[**BabyGurl**]

Originally Posted by MaximumForce

Interesting thread, as I have been wondering lately whether or not to trim our baby's whiskers. I was leaning towards NOT trimming, and now I know that we will leave them alone. Thank you for posting this topic.

Thats ok, Anytime! Just found it really fascinating so obviously all my buddies on HGS had to be informed Interesting points, Thanks guys!

[cassidy]

If The Horse Is Clipped Then I Think Whiskers Should Go To To Tidy Them Up

In Our Enviroment They Are Not As Needed As They Would Be In The Wild

[BirdieGirl]

i clip for shows, otherwise, why even hassle when the only person who's gonna see him is me? And I'll love him no matter how scraggly he looks! lol

[Vix]

Originally Posted by cassidy

In Our Enviroment They Are Not As Needed As They Would Be In The Wild

That is true, but in a way I would think they would still be needed, perhaps just as much. In our environment there are many more obstacles a horse has to make their way through in a day, from buckets in their stalls to items in the aisleway to things out in the pasture. Not natural obstacles but obstacles all the same. You know how the saying goes, 'a horse could injure themself in a padded stall'. Unfortunately for us its very very true.

[Xiphias]

I used to clip for shows, but now my mare has her wiskers nice and long, the way they are meant to be....Cathy

[mistylover]

Wow that sounds like an intersting article. I only clip my horses whiskers before a show or before professional pics and stuff.. Otherwise i leave em.. I think there cute too.!

[fletcher]

i have never shaved whiskers but i have trimmed a few so it wouldnt get caught in the throat lash on my bridle.

[Quick2Skip01]

They get clipped off, and then shaved with a razor before a show. They have to otherwise they look untidy, regardless of the size of the show, if the horse is scraggly and not whiskerless it in a way almost shows the judge a) disrespect b) that you don't care about your presentation. I know people who have not been placed even when their pattern was perfect, because of this.

When its not show season, and in between I don't touch them.

[Serendipity Zip]

Let's see...I know about 20 horses (show horses, mind you) that never have hardly any whiskers. Not even above the eyes. My guy doesn't either. Sometimes we let small whiskers grow in, but not usually because we are always going to shows! The horses are fine. Out in pasture they act like any other horse.

I sure hope a horse see's an object before his whiskers are able to touch it. That would be a bit scary. I think the whiskers are more so there for close contact with another horse.

[Abberlaze]

i too have heard that the horses can feel with their whiskers... but then why doesn't it cause them pain for us to raze them off? just a random contemplation.

I leave all the whiskers on my mare as we don't go to big shows and i just think they're cute... but even for big shows i've been told never ever to clip the whiskers next to their eyes. if you clip the muzzle then the horse can still feel with his skin even if not the whiskers, but if you clip the ones near the eyes then the horse can't tell whether to close his eye or not.