**The above photo is from Riding Warehouse website. I will be linking their blog below as it is an excellent how-to blog.

I had a Facebook friend reach out to me asking what type of spring clip I preferred for my ponies. This made me search this blog to see if I’ve ever written anything about my spring clip and I realized I have not!

Then I went out onto the internet and found the BEST blog about body clipping. I will link that here as well as share my personal opinion.

My personal favorite spring clip was the Irish/Chaser clip. I liked how it allowed the tummy and behind the front legs to stay clean-ish, no matter how muddy our springs were. By clipping that long belly hair off I could more easily use a mud brush to get the mud off before driving and after driving.

I also liked how it cleaned the lower jaw of that extra long hair. If you have minis and ponies you know what I’m talking about!

I found as spring weather warmed up here in Montana, Zorro would get sweatier on our drives. Doing a spring clip allowed him to cool off quicker, not get quite as sweaty, and yet, stay warm on the cool nights. I did have blankets for both ponies as I believe, if you are going to remove their natural winter coat, then it’s your responsibility to provide them with some kind of jacket. My ponies also had access to several sheds and wind breaks.

The photo above shows how the harness lays on the pony after the Irish/Charger clip.

People often ask if the summer coat grows in a different color than the clipped part – and yes it can be a slightly darker color. But it was rarely noticeable. Now, if I had been showing, I would have had to be more careful about my spring clip, have far more blankets, and possibly an enclosed stall/barn for more protection against the cold.

Now, here is the excellent article I came across when I was doing some research for this blog – as always, the words in brown are a link!