Clip, Clip, Clip, Clip

One of the things that we have to do on a regular basis throughout the year is to clip our Icelandic Horses. Genetically, they have a coat that is designed for the longer, bitter cold winters of Iceland. Even though we have cold nights and days in the winter in New Mexico, our winters are not nearly as long, nor as cold as Iceland.

To keep Morgunn and Gletta comfortable and healthy, we clip their coats throughout the year. During the late Fall, Winter and early Spring we do a trace clip where we cut the hair along their necks and stomachs. These are the main areas that horses sweat. So this allows them to sweat while still keeping their thick coats over their muscle mass during the colder times.

During the late Spring, Summer and early Fall we'll do a whole body clip so they can easily handle the longer, hotter, sunny days.

Gletta's coat in particular is really thick. During the coldest parts of the winter it is easily 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick. She looks like a big, wooly bear.

Clipping them is always a chore. The breeze usually blows the hair into our clothes, hair and mouth. Fortunately, they both are calm and quiet during the process so that's not a problem.

Here's a picture of the two of them with their trace clips (we'll post pictures during the summer showing their whole body clips):