I hog my lad purely because it was just so thick, and yes, when it was hot, it got almost unbearable... the first time I did it, you could see the relief in his eyes, and he was a lot happier, showed it off to all his friends
But that is the only reason, I do like him like that though, suits him
I can see why you don't want to, and if you ever end up going for a hog, you can always tell yourself it's purely for his comfort
Don't take it off it looks fantastic, a friend of mine just plaits her horses mane in about 5 chuncky plaits when she rides just to keep it out of the way and it seems to work and he then looks magnificient when its all loose in the ring!
i prefer clipped and trimmed but when u have a mane like this
on a black and white leave it as sooo many people would long for a mane like this on there horse. I takes so much time keeping on top of it but i bet its worth it in the end