Clipping types for horses

Which clipping pattern is the right one?

While competition riders usually put more strain on their horses, leisure horses sweat primarily on the neck, hindquarters and belly. This is the only area that needs to be clipped. The remaining winter coat protects the horse's kidneys, for example. With the different cuts, you have every opportunity to adapt the clipping to your horse, the intended use and the way it is kept.

As a general rule, the shaving of the ears is prohibited for animal welfare reasons, as is the removal of the sensory hair around the mouth.

Conclusion

The complete or partial clipping of horses can achieve the following:

• A higher level of hygiene in the stable
• Improved animal health and 
• more animal welfare  

Clipping is a good, but operationally orientated business. Powerful and high-quality clippers and clipper blades/shearing heads from the Aesculap brand provide optimum support for clipping work!

Body
Econom II GT677 or Econom CL GT854 and GT856 or Bonum GT654-BL and RO / GT656-BL and RO with GT502 and GT505

Neck / Head / Legs
Durati Horse GT444-NB with GT339 cutter head. Alternatively with the cutter heads: GT387 / GT388 and GT389 or Favorita Cli GT234-SR / GT234-NB / GT236-SR / GT236-NB with cutter head GT749

(Full Clip)

Suitable for horses that are trained and compete all year round.  The sports cut is elegant, easy to care for and gives competition horses a flawless appearance.  The entire coat is clipped, leaving a small strip only at the base of the tail and along the saddle area. Horses with this type of coat must be covered particularly thickly as they have no way of keeping themselves warm. They are usually kept in the stable where the temperatures are more moderate.

This is how it works:
Start at the body. Then clip the legs, gradually downwards, starting from the poll and working outwards. Pick up the leg to shear the back of the pastern and the coronet band.

Originally developed for hunting horses, but suitable for any horse in medium to heavy work. The heavy winter coat is specifically removed from the animals, but the legs are not shorn as the winter coat protects them. The coat is left under the saddle, acting as a natural saddle cover. These horses also need a thick winter rug, but at least their legs are protected and they will be able to withstand the cold a little longer.

This is how it works:
Position the saddle, draw a line around the saddle with chalk or girth the saddle and shear generously around the saddle. Cleanly trim the cut line afterwards. Mark the inside and outside leg line diagonally with chalk and measure the height with hand widths. This ensures that the shearing is the same on both sides

For medium-worked leisure horses and horses that need additional protection in the sensitive loin area. With this type of cut, enough of the coat is clipped away so that the horse can be ridden without sweating profusely and still retain sufficient protection from the warming winter coat. Horses with this type of clipping can go out to pasture in good weather with a light blanket. However, please have a thick blanket ready for cold days.

This is how it works:
Draw the shape of the blanket on the horse's body with chalk. The lower edge of the saddle flap serves as a guideline for how deep the lower line of the "blanket" should be. It is important to always round the corners.

(or racehorse cut, rally cut)

For the well-considered compromise: The strip cut is suitable if the horse is subject to greater strain from time to time, but at the same time should still be largely protected against the cold. Depending on where the horse sweats the most, the basic shape of the strip cut is modified. In contrast to the blanket cut, the muscles on the upper neck are kept warm here. This cut is ideal for horses that are out in the pasture with a thin blanket during the day and in the stable at night.

This is how it works:
First mark the lines with chalk, then you can start shearing. Details are executed as described for the hunting or sports cut.

The following cuts come from England and therefore only bear these names. They are not so common here in Germany and are variations of well-known cuts.

(or curve cut, narrow strip cut)

If you keep your horses mainly outside and only move them moderately, you only clip them in the belly and lower neck area. In principle, the cut is a less pronounced strip cut. Nevertheless, these horses also need additional protection in the form of a light blanket in winter.

Ideal for young horses and animals in light work that are out in the pasture during the day. This cut is particularly quick and easy and only covers the areas that are mainly affected by sweating: Lower neck, chest and front legs. In contrast to trace clipping, the horse's head is also included here, which is mainly for aesthetic reasons. Please remember to use a light blanket in the pasture!

The ideal clipping for open stable horses. Here, only the front of the neck and part of the chest are clipped, sometimes a little further up to the girth. If you only move your horse occasionally in winter and keep it in a natural enclosure, you can build a slight "ventilation" into the winter coat. As this clipping also interferes with the natural conditions, a light blanket should be used.

How can I recognise these animals?

These horses have a dense and curly coat; the shedding process no longer works properly or sometimes not at all. The typical behaviour is apathy and reduced performance as well as pathological sweating. To give the horse relief, large parts/areas are kept short. It is applied in the same way as a sports cut.