I clip year round (exept I have only had to clip twice this winter for a
change). I an sure I will clip a week or two before the ROC and a week or
two before the Tevis. The winter coat starts to grow the 21st of June and
the more hair, the less efficient the cooling from sweat, hence the more
sweat is lost, hence the more electrolyte loss, hence the more risk of
developing problems. I will also clip in a week or so to prepare for War
Eagle - the coat is getting long since I have not clipped since the end of
Jan. And hey, when is the last time you saw me in the show ring and my
horse looks pretty good clipped - it trims away the the hair that has been
bleached out from sweat and the sun.
One of the primarly reasons riders coming down from the North fail to
finish the FL rides is they have not sufficiently clipped and the horses
cannot take the heat and humidity (both low by FL standards but still high
fromto a horse coming from a winter climate). This year the weather was
very cool (by FL standards) for both the FOF and the FL Classic. This is
the main reason for the low pull ratio.
Truman
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The race is not always to the swift, but to those that keep running.
Truman and Mystic "The Horse from HELL" Storm
and Danson "The Demon in Training" Flame
prevatt@lds.loral.com - Sarasota, Florida
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