Banning the Trimming of Whiskers

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MillionDollar

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So in Pammy Hutton's column in H&H she says they are thinking about banning the trimming of whiskers (in Dressage). I agree with her, I know the pros and cons, and evryone has their own opinion but like she says, does a man use his beard to see in the dark!?!?

I personally do trim all whiskers and never had a problem. So what are your thoughts?
 
Men are fools, look at the new Andy Murray look, its pathetic.
Horses are not men however, and spend 12 hours a day in the dark, my boy is kept "au naturalle" as nature intended, and as for baby oil, don't start me!
 
Really? Its not 1st April is it?

If the worse thing that happens to a horse is that it has its whiskers trimmed its a lucky horse - nice that BD are concentrating on the real welfare issues in their sport.

It's not really true though, is it?
 
MillionDollar said:
So in Pammy Hutton's column in H&H she says they are thinking about banning the trimming of whiskers (in Dressage). I agree with her, I know the pros and cons, and evryone has their own opinion but like she says, does a man use his beard to see in the dark!?!?

I personally do trim all whiskers and never had a problem. So what are your thoughts?
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Whilst women are often (rightly ;)) derogatory about men, I don't think the male/beard comparison used has any merit - men may drag their knuckles on the floor but they generally tend not to sense their food and water with their chin ;)

Given how horses see, I think it does help them to keep their whiskers. I didn't encounter problems with the show horses, but I have heard and read of horses who develop sensitivity and headshaking after having their whiskers removed.

Whilst I do prefer the clean outline of a shaved face, it makes so little difference to a test that I can't see why so many dressage horses have them trimmed, given the disadvantages. I agree that the overall appearance can influence results, but I also think that if a judge has sufficient time to notice the length of your horses' whiskers and hold a strong opinion either way then the test is either going so brilliantly well that it won't matter, or the test is such a disaster that it likewise doesn't matter :D

Having said that I do hate a horse with a moustache :eek:
 
Ive not trimmed any whiskers for many years now as it started to feel odd to do it as they are there for a reason, however i never had a problem when i did trim them.

It makes no differance to me if they ban it because i already dont do it, i dont pass judgement on those who do though as in my mind much worse things are done to horses in this world than trimming whiskers.
 
I don't really do dressage, but we have shown since the 1970's and trimmed the whiskers of every single show horse and pony - and not one of them has EVER had any sort of problem, both in the stable or in the field. Crazy idea.

People recoil in horror when I tell them that our plaited horses have their ears trimmed too - but again, not one has ever had a problem.

I haven't read the comments, however surely if we were seeing horses with facial injuries or looking distressed who were minus whiskers, we should ban it. But I don't think I've ever seen a horse who is bumping around the stable/the show ring or looking bothered in the slightest both at home or during competition who has it's whiskers trimmed.
 
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I also thought maybe it's April fools day as well DD ;p

I know that alot of people do leave them on, but I always take my horses off and can't say they keep walking into things, and I work with show and hunt horses as well, all clean shaven and they also seem to be fine. If turned away then yes I let them grow along with coat mane etc.
If they start with banning trimming whiskers it may well end up going down the route of no clipping as after all their natural coat is a good barrier, and also some people argue that plaiting restricts them so no plaiting, and also maybe we shouldn't pull their manes and tails as this is also protection, or is this taking it too far??
Clean shaven look all the way here!!
 
This reminds me oddly of how money is pumped into the NHS to make the food better when there are so many other bigger issues that need the help- but food is easy to fix so they look at that...

Bit mad really. How are they going to police it? "Oh sorry, you're immaculately kept horse is eliminated because you've trimmed him up a bit" isn't going to go down well with anyone!
 
Hmm :) I used to compete before so whiskers off, feathers off, manes pulled, tails trimmed, ears trimmed etc

However, at the moment, I'm not competing so everyyything stays on :P Manes and all because although I do they they look a bit scraggy at least they keep the flies off etc :) For now mine are being real horses ;) They'll get a shock as soon as i get those scissors out ;) haha

But gonig back to the topic I think I'm going to start leaving whiskers on...they're there for a reason...but that's just my opinion..tbh they look a lot better without them ;)
xx
 
Such a bizzare issue..... Aren't there bigger and more important things going on that needs sorting?!! Would like to read on how they plan on implementing and upholding this ban!

We have always trimmed whiskers on everything (except welsh sec B I had when I was teeny). Are currently letting them grow back to see if a difference with headshaking (flies/pollen) will be made. Must add that Bruce is not as severe as he usually is by this time of year, and I am not having to ride him in a nosenet 24/7 as is usual by this stage with Bruce.

Much prefer horses without them though!
 
Well, there are already all sorts of unimportant things "banned" in dressage, just by default. You can't ride without a noseband (my personal pet peeve), you can't use a bit with any tongue relief (which I'm not convinced is about "correct contact"), you can't ride in most classes in purple boots, you can't dye any part of the horse (which Pammy also discussed not long ago). . . it's just we take all that sort of thing for granted.

The whisker thing seems to be a bigger deal on the Continent, I think because more people DON'T do it.

It's tricky. I can see why people say there are bigger issues - there are! - but this is an easy one, that's in the horses' best interests. Okay, maybe it's a sop but how can they uphold the "happy athlete" idea without applying it to everything that can be controlled. You can't even argue there is any benefit, as you might with medical treatment or corrective shoeing or anything else invasive.

Perhaps part of the thinking is that it makes sure people who DO think it's a humane issue aren't penalised. This is also part of the banning branding issue - if you just ban it then you remove the argument that doing it benefits some and anyone choosing to not do it on ethical grounds has to do so at a personal cost. If it's just not allowed then no one has to care. :)
 
apart from not being able to 'feel' without whiskers, what are the other problems they think it will cause?...

I don't trim my boys, never really occured to me. I trim ear fluff, bridle paths etc, but not whiskers.

when they say trim, how short do they go? or do they pull them out completely?...
 
Chloe_GHE said:
apart from not being able to 'feel' without whiskers, what are the other problems they think it will cause?...

I don't trim my boys, never really occured to me. I trim ear fluff, bridle paths etc, but not whiskers.

when they say trim, how short do they go? or do they pull them out completely?...
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That's a good point- I assume they mean that you're not allowed a bald muzzle. We also don't trim Reg, simply because he's so ticklish he's on the floor squealing before you get within an inch of his muzzle!

You're not allowed to dye your horse? This is going to sound odd, but how does this affect the horse's welfare?
 
Chloe_GHE said:
apart from not being able to 'feel' without whiskers, what are the other problems they think it will cause?...

I don't trim my boys, never really occured to me. I trim ear fluff, bridle paths etc, but not whiskers.

when they say trim, how short do they go? or do they pull them out completely?...
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Shaven off
 
Someone told me on my branding thread that it is already banned in Germany to trim whiskers, though not to brand.

Some of them do pull them out, as I have heard the advice that they grow more weakly over time.
 
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TarrSteps said:
Well, there are already all sorts of unimportant things "banned" in dressage, just by default. You can't ride without a noseband (my personal pet peeve), you can't use a bit with any tongue relief (which I'm not convinced is about "correct contact"),
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neue schule verbindend bradoon and warmblood weymouth both have no tongue pressure at all and are dressage legal if you need a set that are.
 
Sorry, not being difficult but how does the verbindand not sit on the tongue? It's just a snaffle with no port, just a different configuration. My point was only that nothing with a port is legal, but there isn't really a "good" reason for this. (I'm not saying their should be, btw, just that a rule's a rule and they aren't always as well thought out as people might think.)

Re the dyeing - I'm sure now it's because the horse wouldn't match its passport. But people used to dye dressage horses all the time, until it was specifically banned. And they got over it (more or less, I suspect it still gets done) when they couldn't do it anymore, even though they would have considered it "essential" before.

If we're talking welfare rules, there are all sorts, both old an new. There are rules about how often you can hit a horse (and judges have the power to excuse people if they think they're kicking too much or overusing the whip or spurs), what sort of spurs you can wear, not to mention medication rules and the like. So we do "ban" all sorts of behaviour, and it's only got more complicated with the rolkuur debate. I guess another question might be why should they ban some harmful practices and not others? Of course the answer to that is because eventually you'd have to ban riding . . . ;)

I'm not just playing Devil's Advocate ;), I do think this is an easy one to do, there is no good reason NOT to do it, and at least one good reason in favour. To all the people who do trim, why will it matter if you can't? I can see if you're also doing showing but how many horses do FEI dressage and show seriously?
 
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dressagecrazy said:
Ive not trimmed any whiskers for many years now as it started to feel odd to do it as they are there for a reason, however i never had a problem when i did trim them.

It makes no differance to me if they ban it because i already dont do it, i dont pass judgement on those who do though as in my mind much worse things are done to horses in this world than trimming whiskers.
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ditto. i never trim them, but there are a lot of far more important subjects to get your knickers in a knot about when it comes to horse welfare...
 
Lol what a bizarre rule (if implemented that is!). Does trimming whiskers really bother people that much!! Oh no they'll be banning the trimming of feathers next :eek::p ;) Much prefer them trimmed, looks much smarter imo but tbh i dont care if people dont trim :p
 
I always thought that the whiskers were how they communiate with each other more than for balance (think thats cats...). TBH a lot of dressage and show horses don't get to go out in a herd anyway!

Personally I don't trim whiskers. Beards and feathers yes, but I can live with whiskers, even if they don't look quite as "pretty". I was disgusted reading some "Get ready for the show ring" acticle this spring that had a top level show person getting a horse ready, and they suggested shaving off the eyelashes to make the eye look bigger!!! That was pretty shocking and un necessary IMO, but then I am not a fan of showing in general, and they can ban the whole lot of it for me (except perhaps WH, which requires a bit of talent!)
 
Well that's the most ridiculous thing i've heard in a while.

Perhaps lets worry about the real welfare issues before we worry about whether a few horses are having their whiskars shaved off... dear me!
 
Just to add, they have conducted experiments on Rabbits and found that each individual whisker has it's own individual section in the brain and although when I was at Uni they hadn't done any horse research, they thought it was a similar case.

I've never trimmed horse's whiskers and don't intend to, however I really don't give a toss about those that do! :D
 
hello everyone, the trimming of a horse's whiskers has been banned in my native germany by law (animal welfare act) for many years. it is considered as cruelty to cut or shave them off for the whiskers help the horse to sense/feel an object (for instance when picking up food from the floor etc. or in the dark) before actually touching it hence preventing injury (especially to the eyes). you wouldn't think twice about trimming your cat's or dog's whiskers, would you?
 
i was just about to ask the same question :)
i also thought "eh really" when i read that, i don't personally always trim my boys whiskers but did do some showing last year and decided they had to come off to be taking it seriously ,so off they came and i can't say it made any difference what so ever to him apart from make him look much tidier :)

tbh i think thats taking things a bit far banning trimming ,there is far worse cruelty in the world
 
Honey08 said:
I was disgusted reading some "Get ready for the show ring" acticle this spring that had a top level show person getting a horse ready, and they suggested shaving off the eyelashes to make the eye look bigger!!! That was pretty shocking and un necessary IMO, but then I am not a fan of showing in general, and they can ban the whole lot of it for me (except perhaps WH, which requires a bit of talent!)
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Just to say, what they meant with this article was the long eyelashes above the eye - not the eyelashes like humans have, if that makes sense. I cut off the long eyelashes, but no show producer would ever consider cutting off the actual eyelashes.

I still maintain that it makes little to no difference to a horse. None I have known have ever had a problem, but I appreciate some may be extra sensitive so you do have to be careful. I don't mind if people don't want to, but what I hate is when people have a go at me for doing it, going for the whole cruelty thing. My horses are completely unbothered.
 
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