We’re delighted to bring you this blog in collaboration with Hannah Johnsen of CPL Awareness CIC, an organisation dedicated to raising awareness and supporting owners of horses living with Chronic Progressive Lymphoedema (CPL). This incurable condition can often go unnoticed in its early stages as it is frequently hidden beneath thick, heavy feathers. However, early diagnosis can make a big difference in managing the legs of horses affected by this lifelong disease.
By understanding how CPL develops, how to manage it effectively, and how clipping plays a vital role in care, owners can make a real difference to their horse’s comfort and wellbeing.
Contents
What is CPL?
Chronic Progressive Lymphoedema (CPL) is a debilitating condition affecting the lymphatic system. It leads to a build-up of lymph fluid, causing thickening and swelling in the lower limbs, often with the development of folds of skin and lesions. Sadly, CPL is progressive, meaning it worsens over time, and has a strong genetic link. While it cannot be cured, it can be managed with consistent care, including good husbandry techniques, balanced nutrition and effective parasite control.
CPL can also be confused with other common conditions of the leg, such as mallenders and sallenders, mud fever, or damage from itching caused by feather mites. If you suspect your horse has any of these issues, seek guidance from your vet and a professional source to help control the condition early on.
Which Horses are Primarily Affected?
CPL is becoming increasingly common and tends to be seen in draught breeds and heavier horses, particularly those with heavy feathering on their legs. Breeds such as Shires, Clydesdales, Friesians, Gypsy Vanners and cob types are especially prone.
Treating and Managing CPL
Although CPL has no cure, there are several steps owners can take to manage the condition and slow its progression:
- Routine cleaning and skincare: Careful monitoring, along with keeping legs clean and dry, helps reduce the risk of secondary infections. It is also important to treat feather mites effectively to reduce further skin damage.
- Clipping: Removing feathers helps to assess the condition of the legs visually and eliminates the environment feather mites thrive in.
- Skincare treatments: Emollient creams and veterinary-prescribed treatments can keep the skin moisturised, soothe irritation, and help manage skin folds.
- Exercise and nutrition: Regular movement supports circulation and lymphatic drainage, so 24-hour turnout is ideal, along with regular ridden work or groundwork exercises. Nutrition must be carefully managed, with plenty of forage, good weight management, and support for the gut microbiome.
- Veterinary guidance: Working closely with your vet ensures that any infections or flare-ups are treated promptly and that pain relief can be provided.
Feather removal plays an important role in this overall management strategy.
Why The Feathers Need to Be Removed
Long, flowing feathers are beautiful, but this long, coarse hair can easily conceal scabs, swelling and skin folds caused by CPL. Feathers also trap moisture, dirt, and bacteria, which increases the risk of secondary infections.
Clipping feathers has many benefits for CPL horses:
- Allows for a complete visual assessment of the legs, which is critical for a CPL diagnosis.
- Makes it easier to continually monitor the legs.
- Enables treatments and skincare products to be applied directly to the skin and more effectively.
- Keeps the legs cleaner and drier, reducing irritation and infection risk.
- Removes the environment in which feather mites thrive and reduces some of the hyperkeratosis that mites feed on.
- Makes it possible to apply medically correct compression for multi-level lymphoedema bandaging (MLLB – applied by professionals only).
- Allows owners to stay on top of the condition and provide the best care for the horse.
Recommended Clippers for CPL Management
Using the right clippers and blades is essential to ensure clipping is safe, effective, and as comfortable as possible for your horse. While heavy-duty clippers are usually the best choice for full body clips, medium-duty clippers are far better suited to clipping sensitive legs, particularly in horses with CPL. Their smaller size, combined with being much quieter and producing less vibration than larger clippers, minimise stress and make the process more comfortable for the horse.
The Masterclip Royale A5 Clipper is an excellent choice for this job. Designed with dual speed, it is powerful enough to manage coarser hair while still gentle enough to be well tolerated by horses with sensitive legs. It can use be used with a wide range of clipper blades for general tidying and partial body clipping too.
The best blades to use for clipping the legs of horses with CPL are our new A5 8.5 (2.4mm) Wide Blades, which can be used with other makes of A5 clippers*. These blades provide a medium clip, leaving just the right amount of hair coverage to protect the legs while removing enough length to expose the skin for monitoring and treatment. They also have more teeth than a standard 7FW medium cut blade, with narrower gaps between the teeth, providing added safety when clipping over lumps and bumps and reducing the risk of nicks that could lead to infection.
(*note - A5 Liveryman clippers are best used with Liveryman A5 blades only).
Trimmers for Delicate Areas
Masterclip Showmate II Trimmer – Compact, lightweight, and ultra-quiet. This cordless trimmer is excellent for trimming around skin folds, sores, and sensitive areas where extra precision is needed. It can also be used with plastic comb guards to trim around very delicate areas.
How to Clip a Horse with CPL
When clipping horses with CPL, the final aesthetic is far less important than safety and comfort. Clipping should ideally be carried out every 4–6 weeks. Here’s a safe step-by-step approach:
1. Preparation Before Clipping
- Wash the legs with a keratolytic shampoo (your vet can recommend the best type). This helps to remove dirt, residues, creams, excess skin and crusts, keeping your clipper blades clear of debris and ensuring a smoother clip.
- Dry the legs thoroughly using soft towels. Our new Microfibre towels are particularly effective and gentle on sensitive skin.
2. Tackle Keratosis Beforehand
- If your horse has areas of thick keratosis, carefully trim around these with curved or bull-nosed safety scissors.
- Avoid clipping directly over thick scabs as blades may snag, clog, and cause discomfort.
3. Clipping Technique
- Avoid clipping between folds of lumpy areas; the hair here offers protection from rubbing and soreness. The finished clip may look less tidy, but comfort is the priority.
- Hold the clipper so the blade is flat and level with the skin, not at an angle where it might dig in.
- Work slowly, following the natural contours of the leg. Clipping upwards against the lay of the hair will leave a shorter, closer finish but you can also clip downwards to leave a longer length if needed.
4. Blade Management
- Regularly brush away clipped hair from the blade and apply clipper oil every 5 minutes to keep blades cool and lubricated.
- Keep 2–3 freshly sharpened blades ready to swap in if one becomes blunt during the clip.
- Check the blade temperature regularly on the back of your hand. If it feels hot, change to a cool blade.
- Remember, coarse feathers are tough on blades, so patience and maintenance are essential.
5. Safety During Clipping
- Clipping low down on the legs can put you in a vulnerable position, so take extra care.
- Wear protective equipment including a riding hat and steel toe capped boots.
- Where possible, have an assistant present to steady your horse and watch for sudden movements.
- Many CPL horses are sensitive due to mites, sores, or discomfort so be mindful that they may snatch up a leg unexpectedly.
- If you’re inexperienced, seek help from a professional groom familiar with CPL horses. Clipping always carried a degree of risk, If your horse is nervous or very sensitive it’s always best to consult your vet if sedation is required. You can find out more about veterinary sedation for clipping in our blog here.
6. Aftercare
- Once clipping is complete, wash the legs again with a mild disinfectant (such as diluted Hibiscrub) to remove debris or exudate from loosened scabs.
- Dry the legs thoroughly with fresh microfibre towels.
- Treat any wounds or sores uncovered during clipping.
- Apply a suitable emollient cream to moisturise and protect the skin.
- Finally, clean and oil your clippers and blades after each use. (See our video guide on clipper and blade care for step-by-step help.)
Recommended Clippers for Heavy Feather Removal
For feather removal where CPL or other leg conditions are not suspected, a heavy-duty clipper makes light work of thick, coarse hair. These should be used with a medium or coarse A2 blade to ensure sufficient coverage while skimming safely over hidden sores.
- Masterclip HD Roamer Clipper: A robust, cordless clipper ideal for full clipping and tackling dense feathers on heavy breeds.
- Masterclip Hunter Horse Clipper: A powerful, lightweight, corded clipper that is comfortable to handle and can easily cope with the thickest of feathers.
Key Points - Caring for Horses with CPL
CPL is progressive and genetic, requiring early diagnosis and management.
Heavily feathered draught and cob breeds are most at risk.
Feather removal is essential to monitor and manage CPL effectively.
Routine cleaning, skincare, exercise, nutrition, and veterinary guidance are crucial for management.
The right clippers and blades provide the precision, and comfort needed for clipping horses with CPL.
Regular clipping, monitoring, and professional advice can improve your horse’s comfort and quality of life.
For advice on managing CPL, contact CPL Awareness CIC for support, They also have a brilliant Facebook group here. If you're looking for the best clippers and blades to manage CPL, reach out to us for guidance on choosing the best Masterclip products for your horse.
Author's: Hannah Johnsen of CPL Awareness CIC and Lauren Dorey
