Whiskers or not!

Pale Rider

Pale Rider

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 June 2011
Messages
2,305
Location
Northern Spain
Visit site
A friend of mine is obsessed with keeping her horse 'smart'. She insists on clipping off her horses whiskers as she says they are untidy. I think this is wrong as the horse needs its whiskers and clipping them is uncomfortable for the horse as they grow back, only to be cut again.
Anyone care to comment?
 
My welshie is kept 'au natrel' so has all hair, feathers, whiskers and billy goats gruff....because I believe they are there for a reason especially in this weather and I do not fuss and stress over what he looks like, it is not important to me compared with our relationship and the feeling of happiness he gives me.
 
bgb said:
I clip mine off. looks messy with them and he doesn't mind them being off at all.
Click to expand...
Did he tell you that himself? :rolleyes:

Mine both have their whiskers. I've never understood the point of clipping them off, even for shows, and I certainly wouldn't want them without when it's -2 outside. As someone above said, you wouldn't clip off your cat's whiskers...
 
I usually wouldn't but I'm seriously thinking of clipping Zacks, everytime I see him lately I have to hot cloth his face as he has inch long ice clumps hanging from all whiskers and it's obviously uncomfortable for him. I'm still going to leave him the short ones around his lips though :)
 
I never touch whiskers. Beards under the cheek bones yes, but not whiskers even if horse fully clipped & trimmed. I've done other peoples horses whiskers in the past when my job has dictated I must, but not through choice.
 
Always believed they serve a purpose, so they stay. They are not botherd about them, always had em and i like to keep them natural in this cold weather
 
Leave on.

My friend trimmed him up once when I first got him and he wouldn't eat his hay or feed - everytime he went to eat it he leapt back like he had been zapped with electricity! He was quite distressed about it.

He got used to it but had little cuts all over his nose. Now I would never do it and he has won local showing with them on and noone has mentioned it.
 
I take them off, he's fully clipped and even in the summer I shave them off with human hair clippers x Keeps him smart and I don't think they do have a purpose, like a cat has them to stop it getting its head stuck! x
 
lcharles said:
I take them off, he's fully clipped and even in the summer I shave them off with human hair clippers x Keeps him smart and I don't think they do have a purpose, like a cat has them to stop it getting its head stuck! x
Click to expand...

The follicles of whiskers are surrounded by tactile sensory nerve receptors that allow the horse to feel when his nose is getting closer to an object, or may deliver Information on the texture of the objects that whiskers contact.
The whiskers themselves contain no nervous tissue. But they are fairly rigid and deliver vibratory signals to the receptors located where they originate in follicles.
 
lcharles said:
I take them off, he's fully clipped and even in the summer I shave them off with human hair clippers x Keeps him smart and I don't think they do have a purpose, like a cat has them to stop it getting its head stuck! x
Click to expand...

Actually they do

http://www.reinholdshorsewellness.com/horsegroomingguidelines.html


Muzzle whiskers are very important to the horse. Horses use these vissebrae to estimate the distance between their muzzle and an object, such as a water source or the ground when grazing. The horses' eyesight is somewhat limited in certain angles below their head and the whiskers help solve that problem.
Taking away the whiskers will cause your horse to bump his muzzle into things, especially at night, and become insecure and worried.
 
When we're off showing I take them off but other than that I just leave them. Can't say I've noticed a difference between them being there or not but understand the reason for leaving alone. Just think it finishes off the look when showing. I use one of those horse shave blade trimmer things excellent and she's not bothered when I do it.
 
Oh dear, it doesnt seem to have affected him yet! x He never had whiskers on his upper lip so can't see how it would help him to tell where grass is etc and they are only on the sides? Even when he goes blackberry picking he never gets a cut or scrape! x
 
Rileyboy said:
perhaps call a vet then ;) haha
Click to expand...

Bit late now... only thing my show cobs are bumping now are clouds!

Seriously though, when your head is the size of a small child, you don't really need to judge the exact distance to where grass is??? Zak was trimmed permanently due to his workload and didn't seem affected by it in the slightest!

Dorey was done more sporadically but she never minded either!
 
But you could say that horses aren't born with shoes - for a reason, you could say that we shouldn't hog their manes as they're there for a reason, we chould argue that they shouldn't have saddles, bits etc but we do!

Whats the actual reason why its illegal in Germany? Any ideas? Interesting.
 
Serenity087 said:
Bit late now... only thing my show cobs are bumping now are clouds!

Seriously though, when your head is the size of a small child, you don't really need to judge the exact distance to where grass is??? Zak was trimmed permanently due to his workload and didn't seem affected by it in the slightest!

Dorey was done more sporadically but she never minded either!
Click to expand...

haha was jokin :) each to their own an all. Mine have always had theirs on and i dont need to remove em so i wont. Probably would freak anyway most of em have never seen the clippers :)
 
Other brilliant german laws include:

Every office must have a view of the sky
A pillow can be considered a “passive” weapon
It is illegal to wear a mask

Hmm!! haha x
 
lcharles said:
Other brilliant german laws include:

Every office must have a view of the sky
A pillow can be considered a “passive” weapon
It is illegal to wear a mask

Hmm!! haha x
Click to expand...

Some crackin laws about forgot what country but you cant walk your camel down the right hand side of a road on a certain day :D

I wouldnt cut my lot off, suits the hairy look they have, but each to their own it doesnt harm them but i do think they serve a purpose.
 
Off - hate them! Same with hair inside ears, all clipped out whether the horse is clipped or not. Manes and tails pulled, and all lovely and smart.

That being said if ever I encountered a horse who couldn't cope with their whiskers off, I would leave them. My mare didn't cope at all when I took hers off, so they stay on, but she's the only horse I've known so far that has had a problem.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top