I am planning to take my mare to an Oldenburg Inspection the end of August. Can someone experienced tell me what the grooming requirements are? I am already planning to hire a professional to braid her but do people clip or go natural? Or if you clip, do you body clip, whiskers and ears or a combination of those?
If it’s in August then I wouldn’t body clip her. I’d clip her muzzle and ears but that’s it.
I never clip the muzzle and for the ears, just hold them closed and clip the long ‘old man hairs’ that stick out with scissors. Does it matter if they’re all clipped up? Doesn’t seem to. I have 2 ELITE mares and a couple of Premium ones.
Thank you Tiki that’s good to know! My mare has a severe phobia about her ears. I’ve been working with her since last August (when I brought her home) and I’m just to the point that I can run my hand over them without her jerking away from me. I believe I can have her comfortable enough to scissor trim the hair by the inspection but definitely not clippers.
The mare should be bathed, and I trim fetlock hair, if necessary, pull the mane and bang the tail. I don’t trim the ears and I don’t clip muzzle hair, as my mares live out and that hair is useful to have. You need a clean bridle, and I use a professional handler for mare presentation.
The turnout for breed inspections is certainly different than that in the Hunter Breeding ring! In my experience at the OldNA/ISR inspection the judge’s own preference is that the muzzle not be clipped. Long ear hairs can be trimmed to tidy the overall appearance but it certainly isn’t a requirement. A gleaming coat, tidy braids, clean tack, and professional turnout for the handler really is the only “requirement” I would say there is. More than a requirement I think it just shows respect for everyone involved.
Good luck with your mare! 
I think most of the grooming has been addressed, so I’ll add that you should schedule her to get her hooves done a week to 2 weeks before the inspection, so that she is balanced. Last year at a GOV inspection someone brought a mare that really needed her feet done and it reflected on her conformation & movement scores.
Clipping muzzle and ears is illegal in Germany and if you get a German inspector that would be frowned upon.
yup. I saw someone get half-scolded for having muzzle clipped a young horse, with reminder that it is illegal in Germany.
I am probably attending the same inspection at the end of August presenting a mare and foal. This will be my first inspection as well. When it comes to clipping of muzzle and ears is this the case with the mare or just the foal?
I will be paying for professional handling and I do my own braids, but want to set up my marw and foal to get tje best score they can.
Are you planning to hire a handler or do it yourself? If you are doing it yourself…start your fitness program now so you can show the mare off to her best ability 
I have been to a few inspections where unfit owners tried to jog the mares themselves and they did the mare no favours.
Also, mare should be prepped so she knows how to trot in hand. Knowing how to lead does not equal knowing how to trot in hand;)
Braid the foal but don’t clip either one’s muzzle or the foal’s ears. For the mare, I would suggest just clipping the long hairs that poke out of the ear, you can scissor trim them the way that Tiki suggests.
It is very frowned upon by judges to clip the muzzle on mares & foals and it may be the same for clipping the inside of ears.
In past years I have been given compliments by judges for NOT clipping and leaving au natural.
[QUOTE=PremiumWarmbloods;6963236]
It is very frowned upon by judges to clip the muzzle on mares & foals and it may be the same for clipping the inside of ears.[/QUOTE]
I can understand not clipping a foal but an adult mare? Why do the Germans and some other judges find clipping a muzzle bad enough to consider it “illegal”? Jumpin’ jorge on a stick! What’s so “natural” about braids? 
<—would rather have used the old :rolling eyes: emoticon here.
Horses with unclipped muzzles look like unkempt, wild mustangs to me.
All my mares and foals live out and they NEED their muzzle hairs. They act like depth perceptors. Horses can not see down at the end of their muzzles because of the way their eyes are placed.
IIRC, it’s not a breed association thing but an actual law in Germany that makes clipping muzzle hair illegal.
[QUOTE=Tiki;6964256]
All my mares and foals live out and they NEED their muzzle hairs. They act like depth perceptors. Horses can not see down at the end of their muzzles because of the way their eyes are placed.[/QUOTE]
This^^^
Horses also need their ear hairs to stop insects and dirt to get into the ear canal.
I presented my mare at both her RPSI and OLD/NA inspections- and I did my own braiding, she was clipped and neither judge (both German) said anything about that, however I will second and third your own personal fitness. RPSI was nice because after running the triangle once, we let her go at will, but at OLD/NA the judge made me run the triangle twice. He stopped me the first time and was basically like “look, I want you to do the best possible, but you have to run” and then the second time he just yelled RUN RUN RUN as we high-tailed it around the triangle. I thought I was going to die- and we had been practicing for months because I knew the jog was going to be hardest for me. She scored very well (premium at both) so it was worth it, but when we go in the fall to present her foal, I’m going to get a professional handler- not that my mare will be judged, but still. It’s a great learning experience though, so good luck!
