Shaving off wiskers..?

[Jay.o]

People at the yard know I have my first show on Sunday, with Mysy. They have all (except one) ben to them before, competed and got a few placings. They are being helpful, telling me what to expect, what to do, what not to do etc. But, non of them have done an in-hand class except YO and her story isnt what I wanted to hear lol.

Anyway, someone suggested shaving Mysy's wiskers off :eek:. When I said, no, she went and got an article out og her books or magazines that said to shave off the wiskers prior to a show. Is it just me thats horrified by this? I couldnt do it to Mysy. Isnt that how they find their food and work their way round things?? I always beleive that their wiskers were like our hands.

What should I be doing?? I am NOT going to shave them off, I just want to be aware and ready for any judges comments, or competitors for that matter, about them.

Thank you.

[Mehitabel]

yes, people do. no, it's not horrifically cruel - yes, they use them to ferret through scrubland, but in a normal field with normal grass there isn't that much ferretting to do, as there would be in the wild and food isn't that hard to find. they grow back pretty quickly.

[Yann]

You aren't alone, I'd never do it either, for the same reasons. People do though, one reason I don't like the idea of showing very much. If it's just a little local show I wouldn't have thought it would make a lot of difference anyway to be honest.

[Tor&Warrior]

I've done loads of local showing and I refushes point blank to EVER shave the whiskers off my horses and never has a judge ever mentioned it too me and I've done m&m, coloured, cob, Riding Horse, Ridden Hunter & PC/RC horse. I very much doubt it would make any difference and I certainly don't think its worth it. I used to have a cob and when I moved her to a pretty posh yard one of the girls there that showed (Arabs) thought she'd be helpful and hog her, clip her feathers off and all her whiskers without me knowing. They did grow back eventually but they were really stubbly and always much harder & bristley, not soft and fine like they were before. Its peoples personal preference I know but personally I would never do it.
Torx

[Yann]

I used to have a cob and when I moved her to a pretty posh yard one of the girls there that showed (Arabs) thought she'd be helpful and hog her, clip her feathers off and all her whiskers without me knowing.

Unbelievable... If someone had done that to my horse I'd have been hard pushed not to get some clippers and give them a good hogging in return:eek:

[Mehitabel]

me too yann - i'd have been furious!

[Tor&Warrior]

Yes I wasn't very impressed. She didn't seem to see what my problem was and neither did anybody else on that yard. It was a horrible yard though and within less than a week of being there I was looking for somewhere new. The owner was a complete nutter. She cleared all of my stuff out of the tack room and took it in her house and put all her horses stuff where mine should of been and put my horse in her stable and put hers in a mine. And when I got to the yard she told me that she wanted my horse so we were going to do a swap! She only gave me my stuff back when I threatened to call the police! And she bought rugs and boots, head collars etc for my horse and when I'd done him in the morning she'd go into the field and swap his rugs for the rugs she's bought him and she threw away my head collar and turnout boots and his rain sheet and summer sheet he wore at night while he was in (it was spring so warm but sometimes a bit chilly, he was a thin skinned TB) and cut them up into pieces!!! And she threw all my feed away and went and bought feed and said this is what he was to eat from now on! The only reason I stayed a month was because its a long as it took me to get somewhere else. I was out of there asap!

[Yann]

Sounds like you did right there!!!

[Cobby]

:eek: :eek: That YO sounds like she'd completely lost the plot! No wonder you left as soon as you could. I'd never shave off my horses whiskers. When I first bought my girl, many years ago, I clipped off her feathers. I regretted it immediately and have never done more than trim the ends of her tail since.

[Maplebeck]

I read in a magazine once that shaving your horses whiskers off was like deliberatly burning the tips of your fingers... I've never shaved my horses whiskers and IMO, you should never be marked down in showing because of whiskers.

[shandy84]

Also depends on the classes you are doing as to if the judge will be concerned like if you do a native class they prefer them natural etc etc, I do not think i would take my girls ones off becuase they are out at night and I would have thought it would have been better to have them.

Blimy YO sounds off her trolly Tor

[Wally]

Leave them Whissuks alone!:D

Any enlightened Judge won't expect you to.

[Gemma16]

I never shave Taffys fully off ( not show pony slick style) But I trim them to about and inch long or a little less. Just to neaten him up. I think it looks 100% better than loads of long ones. But each to there own. Plus they are VERY fine and to be honest you can't even really see them and they don't affect the whole picture so you shouldn't worry.

Tor, I have had a similar experiance to you maybe not quite so bad......I was looking after a friends sec D, some girls at the yard had been telling me that they thought the horse should have been shown as a hunter, as he was not my horse I wasn't that bothered what they thought its nothing to do with me. But they took it into there own hands when I went home and totally pulled al his mane and tail and shaved his feathers!

I was fuming let alone his owner! She was mortified

[Tor&Warrior]

Tor, I have had a similar experiance to you maybe not quite so bad......I was looking after a friends sec D, some girls at the yard had been telling me that they thought the horse should have been shown as a hunter, as he was not my horse I wasn't that bothered what they thought its nothing to do with me. But they took it into there own hands when I went home and totally pulled al his mane and tail and shaved his feathers!

:eek:
It wasn't the end of the world with my mare as I'll be the first to admit she was a rather hairy, scruffy looking beast but she was also only a hack so it wasn't at all necessary and was a pain in the arse as it then ment she had no fly protection and her white legs burnt very bad as she'd clipped it back so far.
But if somebody did that to my "SEC D" I couldn't be held responsible for what I did to them!!!!! :mad: I think pulling, clipping, major trimming etc of any kind on a Welshy is criminal!!!!!!

[Katie_85]

It's not going to hurt them a bit to have their whiskers shaved off. Perhaps if they were thrown back into the wild and expected to forage for food, but not under normal domesticatd circumstances. Our Walking Horses are given a show clip: Whiskers shaved off, bridlepath, ears, eyes (the long hairs just under and above the eyes, not they eyelashes ;) ) feathers, if any, and the hair around the coronet band is trimmed so the hoof capsule looks nice and neat. Oh, and the area around the jowls and under the head is trimmed up nice and clean. Takes forvever, but looks quite smart! http://gloverenterprises.com/images/PAC_Right_head_shot.JPG

[Bobbi77]

OMG Tor and Gemma - I don't know how you managed to keep your hands to yourselves! To me, that would be tantamount to taking my daughter to a barber and giving her short back and sides! Some people have such a cheek!

I'm still not sure about all this showing business, mainly cos I'm prejudiced by a (or ex) friend on my yard who is pretty much obsessed with her "show" pony and is making his life a misery as a consequence! I'm not really up on show etiquette etc but I suppose if it's just a matter of a tidy up i.e. bridle path and maybe long hairs under the jaw (not whiskers), then it's not that much of a big deal, but if you don't want to do it, then don't! Mysy is an absolutely gorgeous mare, and wouldn't be any better without her whiskers (although I am not a show judge obviously hehe)

Let us know how you get on Jay.O!

:)

[entreat]

Originally posted by Es
yes, people do. no, it's not horrifically cruel - yes, they use them to ferret through scrubland, but in a normal field with normal grass there isn't that much ferretting to do, as there would be in the wild and food isn't that hard to find.
Originally posted by Katie_85
It's not going to hurt them a bit to have their whiskers shaved off. Perhaps if they were thrown back into the wild and expected to forage for food, but not under normal domesticatd circumstances.
I watch my horses ferret for food all the time & our pastures are near perfect. They were also using them on the weekend when our new boy was delivered - they sniffed his poop, and used their whiskers to help identify it; and they sniffed out every path he'd been walked on since arrival. You'd think Cav was a blood hound!!!

And the shavers sold in tack shops here are horrible!! They are the nastiest, cheapest shavers known to man, and I wouldn't let them near myself, let alone my horse. I can just imagine the sandpaper graze they'd give... :eek:

If you were gonna shave 'em off, I would suggest using only a shaver you would feel comfortable using. Their snouts are way more sensitive than our legs (or faces, boys ;))

I love natural looking horses with scruffy winter coats, unpulled manes, and lovely long feathers. I never thought I'd them rug until this winter! It is alittle more effort to groom them, but they seem to enjoy watching me sweat it out!

[Katie_85]

Entreat- I've watched our clipped and unclipped horses do the same thing as you describe. That's interesting, now that I think about it..... they still do it, even in familiar territory, whiskers or not! *cue light bulb over Katie's head* Incidentally, the clippers we use are very high quality, nice and quiet. Nothing rough, and we always make sure they don't heat up if used for a long time. :)

[entreat]

Katie - I figure the more regular showers would use better quality shavers... the ones in horseland still make me wince to think of a little pony clubber scraping across their poor neddy's chin & nose... Just because the shavers were at horseland, when 5000X better shavers are at the supermarket!

[Jay.o]

Thanks for all your help and advice with this :)

In the end, I left them :D. She had a face of whiskers, and a bit of a beard too :o :eek: hehe. I didnt trim her ears either actually, come to think of it. I can do that for next time I guess. I just trimmed her feathers (neatly) and around her hoof (is that her coronet band?) - just to make her 'sharp' looking.

It obviously wasnt a problem becuase neither judge said anything and she got two placings :D:D:D.

Thank you Bobbi, at the show we got a 3rd in Youngstock (out of 14) and a 5th in Coloured Inhand (out of 15) - I am incredibly pleased with Mysy

[starhuntergal]

o well thats good i wish i could get away with a unclipped horse however i show on the circuit and my hunter gets the works for every single show mane pulled (he throws a fit) wiskers, bridle path, fetlocks, coronet band, cheeks chin everything clipped i have nice quiet expensive clipper which i love so does my horse :D he likes it when i put them on his lips he falls asleep ;) which helps when i have to clean his sheath it gets dirty really fast and he is rather shy about it :rolleyes: so it takes twice as long but he is my baby and i love him to death and i don't think clipping hurts but just do it as nessisary don't over clip

[Cochise]

Good for you Jess, she is your horse and you have to do what you think is right by her.
I used to show and now I don't, I just hate turnout to be honest.
I show jump etc, and still take to time to clean my gear, bathe my horse and plait him, but many I know dont!
I like Cheeky's whiskers, but the beard had to come off, its a pain in the backside when doing up the nose band!

[Cheko]

I personally have never shaved whiskers off any of my horses. Most of them have been natives tho and you leave the whiskers on. I maintain that if whiskers weren't there for a purpose, horses wouldn't have them. Humans are all too keen on difiguring animals for fashion or show purposes, then I'm not surprised, look what some humans do to themselves!!!!!!:mad:

[Torie]

Personally I shave them off as well as trimming the bridlepath, ears and around the jowls and under the head. All of mine have always coped fine with it and IMO they look a lot smarter, the decision is entirely your decision and comes down to personal choice.

Torie xx

[dizzy_mel]

it's done alot but you still have to be careful as some horses can take to it badly and may be put off food, but yes it tends to get more points in the class unless there showing as a native breed, i.e moutain n mourland classes!!

[Wally]

I trimmed chin hairs today, but not whiskers.

[wildponies]

my YO pulled Missy's mane last week.. my dad gave her permission to do it .. but.. she's my pony :eek: I have just started to trim her 'beard' because the longer hairs get caught up in the noseband. She recently went to her first show and nobody commented on the fact that she still had all whiskers still intact! I did trim her ears though.. she looked like an old man beforehand :rolleyes:

[Wally]

It's the cat's whisker type hairs on the chin and the muzzle, not the hairy bits under the chin that count.

Trim the jaw, not the cat's whiskery bits.

[Tor&Warrior]

I'll always trim beards under the chin. I think thats makes them look much tidier and they can't need them as Flyte doesn't have a beard! Nothing at all, not even in winter! So there can't be a major use for them! But never their face whiskers.

[Big H]

Personally I believe that the whiskers are there for a reason, so don't touch them.

I also don't belive that a mane should be hogged just for show purposes, my cob still has all his messy whiskers (which I think give him character), he also has is lovely long main (which in the summer when he's hot during/after work, I do a running plait in until he's cooled down) and he still has his feathers. I think that he is what a cob should look like.

I know that some horses have to have their manes hogged because of sweet-itch - which I understand. But just hogging them to make them look "pretty" I don't feel is right, if you look at them naturally, they are BEAUTIFUL!:cool:

[Ipsa]

I don't take whiskers off and I also don't like seeing horses with the inside of their ears clipped so they are virtually bald. it must be awful having bugs fly into your ears.:(

[starhuntergal]

well you can clip their ears with out clipping the insides just put your and around the back and fold the edges until they touch and trim what sticks out i show alot and travel lots of miles for them but i won't let the flys in my horses ears they look fine with just the sticky out bits gone

[Wally]

For a show I might pinch the ear edges together and trim level with the edges of the ears. No grizzled sticky out bits.

I smartened Andy, Charlie, Cymro, Iacs ansd Whiffy up today in the chin hair department. They have a show on Wednesday.

[Lovecat]

Does anyone else's horse have a handlebar moustache? ;)

Murph cultivated a fine one over the winter but ate it off with the grass - it's starting to grow back again now though....

[Tor&Warrior]

My friends Dales mare grows a long, thick moustache in the winter. It falls off every summer, but is always back in the winter.:D

Torx

[Horsesarelife]

Lovecat- Mine does his stays on all year round. He is a hairy heavyweight cob and he has a blonde curly moustache.

Lottie my new mare was hogged when we got her but we are growing it out even though i plan to show her as the flies drive her mad with no forelock and i would hate to see her suffer for the sake of showing.

I have mixed feelings about whiskers as i think they do look smarter without them but i dont know if i could bring myself to do it and leave her whiskerless for a few weeks just for a show when it is not obligatory that you shave them.:D

[Esther.D]

Does anyone else's horse have a handlebar moustache?

Pablo has a very handsome one - he used to lose it in the summer but since we have had them up on the moors it has grown longer and curlier and now stays all year round...

[Ipsa]

As it is winter here one of our ponies has a muddy dreadlocked forelock- don't know how he does it but he's obviously plesed with the effect.:D

[Big H]

Originally posted by Lovecat
Does anyone else's horse have a handlebar moustache? ;)

Murph cultivated a fine one over the winter but ate it off with the grass - it's starting to grow back again now though....

One of the horses down our yard has a moustache (he's 25), one of the guys said it looked like Hitlers. Personnally I think he looks like a mustketteer.:D

[Lovecat]

Originally posted by Big H
Personally I think he looks like a musketeer.:D

That's what Murph's looks like when it's fully fledged - all curly at the ends like **** Dastardly!:D

[Big H]

Cute really :p