What are your feelings about whiskers?

How could anyone think au naturale is untidy ? :p
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ihatework said:
I clip/trim/pull to the hilt but always leave the whiskers on.

I found out the other day that it is illegal to remove whiskers in Germany, apparently they class it as a welfare issue!!! Seems slightly odd given the use of rollkur !
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Maybe the whiskers are used as a marker for when they've reached their chest ;) :p


ETA - Feels like I've won a prize. Woop woop. :p
 
Faracat said:
Sorry CS, you need a bell too, possibly a small one though. :p
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Not at the moment I don't ;) All my horses whiskers firmly remain on currently.

Welsh
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/387048_10151230340746753_1936798644_n.jpg

Coblet [though tbf....he doesn't have many to speak of!]
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/531566_10151141917531753_1478002759_n.jpg

Even my hunter had his kept firmly on earlier after a spruce up, as he's lives out 24/7.
http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/547964_10151230312151753_1468971844_n.jpg


Though, opposed to last year when he was in mostly and clipped. Much smarter to me.
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/168564_10150128064766753_8057469_n.jpg

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/164584_10150132357466753_5396207_n.jpg
 
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I will pull manes and plait tails and tidy up legs, but will never remove whiskers. I took the mare to her breed show recently and took her unplaited, but tidy and she did well, with her whiskers on :)
 
I hold my hands up and say I always USED to have them off :p I did a lot of showing and was a trimaholic!

However... The moment I found out my little mare might loose an eye, I never trimmed them again because she would definitely need them, they grew so fast and to be honest, I don't think she looked any scruffier with them on, so I won't be trimming whiskers again! :D

In the showing world nowadays, they aren't allowed to mark down for whiskers being left on!
 
When I bought my lad a month ago his whiskers were off, and I have to admit his smooth nose and soft face were very alluring....but he's already had one corneal repair and I figure he can do with all the help he can get to ensure he doesn't poke himself in the eye with something else and need another one or worse, so his whiskers are currently (rapidly!) growing back, and will stay on!
 
I think they're essential to the horse. We cut off their hair but we can rug them up, we cut off their feathers but we can put them in well fenced & cut back paddocks..we could cut off their whiskers but we can't change their eye placings on their head so they can see where they're putting their nose.
 
I'll remove mine for showing/during clipping etc and the long eye whiskers and their ear fluff. However in between shows and clipping I let them grow. I hate hair full stop. I have to be physically restrained when we get hairy M&M breakers in / traditional cobs. It drives me potty to see all that flowing mane... But then my tails are all pulled and cut bang to chestnuts or hocks on hunters and cobs, manes very short with bridle paths cut or hogged for coblets. My worst nightmare is hair!!! Get rid of it
 
I used to show years ago when whiskers had to be trimmed off to be acceptable in showing. I hated it and when I did a recent show for the first time in 11 years I left my mare's whiskers untouched (and she has LONG whiskers!!). She did very well in most classes, coming 2nd out of ten, 6th out of 14 and 3rd out of 4. Nothing was mentioned about whiskers - although I do wonder myself whether they are still scrutinised!
 
ihatework said:
I found out the other day that it is illegal to remove whiskers in Germany, apparently they class it as a welfare issue!!! Seems slightly odd given the use of rollkur !
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Please don't judge an entire nation for the actions of a few! There are a lot of wonderful riders/trainers out there who don't use Rollkur, just as there are riders/trainers in this country who do.

Alf has whiskers. Unfortunately he also has a beard and feathers at the moment. I refuse to buy clippers while he's not in work, so am going to have to go through the torturously dull process of hand trimming him!
 
Always always leave on!

My other pet hate is when people trim the insides of their horse's ears. By all means tidy the outside but not the inside!!
 
The wife said:
I'll remove mine for showing/during clipping etc and the long eye whiskers and their ear fluff. However in between shows and clipping I let them grow. I hate hair full stop. I have to be physically restrained when we get hairy M&M breakers in / traditional cobs. It drives me potty to see all that flowing mane... But then my tails are all pulled and cut bang to chestnuts or hocks on hunters and cobs, manes very short with bridle paths cut or hogged for coblets. My worst nightmare is hair!!! Get rid of it
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:( :eek:
Not sure if you are serious? Ride a bike instead - your horses will probably be glad!
 
My pony has his whiskers taken off for the show ring, only the one round his nose though, not sure I'd ever ever ever go as far as taking off his long eye whiskers!!!

I like his whiskers, but he has a tiny fragile little head and they really make him look clumsy. I have never bothered with any of my other horses, ever. It's simply because of our showing thinggggg :) P.S. He loves it, he finds it very therapeutic ;)
 
All you's who whip off the whiskers....

How do you like without lovely whiskery snogs??!!! :eek:

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:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Nightmare right there for hair haters :p
 
Auslander said:
Alf has whiskers. Unfortunately he also has a beard and feathers at the moment. I refuse to buy clippers while he's not in work, so am going to have to go through the torturously dull process of hand trimming him!
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These are wonderful little bits of kit - I stand by my "off for showing" and would not in a million years believe that affiliated judges would turn a blind eye to whiskers on show horses. Show Cobs must be hogged and trimmed and that means EVERYTHING off off off!

I agree - why take them off if you don't have to but do not agree it is a "welfare issue"!

http://www.luckypony.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=104
 
mcnaughty said:
These are wonderful little bits of kit - I stand by my "off for showing" and would not in a million years believe that affiliated judges would turn a blind eye to whiskers on show horses. Show Cobs must be hogged and trimmed and that means EVERYTHING off off off!

I agree - why take them off if you don't have to but do not agree it is a "welfare issue"!

http://www.luckypony.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=104
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I dont take whiskers off though. By hand-trimming, I meant beard and feathers! I have a little Wahl trimmer which tackles the beardy bits - but it takes one look at his feathers and says
 
To me, cutting off a horse's whiskers and other facial hair because the showring says so, is no different to docking tails on certain dog breeds. They are there for a good reason and to my way of thinking add character to many horses' faces. They could also be a good form of identification like whorls in some cases - eg. one horse I knew only had half a moustache, another had a whole tache, but one side was black, the other was white. My chestnut has beautiful long blonde whiskers around her muzzle and eyes and they give a lovely halo effect when the sun shines through them. She has received many compliments! The only hair I have ever taken off her face is to trim the long stuff in her ears so that it is flush with the edges, and any stray cat hairs under her jaw line.
 
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