To cut feathers or not?

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Bessieboo

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Hi everyone

As some of you may know by now I have a lovely coblet called Bess (see avatar) who I have owned for the last 5 months. She is my first horsey so although I have been round horses since the age of 9 I am a novice when it comes to owning one.

Anyway.....what I want you lovely peoples opinion on is wether or not I should trim her feathers down for the upcoming winter months?

Currently I keep them in (I think) very good condition. I wash them when they are really dirty, oil them, comb them every day and I can not see any real problems at the moment. What I am concerned with is once it gets wetter will her feathers kind of "hold" the water and make her legs sore?

Sorry if I am a being a total numpty here but I would love your advice on this.

Many thanks

Bessieboo x x
 
I am in the same predicament- we have just bought a hairy shire x and as i have only ever had fully hoggged and shaved to within an inch type cobs i am wondering th esame. OH says he wants to keep him hairy
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and has hidden my clippers so i cant hog him and i want to trim all leg hair off and hog.

I have pulled mane v short poor boy!!! and i think i will get rid feathers for winter as i dont want mud fever etc and his legs are white nad he doesnt seem to keep them well if that makes sense. i groom them everyday but they are still minging!!
 
Leave them on for winter - that's what they're there for
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Coloured in my sig has feathers and throughout the winter I check his legs a couple of times a week - parting the feathers only to find that, despite the wet, cold, sticky mud in the surface, the hair underneath is white and the skin nice and pink
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Whatever you do, don't start hosing legs off when your horse comes in, that's when the trouble may start as it will remove the natural oils and the skin may start to crack. As long as you keep an eye on the skin underneath to make sure there's no cracked skin or mud fever, just let nature do its job
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Leave them and apply pig oil and sulphur over the winter - don't wash out the legs unless you need them clean for showing - oil makes the mud slip off and combined with the sulphur keeps the skin in good conditon and mite free.

If you part the hair, under the oily layer the skin will be dry and clean.

If you want the long PM I do on hairy legs (horses) and keeping them mite free and in show condition, send me a PM and I will send it to you.
 
Thanks so much for the advice
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Going to leave them on as it was always my dream to own a pony with furry feet and to be honest I don't think she would be half as cute without them.

I will not be washing them as often anymore though.

Thanks again

Boo x
 
franks are fine in winter, they are more trouble in summer when he gets sweaty under them! we have odd patches of mud fever now when field is like concrete but they will be fine when we have mud.
 
Leave them, they will offer more protection against mud fever etc, my mare has loads of feather and i dont generally have any problems in winter the only time i wash her legs in winter is if we are going out (some where posh lol) or for the farrier.
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My boy is a hairy monster, especially in the winter but I leave everything on and let it grow. His feathers oil up beautifully and, touch wood, he has never had sore heels, mud fever or any other ailment. Leave well alone, they are there for protection. Of course you will need to check for signs of soreness and if it happens then deal with it accordingly but leave alone if you can.
 
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