To Clip or Not to Clip
Some of you may have noticed that Nigel is looking a little thinner than usual. That is because he has been body clipped. The decision to clip is made every spring when we begin to think about what the horse or pony will be doing for the year. Nigel will be showing in the Connecticut Color Breed shows and needs to look his best, and for a horse that means body clipping. This will allow him to work harder without getting soaked. Body clipped horses look great as well. You can see every well toned muscle as her moves around the ring. The disadvantage is that he now needs to be blanketed in all but the best weather.
Misty, on the other hand, works mostly on the farm or at birthday parties. Most people love her thick, fuzzy coat and students love seeing how much hair she looses after each grooming session. Misty has only worn a thin blanket this year and only when we didn't want her to get too wet. It takes a long time for Misty to dry up. It will be fun to see how much she really weighs as her coat sheds out. We will probably clip her early in the summer to help keep her cool this summer.
When making the decision to clip or not to clip you need to look at several things. What will the horse be doing? How long and thick is the horse's coat? Will the horse be showing on a regular basis?
Do Horses Sleep?
We get this question all the time. Yes they do and they sleep more than you think they might. Horses are prey animals, other animals eat them, so they have to be very careful when they sleep. They are able to sleep standing up because they have a special stay mechanism in their knees that allow them to keep upright when they take a nap.But they must also get off their feet for at least 15 to 20 minutes a day in order to achieve peak performance. Some horses will sleep lying down up to an hour or more a day lying down, especially younger horses and in the warmer weather. So if you see a horse in a field lying down and they look really comfortable, don't worry, they are just taking a quick nap.
Get ready for Summer
After a long, snowy and icey winter it is time to get the place ready for spring and summer. We were lucky to have no major damage from the storm and no damage to any of our buildings.
