Clipping for the Katy Show

The Katy show starts this Friday, which means that everyone is trying to finish last minute preparations. Packing, training, and laundry are the primary concerns on the riders' minds, but there is one very important issue regarding the horses that has to be taken care of before the show; body clipping. All of the horses that are going to the show need to be body clipped. Body clipping is when you take clippers and shave all of your horse's winter coat off. Many people, due to ignorance or stubbornness, think that clipping the horse's natural defense against the cold,especially in the south, is wrong. On the contrary, clipping is one of the most helpful things you can do for your horse in the winter, especially in the unpredictable Texas weather. During the winter, if you plan on keeping your horse in a heavy work program or if you plan on showing him, body clipping will help you maintain your horse's health by keeping the horse from getting overheated during work due to a heavy winter coat, by preventing chills and colds due to wind by getting rid of the dense water-trapping winter coat, and by removing the dirt-attracting coat which allows you to keep your horse cleaner and its coat and skin in better condition. The most important aspects of the clipping process are having a clean horse, sharp blades, and a lot of time.


Robert, my trainer's husband, and I clipped my horse Frenchie on Friday, October 16, 2009. Frenchie had never been body clipped before and when we turned on the very loud clippers, she was quite scared and tried to either get away from or kick them several times during the clipping process. Robert began the process by just holding the clippers near her and touching her with them so she could get used to the sound and vibration they emit. At first, Frenchie twitched when the clippers would touch, but she got used to them after awhile. A little later, however, when Robert switched sides she became very agitated and tried to kick and bite Robert. Robert gave her 2ccs of a low-grade tranquilizer to get her to calm down. The tranquilizer didn't kick in as fast as Robert thought it would so after dealing with a still-twitching Frenchie, Robert decided to use the Twitch. The Twitch is a device that is used to pinch the front part of the horse's nose below the nostrils. This device causes the horse to relax because the pinching of the nose releases endorphins into the horse's system. This device looks cruel but it is very humane and does not harm the animal in any way. After Frenchie was Twitched, she calmed down considerably and allowed Robert to finish clipping the rest of her body. By the time Robert was ready to clip her face, the tranquilizer had taken effect and the Twitch could be removed. The whole process took about four hours to complete, but it was worth it because Frenchie looks and feels much better without her winter coat.





This video shows what Frenchie looked like before we clipped her, the process of clipping her as I described above, and what she looked like after we finished clipping her.