CLIPPING 8i 



In England, where the climate Is different, a different 

 method of clipping is often practiced, or used to be 

 practiced, especially in the case of omnibus horses. 

 In an English winter the thing to be guarded against 

 is not cold but rain, and therefore it was custom- 

 ary to clip the lower part of the bodies of the 'bus 

 horses, and to leave the head, the top of the neck and 

 the top of the body covered with hair, those being the 

 parts upon which the rain falls. This was called clip- 

 ping "trace high." 



If anything is done In the way of trimming the hair 

 from the horse's fetlocks it should be only by way of 

 cutting off the long hairs. To clip off all the hair pro- 

 duces discomfort and often scratches or mud fever. 



If possible, clip your horse on a cool, dry day. On a 

 warm day he is more likely to catch cold, as the pores 

 of his skin will be open; and on a damp day a chill Is 

 more easily taken than on a day when the air Is dry. 

 As soon as the horse returns to the stable after being 

 clipped, give him a feed of hay. This is good for two 

 reasons : in the first place, if he Is In a. straight stall, 

 having something to eat in his manger will keep him in 

 the forward part of the stall so that his hind parts will 

 be protected from the draught; and secondly, the mere 

 process of eating tends to quicken the circulation. As 

 horsemen often remark, "No horse ever catches cold 

 while he Is eating." 



If the legs are clipped It Is well to bandage them the 

 first day, taking off the bandages on the next day when 

 the horse goes out, and not resuming them unless the 

 weather Is wet or very cold. 



