Is it appropriate to show with a half shaved horse? read description?
examples: bib clip, trace clip, blanket clip, etc?? I show dressage about 6 times a year, and ride for about 45 minutes everyday. It is annoying to take care of sweat marks and I would love a sharp look in the ring, BUT I lack a warm enclosed stall. It is a brick shelter that blocks wind and rain, but is basically open to the elements. I have access to millions of blankets, and its only southern california… would it be cruel to shave him at all?
Just do a very conservative trace clip (what some call a strip clip). There are a lot of different clipping patterns out there, but if I were you I would pick something where you remove as little hair as possible since your horse lives outside.
And you should have no problem showing your horse with such a clip. If you are showing at the FEI level, it’s probably worth doing a full body clip and moving your horse to a warmer barn for the winter. But especially at the lower levels, all but the most persnickety judges will understand why you have to do a half-clip. It’s only the “A” circuit hunter ring where I think you really can’t get away with it.
I live in Ohio and it’s really cold here, so you see a lot of trace clips and hunter clips. In southern CA, I’d think you could just look around to see what other people in your area are doing. Ask your trainer for advice, or talk to the people working at your local tack store. They always seem to know what “everybody is doing” and love to run their mouths about it!
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