New to owning a hairy beast! Trim, hog or leave as is?

Degan

Degan

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This is the new chap! He will be having his legs clipped out so I can deal with the scabs and itching, but then that leaves me with his mane! I'm not sure I'm brave enough to hog (?) but I think he's going to look rather top heavy with that mane and bare legs.
So shall I trim/pull to shorten it a little or pull so it's much shorter, what does everyone think please :)
 
There's no pic op :) but if he's heavy then personally I would hog if you're clipping his legs out. Short makes on cobs often become an uncontrollable mess if they're thick :)

Eta - unless you're planning to grow the feather back eventually? Growing feather is much easier and less hassle than growing mane!
 
I have five hairies and I leave them be to become woolly mammoths in the winter. I like a hairy to look natural and all that feather and mane is great protection against the British winter. Although I do appreciate he seems to have a problem that requires feathers off.
 
Hogging gets my vote. My heavy cob will never have a mane again until he retires, they are hot, heavy, and hard work. He used to get so sweaty under it working in the summer and it was a nightmare to plait. I leave a forelock on to help with the summer flies though
 
Hogg and clip out. I clip and hogg my cob about once a month on average to keep the clean-shaven smart look.

Pulling a thick cob mane is cruelty, and otherwise it will look like a bog brush unless you plan to let the whole thing grow out.

Make sure you take before and after pics :)
 
Sorry! This is him, hes not actually that heavy atm but he is 5 so I'm expecting he will probably fill out abit more. I will add more pictures from mane side when it loads!
 
take the legs off and live with mane as it is for a few days the if you don't like it shorten it a bit and do the same again, hog if it gets to that point-I love a hogged mane and mare is not heavy but is hogged as she has a full double bushy mane if left to its own devices
 

There is just soo much of it! I'm scared I won't like him hogged and growing it back will be a nightmare, but I'm not keen on it how it is atm either.
 
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I'd say if you gonna clip his legs hog him if you hate it it'll always grow back :) it's what I've done to mine twice since I've had her and she looks like a different horse hogged compared to when she came to me with broken mane, mites, covered in scabs etc. She is built like yours but being 11 she is more tank like haha this year if I can get the legs under control I want to let it all grow out and see how she looks I'll prob hate it and hog her again tho haha
 
I think he looks great as he is, but then I like a hairy. If he were mine, I'd leave him exactly as he is for now and see how he looks after he's got rid of his winter woollies. The 'it will always grow back" argument just doesn't wash for me, because it takes ages to grow and looks awful while it does so. The other thing is, once you do go down the clip/hog/trim route, you'll be doing it every few weeks year in year out. Invest in some good clippers!!
 
lovely mane, leave it, you can always put it into long plaits if you find he gets hot under it in the summer. They hogged my boy before I got him, and took his feathers off and pulled his tail ... so I am growing it all back. I love the natural look, though.
 
I love my hairy girl to look like nature intended so won't clip legs or hog. My girl has masses of feather and I was repeatedly told to clip the legs or she would get mud fever, she still has her feathers and no mud fever!
 
Leave his mane as it is or shorten it a bit if you like. Sort the leg problems out and then let the feathers grow back. If a coloured cob is hogged it always makes me think it must have sweet itch.
 
He doesn't have masses of feather going by the photo so I'd clip it off and let it grow back once you've sorted his legs out underneath. I'd keep his mane as is :)
 
If he were mine I would definately let the feathers grow back and leave the mane be, but I like them hairy!

Don't try to shorten / pull the mane, it just doesn't work with a really thick mane and makes a mess IMO. Either leave it long and plait it in summer (easy enough to do with a few chunky plaits or a running one) or hog it. It looks a bit like its been trimmed already, I would expect it will get a bit longer and less "bushy" if left be. If you do hog you'll probably need a fly rug with a neck cover and they aren't always easy to find for a cob (most of the neck covers are far too long).
 
I think it depends what you are going to do with him and where you are keeping him. If you have loads of mud and you are riding him I would be inclined to clip his legs and shorten his mane, if you have the facilities to keep him clean and bath him its easier to manage and you can keep it all on. If he is not ridden and stays out then the whole lot can stay on for protection.
 
I would just lighten the mane a bit to make it more manageable, and leave everything else as it is. Leave him as nature intended (as far as possible)
 
All off! Just hogged mine, cos it's simply mud dreadlocks otherwise. I suppose it depends on how your fields are, ours are pure mud and idiot boy likes to smooge his face in nice wet mud.

It will grow back exactly as it is if you do clip him out, so why not try it?
 
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