I am finding that there are several benefits to having a clipped pony.  Beyond the obvious one that he gets a lot less hot and bothered without his coat.

Firstly, I don’t have this to deal with.

Not that he lost his coat all at once anyway but he would gradually moult over several months and it is nice not to have all that hair floating around.  Of course, when I ride my sister’s pony I still get covered in hair but at least his moulting is over relatively quickly.  She is getting so much off him when she brushes him that she filled a bird feeder in the hope that it would be taken for nest building.

I tried to take the picture myself but something – who knows what – startled Galahad and we disappeared round the corner of the house.  It seemed prudent to hand over the camera!

Secondly, I get to use my lovely body brush which I only use on Galahad’s summer coat – so it only normally gets used for a couple of months in the year.

Lastly, it means that Galahad’s brands are very visible and not surrounded by long hair which means it is much easier to put aloe vera gel on them.

The aloe vera has definitely improved them.  They will probably never be perfect but anything I can do to make them a bit better for him has got to be a good thing.

I am definitely enjoying Galahad’s new shorn status!