CLIPPING HORSES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 449, 20 March 1912, Page 7

CLIPPING HORSES.

I am in favor of clipping for several reasons. I have been clipping my horses for ten years and it has always been satisfactory to me, and if I were to use horses for 25 years more I would have them clipped. 1 im 63 years old and have been work- ■ ing horses ever since I was big enough to catch and harness a nd climb on. Have waggoned and farmed all my life, and have had lots 0 | experience with horses. Suppose on< of us goes out in the spring on a warm day with all our heavy underclothes and heavy winter coat or and is compelled to keep them on al day and work hard, can you imagine low we would feel ? It's one of the most uncomfortable things any one has to do. So it is with the horse f can take two clipped horses in the spring and go to ploughing and I will do as much work as can be done with three that have not been clipped, with one-half the labour to care for them. If you never had a horse clipped yon would be surprised to see the amount of dirt that is on the horse after he is clipped, and if he is not. clipped when you take him in wet with sweat in the evening he won't dry till morning, and the sweat brings the dirt and dust out in the hair and you have a bad job on your hands to get him clean. On the other hand put your horse in that has been clipped and if lie is a little warm throw a blanket of any kind on him. I have made them of old wool sacks as good as any and not very expensive. In an hour or less your clipped horse will be dry and nice to clean. After I clip my horses I never put a comb on them, all I use is a good stiff brush and I can clean them in a few minutes. We have some bad roads here as it is limestone country. I have hauled all kinds of loads on all kinds of roads. I can take two horses that have been clipped and they will pull as many pounds as three undipped and take it all day in deep mud the clipped ones will come in in the best condition, and will improve in spring work where the others will go down. 1 clip my horses before the young hair begins to grow, as the hair comes in softer and makes a nicer and glossier coat of hair.—"National Stockman and Farmer."