Trimming whiskers

[benrolo]

PC show on Sunday (weather permitting!), last year daughter was 3rd in the tack & turnout, the only comment she could remember was that she should have removed pony's whiskers, problem is pony won't keep his head still, what's the easiest way to trim them?

 

[K9Wendy]

We use a bic razor, with hand over nose and shave slowly and talk soothingly LOL.. It does make a slight noise which pony can detect!!

 

[exracemad]

yup use one of those disposable razors. lol

 

[Shilasdair]

Trimming whiskers is the equine equivalent of being blinded...as they use them to feel their way about in small areas like stables....so I wouldn't trim them.
S

 

[charlie76]

I use a bic razor too, I trim all of my horses whiskers, all of the school horses are trimmed and the liveries, I have never seen them walk into anything!

 

[Shilasdair]

charlie76 - it's more feeling in the stable, and around small spaces etc as horses can't actually see that well up close. Obviously yours probably use vision whilst actually walking

I'm sure I've read research that found that trimmed horses were more likely to suffer facially injuries when stabled - but I can't remember the author, sorry.
But why do you think horses have whiskers then, if you don't think they use them this way?
S

 

[vhf]

I dont take all whiskers off unless going in a showing type class I'm likely to actually place in. But I do take some off, a few the first time, a few more later, until they have a naked lower lip/jawline. I do it mostly to educate them about being trimmed, and living without their feelers, so that when they move on to the next home they aren't completely phased if the new owner likes the clean-shaven look!

 

[GTs]

To solve the problem - blind fold your horse for a week before having his whiskers trimmed - helps them adjust to their 'blindness'

 

[Shilasdair]

Now you come to mention it...I'm sure I've seen some horses (and riders) who would jump better blindfolded. May have welfare implications, though.
S

 

[Theresa_F]

I personally do not like doing this - I am lucky in that the breeds I have now are shown untrimmed.

However removing the whiskers did make the difference between being first and being fourth on many an occasion.

When I did show my TBs, I used to leave them over winter and then gently trim them shorter and shorter with sissors over a few weeks before my first show. This worked well as they had time to adjust.

Day before the show would remove the last stubble with a bic razor. Once the show was done, I would let them regrow to about half length and then trim again a few days before to half that length and then shave day before a show.

This seemed to be a good compromise.

 

[disco]

I'd had my previous horse from a baby and she'd never had her wisker's taken off before.
I shaved them off and when I turned her out it really freaked her! - it was totally alien to her and I regretted doing it immediately!
I had to keep doing it though because she had a pink nose & during the summer she had to wear a mask which made her sneeze loads & keeping her wiskers short stopped it.

 

[lmholden]

I remember my cousins pony cutting his nose very badly on barbed wire after having his trimmed. Some people do it regardless of whether they are showing or not.