Many of the horse owners I work with clip their horses face and neck. I don’t really understand the point of it since it’s winter so I would like your opinions on if you do and why.
I clip in the summer and moderately in the winter. Right now both riding horses (fox hunters when not self-isolated), have bridle path, under jaw, and nose clipped. Why? because I like seeing my horses! Both boys are from West of the Mississippi lived on ranches until they came to me. They have coats like buffalo! I don’t blanket. I clip to keep them looking, well, civilized. To me, clipping a horse is about the same as a person getting a hair cut, pedicure, or manicure. It makes the person feel like he/she looks better. True, some people don’t. That’s fine with me. But I do --I like my hair neatly cut, and my nails neatly done. Once spring comes, I’ll brush off the winter coats, and trim legs as well as faces. One thing I never do (because I don’t like the look) is shave the sides of the tail. I like my horses to look polished. It’s a choice.
My horse gets a hunter clip for the winter (everything clipped except head and a saddle patch). He’s in moderate work, and we attend shows and clinics throughout the winter so he needs to be presentable. I leave his head fuzzy because it’s obviously exposed even when he’s fully blanketed, and weather here in WNY can get pretty brutal.
I just did my last round of clipping for the year, and did a full clip, removing the saddle patch and clipping his head now that it’s getting warmer.
His whiskers are a sensory organ called vibrissae. They are hollow with their own nerve and blood supply. They use them to explore and locate things they can’t see because they are too close to the muzzle and eyes. In Germany and several other European countries it is illegal to clip vibrissae on the muzzle and the eyes. German law also prohibits clipping the hair out of the ears. Before its unfortunate demise, Dressage Today had cover photos of horses with their whiskers intact, including FEI winners.
This.
As far as clipping the rest of the face, a hairy horse worked hard will sweat under the bridle. And there is no harm clipping the beard guard hairs under the jaw
I haven’t yet clipped my own horse. Haven’t needed to. But I’ve ridden horses that you couldn’t work in their winter coats without clipping them, they just got too hot.
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I’m in Germany and I do not clip whiskers or ears…aside from hairs that stick out wildly when I fold the ear.
I do clip the underside of my horse’s head. He’s a yak. He gets a blanket clip of sorts every winter. He’s in moderate work in the winter and sweats. His coat isn’t so long, but it is thick! He does live out but just clipping a strip under his head helps him not get super wet there, cruddy, and itchy. He doesn’t seem too cold. He has shelter from the wind, hay, and the Temps aren’t terrible here for very long.
Others will clip more of the head for horses in harder work that live inside. My clipping of the goat beard is a compromise.
I trim bridle path, forelock in the winter, trim hair that sticks out of a folded ear. Plus any long guard hairs on chin area. I do trim the throatlatch area as my ponies hair gets so long there it rubs weird with a neck cover. I also roach his mane at least once a year.
I have an Irish Yak. In November, I do a high trace clip that includes the jaw up to the cheekpieces of the bridle. By the time it gets chilly the hair has grown back enough that the clip still works to vent heat, but he has enough hair to insulate his face. I neaten it occasionally through the winter by trimming the goat hairs and the fluff that sticks out of his ears (ear taco method- cup ear so that the edges touch, trim the hair that sticks out.) My horse wears a neck cover with his rug so when the weather warrants he can be covered from poll to tail, and he seems quite happy to be turned out in a gale wearing his parka- probably because he nests in the hay roll that he and his buddies have in their run in.
I don’t clip whiskers.
Ear taco method??? Never heard of it. It’s a clam shell trim. :D:lol:
This is my reasoning too. Except I usually leave whiskers now since they live out. I used to ALWAYS shave whiskers until the last couple years.
I’m also a big fan of the spring mane roaching. Then the mane can just grow for MONTHS with no maintenance at all.
Another Poster–I roach one QH and the other has a smooth comb-over mane that I keep about 3". The roached QH has a beautiful curly mane and tail and forelock (thanks to a Hancock mare in his pedigree) --but, the other horses must be jealous because they tend to chew on his mane and leave a bare spot. So he gets roached --I call it his “high and tight” Marine look. I use him for Mounted Archery --and again, I think it ads to his “war horse” appearance --a better look than the feathers and unicorn horns with rainbow glitter some riders use (sore subject --to me mounted archery is a martial art, others see it as a chance to dress like saloon girls and cowboys, fairies, Vikings, and elves --each to their own but to my eye, it detracts from the sport --of course ice skaters and WWF athletes do dress in costumes, but when the feathers on your costume catch in your bow string, or your unicorn horn falls into the horse’s eyes, it’s gone too far --just my opinion and since everyone is armed, I’ll keep it to myself and continue to wear my boots and breeches and polo shirt with a black helmet).
I don’t clip whiskers. I trim a bridle path. I do the taco/clam shell thing with the ears. I keep the underside of the jawline and face trimmed but not clipped. But my OTTB does not grow much of a coat. It just makes cleaning his face up to ride easier.
My arab cross got his face and body clipped in the winter. I left legs and saddle pad area. I foxhunted him. He would get sweaty including his face under the bridle. He is also pink skinned in a lot of places as he his a grey/white pinto cross. He has gotten rain rot on his forehead in the winter. It was easier to prevent that by clipping his face.
In Winter I sometimes clip the long, beard hair under the jaw so it doesn’t get wet & freeze when they drink from my trough.
Same for feathers, so they don’t ball up with ice or mud.
When I show, I do the least possible clipping of ears (the taco version) & muzzle < just enough so long hairs don’t catch in caveson buckles.
I roach my TWH, whose thick mane falls to the “wrong” side for 2/3 of his neck. He also pulls out a big chunk grazing through my fenceline, leaving a scraggly bare spot.
Trolldoll mini mane gets thinned & roached on the left side, so it appears to fall all to the right.
Some trimming needed at the wither for the neckstrap of his harness breastcollar.
Forelock gets thinned so it fits under his browband.
Bridle path only unless I have an upcoming show then clamshell the ears. All else stays, the hairs are there for a reason.
I clip the beards in the winter if my horses are in work–mostly because I worry about the bridle pulling on them when buckled. I HATE having anything pulling at my hair, so I assume my horses do too.
I used to clip whiskers and ears, but stopped doing ears when I started fox hunting–for bug protection. Now I just clamshell them during hunt season. I clip whiskers the night before Opening Day Parade and then…365 days later.
On the head, I clip the goat hairs only. No ears, no whiskers. I’ll go halfway up the cheek if I do a full body clip as well.