The Clipping of Horses.

King Country Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 99, 18 September 1908, Page 3

The Clipping of Horses.

A French writer lately entered a protest against the clipping of horse?, and he makes oat a fair case from his own point of view. Koj contends that the result of clipping horses at the commencement of winter, or indeed at any time, seriously interferes with the natural functions of the skin. When the work was done with the scissors the injury was not so great, as a certain quantity of hair was left, which formed a protection to the animal against any sudden change of weather. The modern system, he says, cuts so close to the skin that the bulk of the hair is injured, and the character of the hair is altered, as is shown in the dullness, of the colour of the succeeding coat. There is no doubt something m this contention, and some pastoralists in Australia have found it to their advantage to use the shears in preference to the machine in shearing the sheep. The writer referred to says that where horses are properly treated in the way of grooming and regularly stabled there is no necessity for clipping, and as an example, he gives the practice of the General Omnibus Company of Paris, which, for the last nineteen years, have not clipped their horses. The argument is. no doubt, a good one where horses are kept regularly well groomed and clothed, but' for- farm horses that are not so carefully treated and have very heavy coats, the practice of clipping has been found beneficial in all parts of the world. Farm horses and light horses as worked in Australia, are greatly benefited by clipping early in winter; even when not stabled, if they are rugged, they invariably improve in condition after the operation. Some horse owners maintain that under such conditions their horses improve on less feed.