Indulge me for two minutes...

[Starzaan]

Ok you moragulous wenches, I don't normally whine, but my goodness I need to whine.


I am of the "as long as horse isn't suffering or hurting anyone, I couldn't give two hoots what you do with it" school of thought. I keep my trap shut when people do things I disagree with, unless I am asked for advice. I live on a large yard, rent my house from the owners, and have ended up working here too. Over 100 horses on site, a mix of riding school, full livery, polo ponies and 25 DIY liveries.

My horse is on site, and this evening I was having a lovely time faffing about with him after a loooooong day of teaching. I was grooming him to within an inch of his life, having finished work and popped him over a few fences.

So, imagine my dismay when a DIY livery walked round the corner and started mouthing off at me for being cruel to him.


Erm... what lady? I no understand your weirdness.

Apparently I am a cruel witch for the way I turn my horses out. He is fully clipped (only legs left on) as he's in hard work and sweats like a fat man in a salami shop, he has his tail banged short and pulled properly, mane pulled short, whiskers off and most importantly, ears clipped out fully.

I don't rant at her for leaving her horse's mane long and straggly and not clipping... why must I be subjected to it? My horse is happy, healthy, shiny, and he is the most important man in my life. (SO much better than sodding FF) So go and stick your head in a bucket of whelks you hair loving loon.


RAAAWWWWRRRR.

Thank you. I will now go and wax some lemons to calm me down.

 

[Casey76]

Sorry, but to clip out the hair on the inside of the ears is cruel. It is necessary to protect the ears of the horse.

 

[Po Knee]

There appears to be an over- glut (I know that is not a real word..) of opinionated people with an inability to keep quiet in the horse world...best reaction is to smile, thank them for their advice and do your own thang anyway

If he is working hard, it would in fact be cruel to leave him looking like a yak!

 

[Starzaan]

There appears to be an over- glut (I know that is not a real word..) of opinionated people with an inability to keep quiet in the horse world...best reaction is to smile, thank them for their advice and do your own thang anyway

If he is working hard, it would in fact be cruel to leave him looking like a yak!

Thank you! I don't mind people disagreeing with me - that's life - and am not saying I know everything, but I know enough to have run my own successful livery yard of full liveries and post ICU box rest horses, and haven't yet lost a horse due to lack of hair!

I laughed along with her and continued brushing my lovely pony. He has a gloriously muscly bum these days

 

[EquiEquestrian556]

There appears to be an over- glut (I know that is not a real word..) of opinionated people with an inability to keep quiet in the horse world...best reaction is to smile, thank them for their advice and do your own thang anyway

If he is working hard, it would in fact be cruel to leave him looking like a yak!

^^ This. Ignore them/ her. He's your horse, you do what you like with him - paint him pink for all I care! So long as it's not a hurting the horse/ a welfare issue, I don't see why people can't mind their own business.

 

[PorkChop]

This usually is a form of jealousy tbh .... rise above it ..... bet he is looking gawgus

 

[Goldenstar]

One thing I really really hate is people using the word cruel when less than ideal , or a bad idea or not what I do is nearer to the mark.
I have seen real cruelty and its not clipping the inside edge of a horses ear or turning it out ( what is the livery on OP ? Because it's not doing her judgement any good ) .
Many people do things I would do and many things I would not .
But bouncing about accusing people of being cruel for doing things in a way you don't like just devalues the word.
Never reason with a lunatic OP just get on with enjoying your horse.
If fact OP it's so silly your allowed a snigger .

 

[Pie's mum]

Well if you are cruel then so am I!! Pie just had his first full clip it's so mild blanket clips are just not enough. Although we do leave half face and ears as he is ear shy and getting half off is a compromise I'm happy to live with!
People like that are just twots who are best ignored. Your horse's muscly bum sounds lovely!

 

[Merlod]

Very rude! Whilst I personally would never clip inside ears or remove whiskers, that is personal opinion and we all have our own (often different) opinions. He is you're horse and your turnout preference is not detrimental to his health so I really don't see what her problem is!

 

[ShadowHunter]

Very rude! Whilst I personally would never clip inside ears or remove whiskers, that is personal opinion and we all have our own (often different) opinions. He is you're horse and your turnout preference is not detrimental to his health so I really don't see what her problem is!

This ^

 

[Starzaan]

Very rude! Whilst I personally would never clip inside ears or remove whiskers, that is personal opinion and we all have our own (often different) opinions. He is you're horse and your turnout preference is not detrimental to his health so I really don't see what her problem is!

Thank you all. This comment sums it up perfectly. It's so silly. We have a full livery that the boss and I would LOVE to clip out and hog, as he would look sO smart. but his owners love him hairy. He's their horse, so they get to choose. He's healthy and happy either way, so it really doesn't matter.

People are strange, but then, I think sausage gate taught us that.

 

[Pie's mum]

Thank you all. This comment sums it up perfectly. It's so silly. We have a full livery that the boss and I would LOVE to clip out and hog, as he would look sO smart. but his owners love him hairy. He's their horse, so they get to choose. He's healthy and happy either way, so it really doesn't matter.

People are strange, but then, I think sausage gate taught us that.

There was one on my yard like this - he would have looked lovely clipped right out! However the owner loved his long mane.

Sausage gate???????

 

[FfionWinnie]

I am equally cruel and clip everything everywhere - in fact I also clip the legs.

Funnily enough my horse is happy and fit and in tip top condition too!

 

[Hexx]

I thought for a minute that you were talking about turning him out in the field - but now realise you mean his "coiffure".
There is nothing nicer than a beautifully turned out horse. My Gus was always fully clipped (including legs and face) in the winter (although I did leave whiskers on). I always cut his tail a little shorter so it didn't get caked in mud. He looked super smart and always had comments about how handsome he was.

I think it shows you take pride in your horse and want to show him off to the best.

Sausage Gate - Classic!!!

Ignore the silly woman and enjoy your pony!!

 

[smellsofhorse]

Sorry, but to clip out the hair on the inside of the ears is cruel. It is necessary to protect the ears of the horse.

Sorry op I agree with this and clipping of the whiskers is also cruel.

That person could express their opinions in a better way though!

 

[Jo1987]

I wouldn't clip inside ears or take off whiskers, I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say it's 'cruel' but I do think that hairy ears and noses are useful to the horse (particularly those living out like mine) and as such leave well alone!
It's hardly a real welfare issue though and I certainly wouldn't have a go at someone for doing it to their horse though!

 

[HashRouge]

Sorry op I agree with this and clipping of the whiskers is also cruel.

That person could express their opinions in a better way though!

I don't think it's cruel. It isn't natural, but that's not the same thing as cruel.

When I started working with showjumpers it was a big leap to go from hairy ponies to a yard where horses were clipped to within an inch of their life, but I soon realised that none of the horses suffered any ill effects from having whiskers and ears clipped. Tbh, they didn't seem to notice the difference.

Now mane and tail pulling I do think is cruel, but I'm not going to criticise people for choosing to do it. The good thing about working with showjumpers was learning how to get a beautiful mane with a pair of scissors!

 

[miss_c]

I clip out including legs, ears (inside and out) and whiskers.... pony hasn't died yet!

I regularly see people who do things I wouldn't... have never once called them cruel either face to face, on facebook, or on this forum. There's just no need for it and how we see to our horses is surely down to each individual so long as the horses are not neglected.

 

[Enfys]

It's taken me 50 years to learn to keep my mouth shut, most of the time.

Like most people, unless something compromises welfare I am very much of the opinion 'Your horse, your business'

My horses look like yetis, the mare I ride is growing out of her clip and I would love to clip her out again, but circumstances and the way they are kept dictate I cannot.

I love to see a horse turned out well (and I hunted for many, many years and was, and still am, a stickler for turnout), although nowadays I don't do short manes or tails or pulled tails (breed standards) I think they do finish off the final picture to a tee.

 

[stencilface]

Whilst I'm with some others on the leaving on of whiskers etc, I would only take the piste for this, as I do out of my eventy friend, I also no longer pull my horses mane as I can get just as good a result with scissors.

There's a field of piebald ponies near me who's fiekd (ESP at the moment) is a soggy mess with squelchy mud and lots of standing water, but they have round bales of hay and no shortage of water (!) so technically there's nothing that can be done, even though IMHO it's a poor existence in a crappy fiekd. That's more bordering cruelty I think.

 

[Gift Horse]

OP this would irritate me too - who needs unsolicited advice/criticism on a Sunday evening.

 

[Bav]

I don't think it's cruel. It isn't natural, but that's not the same thing as cruel.

^^ this! I do clip out ears and trim whiskers. I also pull manes and tails, shorten tails during the winter and even clip legs!
I do understand the train of thought behind the supposed cruelty of taking the whiskers off, but I have hand on heart never EVER noticed any difference in the horse before or after.
Your horse, your rules.
I don't personally like feathers, but I'd rather see them on a horse then see it starving to death.

 

[NZJenny]

Do whatever floats your boat ...

BUT WHAT IS/WAS SAUSAGE GATE??????

 

[Starzaan]

If you are new you may well want to go back through my posts and start at the beginning, as the FF saga and sausage gate won't make much sense otherwise, but here it is. Sausage gate -

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/foru...ie-of-idiot-disease&highlight=megaphone+hands

 

[rachk89]

Lol i have had problems with this but the opposite. Being told I should keep him looking neater and pull his mane and tail. I refuse to do his tail the way others have done their horses they have the tails narrow and trimmed at the top then it flares out as you go down the tail it looks odd. Think it would look even weirder on my horse as his tail is wavy.

My horse did come to me with his whiskers trimmed but he didn't seem to notice. I would like to trim the beard under his face but I can't get near him with trimmers and he moves around too much for me to feel it's safe enough to use scissors. More likely to stab him than anything else. He is happy and healthy anyway.

 

[DD]

I dont like to see whiskers trimmed apparently its banned in sweden. Also hair inside the ears keeps dust and insects out of the ear so its there for protection. However clipping is a good thing if the horse needs it due to work as is shoeing.

 

[glamourpuss]

I would never trim a horses whiskers or the inside of it ears. There is a reason it is illegal to trim whiskers in Germany & Switzerland under their animal welfare act.
Just because a horse doesn't show outward signs of 'a problem' doesn't mean it hasn't caused it distress. I mean horses that are stables 24/7 often seem happy & look well & a lame horse will often still trot with it ears pricked 😕

That said my horses are clipped, neat manes, neat tails (I don't pull & use a razor/thinning scissors) & kept clean & tidy. The thought of a hairy horse with feathers & a flowing mane & tail makes me shudder as that is not my preference of horse type.

I'm always confused why on an animal covered with hair, the removal of 20 or so hairs around the muzzle is deemed to make them look 'smarter' 😆

 

[fatpiggy]

I tend to agree with OP. I would only say something if I thought what someone else was doing was actually cruel eg. leaving shoes on for 16 weeks, or dangerous eg. leaving a nylon headcollar on, tying the horse up by its bit to the door bolt, that sort of thing. Personally I only ever tidied the earline in the summer and I'm absolutely against taking whiskers off because they aren't a redundant feature like chestnuts or ergots, but I'm certainly not going to harangue someone because they do take them off (after all if you want a Brazilian for yourself, that's your choice). I'm not very keen on hogging just for looks, although I absolutely agree that a hogged cob is very smart, but what do they keep the flies off with in the summer if they have no mane? , but again I wouldn't condemn someone for doing it. The only thing I would say is that to do something just for looks isn't necessarily right for the horse. Horse's used to be docked, partly to keep a long tail out of the way of the harness, but latterly, it was the fashion (like docking the tails of dogs) but now we know that docking is actually cruel and unnecessary. Go back to the times of Black Beauty - the bearing rein was only used to create the false headcarriage, it served no other purpose at all. Now we accept that is cruel.

 

[ester]

I've never understood why whiskers so offend some and yes, arguably as it is now banned in several countries and the FEI under animal welfare there was some truth in what she said.

 

[Goldenstar]

You chose your own way with trimming
Personally I don't trim whiskers of horses that have turnout and never ever mares ( not logical I know but harmless )
I consider shaving tails appalling and never pull tails at all now except a very little on Fatty because it's like a bush again because my horses go out in awful weather and I only clip half the heads for tha same reason .
I clip legs because it's better to see minor issues on a clipped leg and experiance tells I have fewer mud fever type issues when I clip the legs of the heavier coated horses.
When I lived at my parents I never clipped legs because we lived on the beach and we never ever saw mud fever the horses where in the sea every day in about the coldest water you can imagine so that makes me very relaxed about hosing legs as well.
You find your own way with things .
As for holding up the bans in some European countries as an example I would rather they did something about the many horses who never access to any form of turnout or any exercise outside a school rather than tinkering with peoples trimming preferences .
I hate and I mean hate hairy horses I bought one once feathers to the ground mane to the knees once I had it clipped and trimmed I liked it better I can't understand why people fuss on with this treatment and that treatment for mites when a clip and a fortnights sun light solved my horses issues permanently but understand many people value feathers .