As winter fast approaches, and horses start to grow heavier coats, a lot of horse owners will be dusting off their clippers, thinking about the different types of horse clip and trying to decide which clip would suit their horse best.
Clipping off some or all of the horse’s winter coat will help prevent your horse from getting too warm and sweating profusely while exercising.
Before choosing the right clip for your horse, you need to consider how much work your horse or pony is doing, what turnout rugs you might need to keep him warm afterwards and whether your horse will be stabled or turned out.
And if you’re in need of a new handset to tackle the job this winter, check out some of the best horse clippers currently available.
Types of horse clip for medium and heavy work
1. Full clip
Workload: Heavy
What it involves: A full clip is when all hair is removed from your horse, including the legs, head and ears. It means that the horse dries out quickly after strenuous work as sweating is minimalised. Careful rugging to ensure your horse doesn’t get cold is essential, and you should also be aware of the increased possibilities of rain scald and mud fever due to the lack of natural protection offered by the horse’s coat.
2. Hunter clip
Workload: Heavy
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What it involves: The hunter clip is another useful for those horses in heavy work. All hair is removed, bar the legs — the idea being the hair left on the legs helps to protect them from water and mud — and a saddle patch to help protect the back from the saddle. Lots of people will lightly trim the hair down the back of the horse’s legs to tidy them up. Again, careful rugging is required to prevent the horse from getting cold when not being worked.
3. Blanket clip
Workload: Medium
What it involves: Hair is left on the horse’s legs, as is the area where an exercise sheet would be. These are both areas that aren’t prone to sweating and so is useful for those turned out regularly, but still in medium work.
4. Chaser clip
Workload: Medium
What it involves: Very similar to a blanket clip but helps keep the muscles on the top of the neck warm too. The chaser clip is ideal for horses that are in medium work and turned out during the day when the weather permits. Many people lightly trim the longer hairs running down the back of the leg to give a neat finish.
Types of horse clip suitable for horses in light work
1. Trace clip
Workload: Light to medium
What it involves: The horse’s coat is removed from the underside of the belly and the chest and neck, and hair is left on the legs for protection and also on their head. This clip is very similar to the chaser clip, but only half of the neck hair is removed. It is a useful clip for those horses in a medium amount of work and that are turned out frequently.
2. Irish clip
Workload: Light to medium
What it involves: The Irish clip is useful for young horses and those in light work as it is quite quick and easy to do. Hair is clipped from the neck and behind the elbows, where a horse is susceptible to sweating the most, but there is still plenty of coat left on for warmth.
3. Bib clip
Workload: Light
What it involves: Just the hair from the front of the neck and chest is removed when using a bib clip. Some people also carry on the clip under the belly to where the girth sits too. This is a good clip for horses in light work and who are turned out a lot or living out full time.
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Former web features editor, point-to-point editor and digital racing editor
Gemma is an experienced journalist, who was a member of H&H staff from 2014 to September 2025. She is passionate about all equestrian sports, including racing and point-to-pointing. She has enjoyed riding out for top trainers Nicky Henderson and Charlie Appleby and took part in a charity Flat race at Epsom in August 2018. Gemma’s has reported from numerous five-star events around Britain and Europe, as well as European championships.
