Monty Roberts Equus Online University | Monty's Horse Training Post: Body clipping?

Learn all about Equus • Dually Halter • Shy Boy Mustang • Jumping Horses
• Story of a Horse Whisperer • Riding Horsemanship • Dressage Horses • Willing Partners
• Horse Training • Round Pen Lessons • Performance Horses • Join-Up

Watch Monty's horse training videos to learn how he demonstrates communication through horse training techniques that the amateur and professional alike consider to be the trainable skills of a horse whisperer yet Monty calls it horse gentling.
Monty's horse training techniques are non violent with intelligent natural horsemanship. In addition to video instructions, Monty has written many books related to natural horsemanship. Monty trains safe horses for nervous riders called Willing Partners. Monty trains world class race horses for sale.
“I am very proud to be a part of Her Majesty’s horse training and her passion for their welfare. I believe she is the leading monarch for the advocacy of horses in the world. She is a thought leader in this field. Her Majesty's horses are trained using the Dually Halter, making a difference in the training of sensitive animals by giving the horse the choice to partner in the training.” ~ Monty
“I communicate with a horse in what I call the Language of Equus; a silent language of gestures that is discernible, predictable and effective. Now you can learn from my videos, audio and notes to help you understand the horse as I do. This language is really quite simple, but simplicity becomes its greatest strength.” ~ Monty
Monty Roberts is a renowned horse trainer known as the man who listens to horses and the original horse whisperer. Monty's horse training instructions are accepted worldwide.
Monty has helped thousands of people globally through his Monty Roberts Online Videos to learn how to Join-Up with horses, training young horses, spooky horses, horses that bite. His mustang , Shy Boy , is his most famous horse.
Join-Up methods help horse and trainer to establish a bond of communication and trust. “You must somehow understand that we as horsemen can do very little to teach the horse. What we can do is to create an environment in which he can learn.” ~ Monty
Monty says, “We hear that ‘actions speak louder than words,’ but generally we do not live by it too successfully.” Now Monty has taught thousands of people worldwide how to build trust in animals through our actions and body language.
Monty’s principles really amount to common sense and immense patience. He believes that children and horses have the same behavioral patterns. They are both naturally “flight” animals. "If you frighten them and resort to confrontation, you’ll lose their trust." ~ Monty
"Simple one-on-one reassurances and praise reap long term dividends that can all be undone with the quick slamming of a book on a desk or shouting back." ~ Monty Roberts
"No one of us was born with the right to say 'You must or I'll hurt you' to any other living thing, animal or human". ~ Monty Roberts
"My life's goal is to leave the world a better place than I found it, for horses and for people too". ~ Monty Roberts

← back

Horse Care and Comfort

Body clipping?

By:

LMSedgwick(Canada)

Date:

2014-May-31 at 04:41PM

Hi all: I was reading some posts on a horse forum where people had begun posting pictures of their horses body clipped and were all enthusiastic about how much better they looked(debatable to me - why would you want your horse clipped to look like a skeleton?) While I can understand this mass clipping for a cushings horse or perhaps leg feathers and bridle path if your discipline/comfort of the horse calls for it - it seems to remove a natural defence to sun;heat/water evaporation and bugs etc., from the horses body- in exchange for what I'm not sure. Does anyone here body clip? Would love to hear others perspectives.

Tiggy, Tears 2014-May-31 at 05:30PM

Hi, we have just body clipped Polly, but only because she was body clipped too tight with trimming clippers during the winter & her coat has grown back rather weirdly!! Wouldn't do this ordinarily but she was really fluffy & uncomfortable when working.

vicci - UK (North Wales) 2014-Jun-01 at 11:26AM

I agree with you lsed - if there is a good reason to clip that can be fully explained and justified on the basis of horse welfare/comfort, fine, but most clipping I see seems to be about fashion, aesthetics and "it's what everyone else does".

Tiggy, Tears 2014-Jun-01 at 01:35PM

Yeah, Polly so much happier today when she went out, back to her normal pocket rocket self, so clipping her was the best idea. Just hope it doesn't muck up her coat again!

beryl 2014-Jun-01 at 02:02PM

Yes, I'm of the same opinion, it should only be done for the horses comfort if needed, meaning if they work very hard, so they don't exhaust themselves by getting dehydrated by sweating excessively.
What really annoys me is kids ponies being fully clipped out, turned out 24 hours a day only to be ridden for half an hour to an hour at the weekend in winter.
A clipping out cob pony doesn't make it a TB!
I've clipped Libby with a bib clip, taking off her shoulders to just behind the girth once only, but she doesn't need it with the small amount of work we do & i prefer to leave them unrugged if i can as they have to have sweet itch rugs on all summer.
I do trim her hairs under her jaw so they don't get caught up in her noseband buckle.

Tiggy, Tears 2014-Jun-01 at 09:22PM

Personally as Polly was only hunting twice a month a blanket clip would've been fine, if she was mine! Now she'll probably be rugged everynight and have a cooler on during the day!