Does anyone like hair and feathers???

RubysGold

RubysGold

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My boy doesnt have the biggest mane/feathers. But he has enough :)

I have a few people that try to persuade me to chop it all off but I wont.

I surely cant be the only person out there that likes a horse to have feather??

Jimmy used to have quite a long mane, but his rugs ruined it :/ And then I started doing dressage so I had to make it plaitable. So I keep his mane like this (the bottom half DID grow back over summer but his rugs will rub it again :/ )
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And this sort of shows his feathers. I cant find many pics at the moment.
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And this pic
http://www.hoof-pics.co.uk/ipn0136

I simply will not chop them off :)
 
My friend has a black cob who has a beautiful double mane. She was really upset a little time back when another friend went and plaited it onto one side and it took ages for it to fall right again. I'm with her in thinking that hairy suits him especially as he's got a really sleek flat coat and lots of mane and tail but also very little feather. Like yours OP he lost part of the name last year because his rug rubbed it. It took ages to get it all back to the same length. He's the chap in my avatar
 
I absolutely love feathers and a nice, long mane. Harry's is currently short as his previous owner trimmed it, but I shall be keeping it longer.

One of the first things that was said when he stepped off the lorry was, "I'd cut those feathers off, if I was you."
No, I'm good, thanks.
 
I can't stand feathers, I do think they suit some horses though for sure.

Some horses don't look right without them but tbh id be the one chopping them off so I can't talk!
 
Depends on the horse. I chopped them off my last boy ( heavy hunter type) but I am going to great lengths (pardon the pun) to grow my friesians nice and long :)
 
I've had to trim my Draft horse's feather off to treat pastern dermatitis, I could have cried!

She also has a double mane which was rubbed by her ill-fitting rug when I got her. It has just about grown back now - 3 years later!
 
I would cry if I had to clip the feathers off!
He got mites last year and I was sad at the thought of clipping. Was such a relief when vet said an injection would solve the issue without needing to clip :)
 
I can't bear feathers, but then I'm not a cobby person. Long manes on certain breeds of horses are fine, and neat tidy manes on other breeds are nice too. My Quarter Horses all have long manes but they don't look right on the WBs so I tend to keep them pulled, although not super-short at this time of year.
 
Spring Feather said:
I can't bear feathers, but then I'm not a cobby person. Long manes on certain breeds of horses are fine, and neat tidy manes on other breeds are nice too.
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Same.

I don't trim fetlocks during the winter as I feel they need the hair for protection/warmth but they're not really hairy and if they were I'm afraid it would be clipped off. I have two with pulled/trimmed manes and a welsh whose mane is as nature intended and it's actually very nice 'cause it's not thick and heavy and is therefore easy to manage. Love hogging on the right horse too.
 
I love big manes, tails, feathers of all degrees :) Those horses that are meant to have them have them for a purpose, it's only for our needs really that due to competition, use, ailments or skin conditions, mudfever/mites etc they need to come off at times to make the horse more comfortable/smarter. The one coloured pony showing class I entered the judge said that if had been his horse he would have taken off his feather - and if you saw mine he's barely feathered at all in the summer - but I prefer mine with his hair that he's meant to have.
 
My gypsy cob has a long mane and feathers. I love him like this, Its how hes meant to look

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My youngster also has a bit of feather which will be staying too..

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ME ME ME!!! I love my girls feathers and big thick mane and tail! Detangling twigs mud etc at this time of year - not so much haha!


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The second picture was taken in July - her mane is even longer now. It is so thick too - god knows what I will do with it when we start doing some dressage competitions next year!
 
I spent years (four to be precise -- while at the quite showy barn at my undergraduate uni) telling people to sod off because everyone and their mother at that place was on my case about lopping off my horse's mane and feather. It really drove people a little nuts, seeing her looking the way she looked. It was extraordinary, really. You'd think with all the horse welfare issues in the world, people would have better things to worry about.

My final year, we got a new barn manager, who took it to a new level and among the new barn rules that she decreed, one was that horses must look "neat" and be trimmed according to breed/discipline. Started the term on a bum note; we got these rules in the post and I had been staying with a friend and fellow boarder, who was well into (American) hunters at the time. I went on an angry rant about "how dare the barn manager tell me what I can and cannot do with my horse's freakin' mane," and my friend told me the barn manager was fully in the right in expecting the barn to have a certain "look"and I would never be able to keep my slightly feral looking horse at *her* hunter barn. It's a sign of respect, apparently. The fact that I wasn't involved in hunters, or any kind of showing at the time, was rather immaterial from friend's point of view. We kind of fell out over this. Ridiculous.

Barn manager, on the other hand, did let me keep my horse's mane and feather as I liked. On daft grounds, mind you. When I said to barn manager, "Are you *really* going to insist that I cut her mane? Seriously?" She asked, "Are you showing?" I said no, and she said something like, "Then I'll let you off." I rolled with that, but a few years before, I had been showing dressage, long mane and all! It implied that it would have been a problem if I still was. Crazy East Coast people.

She doesn't have tons of feather, but she has a wee bit and I like it.

My controversial horse!

IMAG0585_zps48982626.jpg
 
Have to say I wouldn't buy something with feather- if I had a cob it would be a show cob hogged and clipped.

I do appreciate the full feather look, but hate the whispy bits on my TB and on my IDSH filly (she is 2) even though she is just in the field am struggling with her being grotty with feather and mane!
 
I love them all full manes and feathery! Mine has a good mane and tail but rather pathetic feathers for a gypsy cob. I cut them off over summer and she looks like a coloured spanish type (wishful thinking) but let them grow back for winter so she has some protection from mud. We don't do showing so I figure I can cut whatever I like off or leave whatever I like on, nobody seems to care what I do with her hair
 
I think they look lovely when they have full feather and full mane and tail but i would never buy something like that, simply because they are just not the type of horses that i would enjoy riding and owning. And if i did have one i would probably fully clip and hog because i dont have the patience for them:p
 
I don't I confess I clip feathers off any thing that has them I hate hogged mane though .
It would not be good if we all liked the same things though would it.
 
Buddy used to have full feathers and a big double mane etc - now he is irish clipped with legs off as he was prone to mud fever- so hopefully no mud fever this year!!
 
I think alot depends on the breed/conformation of the horse too though. Some cobby types look fab one de-fluffed esp if they only had a token gesture to start with lol.
But to see a proper heavy type dripping in mane, tail and feather is one of the biggest pleasures in life for me...and when they move they can take your breath away ♥♥♥
 
I think that some of them look lovely (yours is gorgeous Tayto); and I've no problem with anyone who wants to let their horse's grow provided they kept it in good condition. But personally I wouldn't want one with masses of feather or a mega-mane because I really can't be bothered with spending hours working to keep it nice.
 
with u some I like feathers on. Some are known to be left AU natural cobs etc are some. Yes they are hard to keep clean and dry and cause mud fever if left on and not dried etc, but equally they can protect heals too.

I am one for long manes and if I said one thing, his mane is not long enough :)
 
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