Why we clip the mares & foals?

The tradition that exists in Portugal to clip foals (and mares) is based on the fact that these animals live outdoors during summer. This is an extremely dry and hot period in this region and plants are disseminating many burrs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bur). Burrs and also insects, tend to tangle up in the hair (specially thin foal hair) causing severe injury to the animal.

Clipping a newborn foal must be done very carefully so that it is not a stressful experience; in the contrary it becomes a desensitization method that can be very useful during the horse's life (ie when he might need ultrasound examination).