“Hi, my name is Killian Sheahan and I have a question for the experts:  I have a 16hh 3/4 bred mare who lives out full time and as done so for all of her life, she has never lived in and is accustomed to harsh winter conditions. Can I give her a blanket clip and still have her living out? I have a very heavy rug with a heavy neck on it so she would stay very warm. I ride most days of the week and I do jumping on her so she does a decent amount of work.”

The answer 

H&C expert Jenny Rudall replies: “Hi Killian, I am personally a great fan of horses living out and if you have the right land with a bit of shelter and they cope well, there is no reason why they cannot be out in all conditions.

If however you have never clipped your horse and she is going to stay out, it maybe advisable to take off less hair than a blanket clip, by doing either a low trace or just a bib to start.  I say this as the winters have been unpredictable and if we have as much snow as last year you may regret taking off so much hair.  You can always take more hair off later if her work load increases, but you can’t put it back on. 

If you do need to give her a blanket clip as she is sweating up in her work, you can also put two rugs on her when it is really cold. I always have a spare dry rug in the house so on those terrible days I can change her rugs when they get too sodden or if they get damaged.

I hope this helps and you have lots of fun on your mare over the winter months.

Jenny.”