Horse Illustrated Magazine

This clip is designed for horses that maintain a regular work load in the winter. The advantage to this clip over a full-body clip is that hair is left along the horse’s back and upper neck for protection during cold-weather rides, so you shouldn’t need a quarter sheet for riding.

You may opt to clip part or all of the head with either the medium or high trace clip. Once you clip a horse’s head, however, remember that you’ll have to limit his turnout time in severe weather, since you can’t protect his vulnerable face and ears with regular blankets unless you buy him some sort of hood.

The high trace clip demands that you blanket your horse just as you would a horse with a full body clip. You’ll need two to three layers of stable and turnout blankets, which can be rotated according to the weather.