Whether or not you clip depends on personal preference and what you want to do with your horse. If you intend to show, you will most likely need to clip some areas of your horse including whisker trimming, fetlock trimming, bridle path, and ear clips if not a full body clip. If you aren’t showing it really is personal preference as to whether or not you clip.

Clipping does make your horse look good and tidy, but there are also disadvantages to clipping. A full body clip will require that you make sure your horse is warm enough if you clip during the winter months. Ear clippings take away protective fur from ear gnats during the summer. Research has found that the whiskers on a horse’s muzzle play a vital role in helping him sense his environment which whisker trimming deprives him of.

Clipping can sometimes be stressful or downright scary for horses if they aren’t used to the sound or feel of the clippers. If you choose to clip, make sure you take it really slow and careful to get your horse used to it.

As with most things in the horse world it is best to think it through, do your research, and then decide what is best for you and your horse.

(photo by Montanabw - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2...

~ Saddle Up