Is it just me or are some horses getting way hairier this year than normal? Admittedly, Henry maybe isn’t the best gauge of these things, considering that he’s a hairy horse in general, but I’ve now body clipped him twice already this fall, with the second clip coming just two weeks after the first.
His leg hair, which is always fairly draft-horse-esque, is already long enough to braid some dang cornrows into, if you were into that kind of thing. It billows in the wind, all gross and golden against his black legs. I flat out refuse to clip his legs though, mostly because he is really good about the rest of his body yet a complete freaking turd about his legs. For real, it used to take me twice as long to do his legs as it did to do the rest of him. But also because I’m an eventer now, and I consider one of the biggest perks of my changeover from h/j land to be the whole “not clipping the legs is totally normal” stance that they have. I am all about that.
Henry gets hot so easily that I always try to keep his coat pretty short, so I do probably clip him more than most people would find necessary. Still though, I got almost as much hair off of him on the second clip as I did on the first. Seems like a lot more than normal for the end of October.
Meanwhile, baby horse has been a little slower to launch into Yak Mode. His hair is getting long, but nowhere near what he was sporting last winter. Of course, it’s early yet. If he’d like to grow that 6″ of plushy ridiculousness again (please don’t), I suppose he has plenty of time.
As an aside, you might spy the farrier in the above photo. Poor guy was here on Monday to do both boys and then back AGAIN on Tuesday, because SOMEONE named HENRY decided to pull a shoe off literally SIX HOURS after getting his feet done. And I tried looking for it in the tall grass but yeah right, that was a lost cause. I don’t know where he threw it, but it was somewhere far and well-hidden. Poor farrier had to come out the next morning and make a whole new shoe, clips and studholes and all. I really appreciate him coming so fast though (and being so darn pleasant about it) considering we’re leaving for Holly Hill tomorrow. Where I get to try out my newest acquisition:
Yep that’s a folding cot. I tried a little twin air mattress for when I want to sleep in the trailer itself (like if it’s cold or raining, and camping in the tent seems unappealing) but at Willow Draw that stupid thing deflated on me every two hours during the night. I feel like I don’t really have to tell you how annoying that was and how much I hated air mattresses by the next morning. This weekend we’ll try out the cot instead… at least it can’t deflate?
breedrideevent.com 
FRANCIS IS A BIG FLUFFY YAK.
It happened overnight, I have no idea what happened. He was all sleek and shiny one day, then I showed up the next and he was a total hamster fluff.
Another money saver from not showing right now- he doesn’t need a full body clip. We’ll clear off his body and let his leg hair continue to blow in the breeze.
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That’s what Henry did too!!! His summer coat was actually way more sleek than normal, and then all the sudden one day – POOF WINTER. WTF.
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We hates it
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Eli has not grown a winter coat. Except this year he is as fluffy as Highland cattle. I am screwed.
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Henry is always a yak right?? LOL but yeah twice in 2 weeks. Is it supposed to be warm this weekend?
I cannot believe how GROWN UP Presto is looking. OMG. I thought that was Henry in that shot at first glance. No baby baby anymore. 🙂
I hope the cot is better I agree air mattresses are GREAT until they deflate then HATE!
Remus is still behind a bit on his coat (as in he has one but with the 50-60s during the day and 30s-50s at nite he is fine that way). I did put his first sheet of the year on him today. It is low 50’s and raining its fool head off and he got a bath yesterday (the last warm day this week) so I am trying to keep him somewhat clean. I am thinking of bringing him in the house to wash his legs tomorrow HA HA HA
Have fun this weekend, remember to breathe and give Merritt my phone number if she needs me to come get Henry HA HA HAHA
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This weekend is Holly Hill, just another Training. And no Merritt, because no one else of hers is going because they are the worst. It’s supposed to be in the 70’s in Louisiana where we’re going, and 80 at home!
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ahhh okay….i can’t keep up with you guys 🙂 WAIT LA?? you need to let me know next year so I can come meet you there! I looked before it is not too far to drive!
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I told you to come to Holly Hill and you laughed in my face, you jerk. Their next show is April. Pencil it in.
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okay! its 300 miles from I can come be your groom!
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Ok I’m fine with that, especially since I keep finding myself there alone and abandoned.
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I thought it was weird too! I live in Florida and at least half the horses at my barn were full yak mode two weeks ago, yet the lows are still mid 60’s and 70’s and the highs are 80’s and 90’s. I feel so bad for them.. they just pour sweat even with their fans.
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I went on vacation, leaving three lovely horses, and returned to three floofy yaks. I guess it did snow while I was away, but jeesh, you think they’d ease me into this season of yak-dom instead of pushing me off the cliff. Hopefully our board situation will make it possible to do some partial clips this year.
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Gah, snow??? I guess you ARE way up there on the mountains.
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I highly recommend cots! It’s what I use when I’m camping (either in the back of my truck or in my horse trailer) and it’s practically luxury, especially with the little mattress on top of the cot springs.
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spicy isn’t yak-y but hes super plush and fluffy like a teddy bear and I’m kind of in LOVE with it. our bareback walkies in particular are extremely warm and cuddly!!! 13/10 would absolutely buy a teddyhorse again.
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Hahahahahaha. I wouldn’t mind it if my horse didn’t get hot so easily. He was dying in his winter coat.
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Gem and Pete grew theirs in about a month ago. They never really settled into SC since moving from WI and are always ridiculously hairy. Doofus has changed back to a more reasonable shade of dark orange versus the sun bleached disaster of summer, but it is n’t any longer or thicker so I don’t know what he is up to. My guess? Something that will cost me money and time out of the saddle.
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Appies generally don’t grow much coat right? I have very little life experience when it comes to apps but I feel like all the ones I’ve known have been amazingly hairless.
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Probably. I honestly don’t know much about them as a breed. He has a nice tail but a puny little mane and almost no forelock so he probably will be quite hairless elsewhere as well.
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Ugh. Hair everywhere. On the bright side, the hairiest of my menagerie are both the non workers, so I suppose that’s good. Eros will definitely need to be clipped soon. He’s not super hairy, but that horse sweats just thinking about work. (Fat kids, ya know?) Fortunately Eddie isn’t too furry. He’s a fairly thin skinned chestnut, so hopefully he stays on the sleeker side… (Famous last words… but he’s not mine, and I’m not sure his mom is into clipping.)
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Forgot to chime in on air mattress hate… I like them fine when they stay inflated, and it’s especially nice if you add a foam egg crate or memory foam topper. But I had to use an old one when I got my first apartment for a little bit and I woke up basically on the floor every night. WORST. I’m sure the cot will be way better!
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I love the one for my truck tent, it stays inflated pretty darn well. The only downside is that it can only be blown up with a special battery, and that thing takes FOREVER to charge. So if you forget to charge it in advance, hahahahaha good luck. Pain in the ass.
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One of my three mares is very hairy, but the other two are still somewhat normal. The hairy one has been through a lot of changes in the past year since I adopted her, so I’m attributing some of her hairiness to feed/diet/supplements etc. I’m still learning what is *normal* for her – or if she even has one. The hair was so bad when I first noticed it a few weeks ago that I almost posted something similar in THE group on Facebook! I needed confirmation that she wasn’t the only early woolly one.
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A lot of them seem to have started early!
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I have a miniature horse, I know all about hair. She gets to keep hers though. My paint mare, she spent her first six years of life in Texas and since moving to Illinois two years ago hasn’t figured winter out. She’s had a sheet on for almost a month, off and on, and is probably going to make me buy her a heavier blanket this year. She’s out 24/7 and has access to a stall, she just prefers to stand out in the crappy weather. If it gets bad enough they’re both locked in stalls and I just deal with the dirty looks. Mares! I’m just glad I don’t clip, though come shedding season I always get tempted by it with the mini… Oi.
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Oh, and I can’t wait to hear how you like the cot! My air mattress has died and I’d like to move up in the world rather than sleeping in my backseat when traveling for races, so I’ve been looking at cots.
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I used to clip my old OTTB several times each year, and the first few times I did it he wouldn’t let me get his legs at all. After he started trusting me a bit he was still fussy about it, but I discovered that life got a lot easier if I did the legs first. He never seemed to mind how long it took to do the rest of him…
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