How to keep your horse in trim - by Anita Marsh

She was absolutely brilliant with the hair trimmers and stood very still, save an odd twitch from a fly that kept buzzing around.

Horses naturally develop a thick winter coat to help protect them from the cold. However, if a horse’s coat is too thick, it can cause lots of sweating and be uncomfortable for exercising. Clipping horses is common for those in a regular work regime or competing. It helps them to dry more quickly after exercise, making grooming easier too, as well as helping to maintain a more healthy looking coat.

Last year I couldn’t clip April as she was only on light ridden work, due to recovering from injury, and she was not sweating after being ridden. However, this year she is back to full fitness and in medium work, being ridden five times a week and lightly competed, and her drying off time is taking much longer afterwards.

There are many different styles of clipping a horse – a little bit like the choice we have for our own hair.