[reiner girl]

OK NOW I WAS WONDERING ABOUT THIS TODAY WHEN I HEARD MY TRAINER TALKING TO THIS LADY IS IT TRUE THAT FOR SHOWMANSHIP U HAVE TO COMPLETLEY CUT ALL THE HAIR OUTTA THE EAR THE REASON I ASK IS BECAUSE I WAS THINKING ABOUT DOING SHOWMANSHIP WITH JAKE AND I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THIS B4 THIS WOULD B HIS FIRST TIME AND I DONT WANNA LOOK STUPID!!!! SO ANY HELP IS NEEDED THANK YOU!!

[littlemoney08]

yes it is prefreed! especially showmanship b/c its all about how well you have gotten your horse to look and yourself to look...all abt GREAT looks for the both of you...but what size show are you going to?

[Tony The Pony]

yes, you do have to have the ears clipped. this also makes your horse look nicer for other classes as well.

[twhlvr]

Yup...all the ear hair has to go. Definitely not one of my favorite jobs

[morgangirl]

My daughter does showmanship and we definately do not trim the inside of the ear. We will do around the outside to define them more but that is it. She does very well in showmanship.

[hApPiNeSs]

In the UK only the hair that is protruding out of the ear is trimmed with scissors - the ear is squeezed together and the hair sticking out is trimmed.

I was taught that clipping out all of the ear can leave it prone to infections. The hair is there to stop insects and dirt getting into the delicate part of the ear.

[imacowgirl2]

It depends on what level of shows you are doing. If you are doing a once a year local/4-H/etc show, it is preferable to just trim the long hairs that stick out, especially if your horse is on pasture all summer, and you don't want to mess with a fly mask. However, if you are going to bigger shows, or even fairly competitive local shows, and you want to place, the hair has to go. I would suggest buying a fly mask with ears on it and putting it on your horse every day, as the hair is no longer there for protection from the elements, sun, and bugs.

[reiner girl]

well it wont b his full time thing !!!! but its a big futurity

[Smudder]

I hate clipping my horses ears...

He hates it too..

I never clip inside the ear.. I also think that it is too delicate.. Good idea with the fly mask though!

[doublebarr]

Originally Posted by reiner girl

well it wont b his full time thing !!!! but its a big futurity

If it's a futurity, then usually it is a halter class and is all about how the horse looks and their conformation. In that case, yes, to be competitive you will need to clip out the entire ear. (That said, some bigger name AQHA breeders/trainers are bucking the trend and trying to reestablish just trimming the outside and flush with the sides of the ear, but these guys have very exceptional horses and know the presence of the horse will outweigh the fact of such a little thing as the inside of the ears being clipped.) If you can honestly look at your horse and see a very good representatie of the breed, then you can be one of those that buck the current trend and show some common sense in how you trim your horse. You just want to be sure that your horse is completely clean, groomed to the nth degree and physically fit. Hair inside the ears shouldn't be the deciding factor in a halter class, it should be the overall correctness of the horse. IMO. But you still have judges that are stuck in a rut and cant get past silly little fashions.

But, if it is a Showmanship Futurity (never heard of one, but I sure dont know everything) then you're stuck clipping out the entire ear unless YOU want to try and start a common sense trend. Don't know if it'll happen quickly, but someone has to start, somewhere. I refuse to trim out the inside ear hair and I'm sure I've been moved down in placings with some judges, but others have been able to get past that silly notion and really see the entire package - the complete horse and exhibitor.