Trimming Whiskers

I can understand the Rolkur thing as it's actually cruel but not the trimming of whiskers? Why haven't they banned trimming of tail or feathers as this could be seen as 'detrimental' because the horse can't protect itself from flies or mud as effectively?
 
Cant understand why something being illegal in Switzerland would be an argument for not doing something here .
But there you go
Just tell people you don't want to do it why justify yourself .
 
I know zip about Switzerland but they seem light years ahead re horse welfare.

ps. Whiskers are a major sensory organ/apparatus. Horses don't see well at close distances I believe.
 
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amandap said:
I know, I know zip about Switzerland but they seem light years ahead re horse welfare.
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THe horse I had from Switzerland spent his life there going stable to school and back again no turnout stable was indoors the school along a corridor .
Owner said it was pretty standard except for the super expensive yards EH , light years ahead .
 
Faracat said:
I've never understood why anyone would trim them off anyway. Horses evolved whiskers for a reason after all.
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Agreed

Have never trimmed whiskers in over 40 years with horses; and do you know what - no-one has ever made a comment to me about it in all that time!!
 
Goldenstar said:
THe horse I had from Switzerland spent his life there going stable to school and back again no turnout stable was indoors the school along a corridor .
Owner said it was pretty standard except for the super expensive yards EH , light years ahead .
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I think they have to have pens attached to each stable so the horse can move outside.
There are tons of horses in UK with the stable/work/stable routine.
 
I've had one comment RE trimming whiskers but it came about because I was talking about showing my grey. I was told that I should shave her whiskers off as part of a list of tips for smartening her up in readiness for the show. I replied that it was against AHS rules to do so, so that was the end of the topic.
 
My friend "helpfully" trimmed my boys whiskers once and it totally upset him. He obviously couldn't judge the distance to anything and when he went to eat his hay he leapt backwards like he'd had an electric shock and wouldn't eat his dinner. His life obsession is food so you can imagine how distraught he was :( He got used to it but not before he had cut and scraped his nose on a few things working out the distances. I've never trimmed them since and never will.
 
amandap said:
I think they have to have pens attached to each stable so the horse can move outside.
There are tons of horses in UK with the stable/work/stable routine.
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This one certainly had no pen it had only been outside to load to go to a show and ata show between three and seven years old it was sad .
 
Goldenstar said:
THe horse I had from Switzerland spent his life there going stable to school and back again no turnout stable was indoors the school along a corridor .
Owner said it was pretty standard except for the super expensive yards EH , light years ahead .
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Similar to my experience as a paid rider and groom on a small showjumping yard in Switzerland. I could turn the horses out in the very small outdoor school, but only singly, in case they kicked each other. Otherwise they had no turn out, and this was considered normal but the owner preferred a rider who could hack them out and to the major training venue, so not as bad as some. I never saw any other horses being hacked out in all my time there. Grazing fields seemed few and far between and were mainly for cattle.

That said, its nice that the Swiss are thinking about these things and the country is difficult for horses, being mountainous and with good land being expensive and at a premium. And it is the country which produced the individual show jumping gold medallist at the London Olympics. It might be that because their horses live such lives with little turnout that they have more attention to devote to other things to help make their lives more comfortable?
 
sussexbythesea said:
My friend "helpfully" trimmed my boys whiskers once and it totally upset him. He obviously couldn't judge the distance to anything and when he went to eat his hay he leapt backwards like he'd had an electric shock and wouldn't eat his dinner. His life obsession is food so you can imagine how distraught he was :( He got used to it but not before he had cut and scraped his nose on a few things working out the distances. I've never trimmed them since and never will.
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Same thing happened to a horse I owned a few years ago. It was awful, she was distraught and wouldnt eat anything and reacted like she was getting electric shocks each time she touched something. I will never remove whiskers again
 
Would never trim whiskers. they are there for a reason. I would like to trim my cob's beard a little - she is known to the family as The Bearded Lady - as the beard sometimes tweaks in her bridle, but she's having none of it. and in March it will suddenly disappear anyway almost overnight.
 
I was taking my part bred Arabian mare to a show, and was told I would need to trim her whiskers, so I did. She barely ate for a week. Long time ago, totally naïve. Never again.
 
equi said:
Its impossible not to get them off if you full clip like i do soooo.
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I do a full clip...and leave them on. It takes ages to make it look good and is a complete pain, but I think its worth it.
My horse is exceptionally good about being clipped though, and will stand for ages whilst I faff about.
 
Some of the American forums are discussing this with extreme puzzlement - all facial hair and the hair inside horses ears are routinely removed over there - but even when I lived and worked in the US I have never removed whiskers. Imagine shaving off a cat's whiskers? I should think it would have a similar effect. Having said that, American horses learn to cope, as horses have to with a whole assortment of things we do to them.
 
whiskers are like feelers to a horse esp in dim light. They use to judge distance ect. I was taught never to trim esp the ones that can grow round eyes. but whilst i never would i understand people do :) I actually used to love how babys used to tickle me when she snuffled my face :)
 
Goldenstar said:
This one certainly had no pen it had only been outside to load to go to a show and ata show between three and seven years old it was sad .
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I'm obviously wrong about the pens then.


Hairs in the ears are to stop flies and foreign objects getting! I just don't get why they are removed either.
 
NZJenny said:
I was taking my part bred Arabian mare to a show, and was told I would need to trim her whiskers, so I did. She barely ate for a week. Long time ago, totally naïve. Never again.
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Same here. Clipped them off for my first QH show. My poor horse was so distressed when she tried to eat her hard feed. Never again!!!
 
sussexbythesea said:
My friend "helpfully" trimmed my boys whiskers once and it totally upset him. He obviously couldn't judge the distance to anything and when he went to eat his hay he leapt backwards like he'd had an electric shock and wouldn't eat his dinner. His life obsession is food so you can imagine how distraught he was :( He got used to it but not before he had cut and scraped his nose on a few things working out the distances. I've never trimmed them since and never will.
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My tb came back from loan with the whiskers off the bottom of his muzzle and he kept dunking his whole muzzle in his water as he couldn't work out where the water was.

I trim beards off but never whiskers as they need them to feel around their world
 
hollybear said:
I do a full clip...and leave them on. It takes ages to make it look good and is a complete pain, but I think its worth it.
My horse is exceptionally good about being clipped though, and will stand for ages whilst I faff about.
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Yup, perfectly possible. Also there's a big difference between catching the odd stray whisker when clipping and leaving them with nothing.
 
Faracat said:
I've never understood why anyone would trim them off anyway. Horses evolved whiskers for a reason after all.
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Same.

equi said:
Its impossible not to get them off if you full clip like i do soooo.
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No it's not. The vast, vast majority of horses don't grow clippable hair directly on their chins so it doesn't matter.
I probably do on average over 100 full clips a year and I point blank refuse to clip whiskers. All the horses look smart afterwards and it's never a problem.
 
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