wasn’t their first long ride in the trailer. I postponed bringing them when we moved down in February because I knew they would need to be body clipped as soon as we got here. They grew winter coats for temperatures -24 degrees Fahrenheit and Texas was significantly warmer. We had blanketed the horses in Ohio to prepare them for the sudden temperature change but the minis had to wait.
I got the message from them that they wanted to be clipped….
Texas has been about 30-40 degrees warmer than Ohio so I had the clippers ready to help them remove their coats. These mini’s grow hair coats that are NOT like horses. They remind me more of a Husky dog with an undercoat that is incredibly thick.
They have never been body clipped before but were pretty tolerant of it. It was taking me on average, three passes with the clippers; one to remove the outer layer, another to remove the undercoat, and a final pass to clean up the remaining fuzz.
I used a pair of regular clipper and a pair of body clipper, alternating them to allow each pair to cool. Even so I had to stop after clipping for several hours straight. I’m headed out to finish the job now as it is headed up to 81 degrees today.
Some people consider blanketing, body clipping, etc. to be ‘unnatural’ for horses. In a way they are correct because horses in nature are not body clipped or blanketed. However, they are not telling the whole story when they make these statements. Horses in the wild don’t have their feet trimmed, or their wounds doctored, or many other things that we routinely do for our horses to improve their lives. A horse moving from Ohio to Texas in two days is also not natural…so we step in and help out.
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Being a south Floridian, I’ve clipped my fair share of ponies. Also being that we’re lucky to get down to 60 degrees, a considerable number of horses are also clipped as well. I’m all for natural care and keep of horses, but I can agree that if there’s anything I can do to accommodate, I’m prepared. For example, we have a black non-sweater. He’s clipped twice yearly and kept in a shady stall with the fans on high. If we didn’t provide these things for him, he’d be blowing so hard I could fit my fist in his nostril. Anyway, thanks for sharing your clipping story! I think the worst part of shaving minis is getting the undercarriage and being rained on by all that itchy hair, not to mention, like you said, the number of rounds it takes to get down to the finer hairs. One pony actually went through three pairs of clippers before I finally broke down and got the super mega awesome industrial ones.
Reminds me of the fellows here in Texas that get their “summer” haircut, like my son and grandson. haha
You are having too much fun with writing clip me on your mini’s. LOL The last picture looks so cute!
We rescued a mini in February. We live in SC and this mini still has so much hair it’s ridiculous. I believe he has not shed properly because he’s been malnourished. Now, as I read this, I’m wondering. Our clippers stopped working so the kids just clipped him as best they could with scissors. His mane has enough hair to outfit 6 big horses. I may think about blanketing next winter.
That sounds like us! The blades got dull and the little girl in the photo started using scissors…crazy funny photo! You should post your ‘hand trimmed’ mini:)
And the really fun part about clipping minis for the TX heat: if you clip them regularly, many will grow a full coat at the wrong season (NOT winter)….and you get the fun task of re-clipping! Full size horses are so much easier to deal with from that standpoint. I full body clip my show minis before every show, even if the shows are only several weeks apart….my Morgan, on the other hand, grows enough hair for polar bear (I believe she thinks she’s a mini from that standpoint) but fully sheds and slicks off by spring. Ah the glories of caring for our miniature counterparts. 🙂
…maybe minis belong in the north…I will have to consider this….lol
As I gaze out at several very very fluffy minis in this heat, I’m thinking more like Alaska! And then there’s my current show project, already clipped for this weekend’s show….bundled in a slinky hood and flysheet to prevent sunburn (she’s a black pinto, mostly white in all the wrong places)……….lol
They look beautiful and I’m positive that they are gonna be so happy to have those thick coats off! Great Clip job Stacy!
It will look even better when the new blades get here…I dulled the others and need to get them sharpened!
awww……….tooo cute…..glad they made it safely to Texas…… just wondering……. can they get sunburned or anything when they get clipped real short like that??
I will keep them out of the direct sun for a bit mainly because it is so hot here! If they had white skin I would be more concerned but there skin is dark except the ‘spots’ on the appy. The hair will recover pretty fast…they just couldn’t shed fast enough for the sudden heat.
lol…. you think its hot now??? just wait til the middle of summer when its in the 100’s….. you will be wanting to ride in a sports bra and thong!!!! bahahahaha….. J/K….. please don’t do that!!!
I’m already riding at dawn…but maybe it will have to be earlier. I require clothing while riding:)