[KatieStanley]

Two questions- I have my first dressage schooling show Feb 14th in Dallas- It's at a really nice barn and I want Addy to look great. Should I do a body clip on her before hand? I live in Texas and we don't get much of a spring...so the weather shouldn't be an issue. Of course I'd keep her blanketed at night if I did clip her. I just don't wanna over do it...I also don't want to show up and have the only wooly mammoth there! LOL...So let me know what you guys think! Also, to braid or not to braid and if so...any good online resources to help me learn?

Thanks in advance!

 

[shermanismybaby3006]

Is she really super fuzzy? Cause if she is really fuzzy then I would consider body clipping her, but if she isnt super fuzzy I would just blanket her and also put a sleazy or some type of hood on her to make her all smooth.

 

[kershkova]

onley if he has a heavy winter i would clip him. you should add lots of show shin in his coat,maine,and tail. give him a bath the day before and braid the maine and tail so you can relax the next day you should put a sheet, slinky, and tail bag on him too. just make sure you keep the halter on with the slinky

 

[My Beau]

I've never clipped my horse. Our ring is often frozen throughout the winter so I just end up giving my guy 2 months off. When we go to schooling shows in the spring he's fuzzy. It doesn't affect your scores, and I bet alot of other people will have wooly mammoths too! The only thing you will have to do is make sure she's nice and cooled out for the trailer ride back if she does get sweaty.

Also, if you've never clipped before - you don't want to learn right before a show! You might end up getting more looks for a bad clipping job than a wooly horse (not that you would get looks for that...)

For braiding, again - if you're gonna do it - PRACTICE! A great book for learning about braiding is Grooming to win, by Susan Harris (i think). You can always use rubber bands your first time since it's easier than yarn. Otherwise, a nice pulled mane (preferably on 1 side - it doesn't really matter, just looks neater and neat horses show your respect for the judge). You don't need to braid for schooling shows, but it always makes for a polished look!

Have fun!

 

[hunterjumpergirl]

I would definitely braid her mane! Here is a great website to teach yo how to braid. Here

I wouldn't clip if you hadn't done it before. If it doesn't effect your scores then I wouldn't do it.

 

[snowyhorse]

Thanks for putting up the site for the braiding, that's very useful!

 

[~*~anebel~*~]

For the clipping - I don't generally clip my horse. But he doesn't grow much of a coat and it's very cold here. It is all up to you. But if you do clip her make sure that if you bath her before the show and after clipping, then add some baby oil to your rinse water and her coat will be shinier.
For the braiding - I recommend braiding, but not the hunter/jumper braids. Generally in the dressage ring, I only braid in between 9 and 15 braids. To do this I use braiding elastics, a comb and a damp sponge. I divide the mane into sections and restrain them with the bands, making sure to crisply divide each even section. When you are happy with your sections, then start braiding. Wet down one section at a time and braid them as tightly as possible, finishing with an elastic band. When you are finished braiding all the sections then fold or roll them up depending on how long your horse's mane is and secure them with another elastic band. Done! For the forelock, you can either french braid it if you and your horse are patient, or bring some gel and smooth the hair down and braid it like you did the mane.
Here's a picture of how my braids end up: http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f107/tutenkopf/horses/IMG_8019.jpg

Also, in case you're wondering about what to wear, that's my horse and me turned out for a small schooling show in my area. I highly suggest white saddle pad, white breeches and if possible a show jacket, but a white shirt and crisp vest is also acceptable.

 

[Miss Katie]

They should sit along the side of the neck (as opposed to straight up)

This is Clo bear all plated. She has a difficult mane, very thin and fine, so it is hard to do wider plaits. She also rubs the lower part, which is why they look funky. Also this was taken at the end of a two day comp, so they had been in 2 and a half days, and got a little squished outta place. But you can still see how they sit along the side of the neck.

This is another option. This is also taken towards the end of a comp, so one has started to come out, but this shows the tape method. Idealy they should not be so long.

 

[KatieStanley]

Thanks for all of the input guys! And thanks for the link hunterjumpergirl! Very helpful. I'll let you guys know how it turns out. I'll start practicing my braiding skills ASAP She doesn't have a terribly shaggy coat, so I will probably just let her be.

 

[farmpony84]

if you bodyclip you need to do it a MINIMAL of two weeks before the show in case you have tracks! and you need to make sure you have big body clippers... and set aside a couple hours to do it....

 

[ShowJumpLife]

Okay so I don't know what a schooling show is but for any shows except ODES and Show Jumping I always braid.
Sewing looks soo much neater if you can do it, but banding is a good idea if your not used to sewing as it can be difficult to start with. also another idea that can look quite smart on some horses is instead of using white tape just to use a little but of white wool. So theres that definition, but its not overpowering.
I would pay someone else to full clip if you cant do it yourself.

 

[Miss Katie]

And if you do clip, make sure you have a few spare blades.

 

[RacePony007]

If the hair is over 1/2" than clip her for sure! And if your horses mane is longer than 5 inches then I'd try a running braid! And if its short... stick to plaits! I would use the needle and thread approach!
www.horsehero.com
They have a video on anything and everything you could possibly need to know!!!