I just can’t agree though with the thought that clipping the inside of ears and muzzle is cruel, but the top of the tail is not. That is what sends to me a clear message that it really is not what they think is cruel, but simply a matter of taste & style, or they would give up that practice too. Personally, I have no problem with muzzle clipping, but would never clip the top of tails, or inside ears.
[QUOTE=Fairview Horse Center;3128809]
I just can’t agree though with the thought that clipping the inside of ears and muzzle is cruel, but the top of the tail is not. That is what sends to me a clear message that it really is not what they think is cruel, but simply a matter of taste & style, or they would give up that practice too. Personally, I have no problem with muzzle clipping, but would never clip the top of tails, or inside ears.[/QUOTE]
I have to agree with you… I’m all for animals being treated correctly but when you make rules/laws saying it’s cruel to clip their muzzle but they only have to be out of their box 2 hours a day just doesn’t make a bit of sense to me… If you don’t want to clip your horse more power to you but when you are not ALLOWED or would be judged for this just seems a bit extreme…Most health issues with horses are more due to them being locked up then there nose being clipped…
[QUOTE=ridgeback;3128847]
I have to agree with you… I’m all for animals being treated correctly but when you make rules/laws saying it’s cruel to clip their muzzle but they only have to be out of their box 2 hours a day just doesn’t make a bit of sense to me… If you don’t want to clip your horse more power to you but when you are not ALLOWED or would be judged for this just seems a bit extreme…Most health issues with horses are more due to them being locked up then there nose being clipped…[/QUOTE]
A lot of dressage horses are not allowed out at all for fear that they will incur debilitating or aesthetic injury. Heaven forbid that 2" scar gained whilst having fun with other horses!
Two hours a day means a lot to those horses and is a vast improvement over no time at all. Pity we do not have those type of laws in North America.
Eileen
[QUOTE=Roan;3128867]
A lot of dressage horses are not allowed out at all for fear that they will incur debilitating or aesthetic injury. Heaven forbid that 2" scar gained whilst having fun with other horses!
Two hours a day means a lot to those horses and is a vast improvement over no time at all. Pity we do not have those type of laws in North America.
Eileen[/QUOTE]
Agreed:D not for the laws but for the common sense that horses need to get out,move around and graze…
Very interesting and sometimes humorous thread.
I don’t compete, so I don’t clip faces, jowls, fetlocks or anything. If I were competing, I’d probably clip some of the nose/jowl hair, leave the eyebrows, and trim the ear hair even with the outside of the hair. I do not clip the inside of the ears, don’t believe in it personally, but I’m not going to criticize others for doing.
I do bang the tail and clip a bridle path. Mane pulling? Sometimes.
My non-competitive $.02
When I showed H/J (generally B-rated shows and local circuit) I had a running argument with the trainer.
I’d tell her not to clip Vern’s ears/muzzle/eyelashes and 9 times out of 10 if I wasn’t there she “forgot” to inform the groom and I had a H/J Slick Baldfaced horse :mad:
When I showed independently I’d clean up the goat whiskers under his jaw, do the fold 'n clip on the ears (remove hairs visible outside the fold only) and neaten up the fetlocks. Mane was always neatly pulled & braided (which I paid for, I can’t braid worth Jack) and tail left in a natural brush.
The few times I showed dressage - at lower levels only - I just pulled his mane to a neat length and showed him unbraided.
Never seemed to affect his scores, or at least was not mentioned in judges’ comments.
For clinics I always tried to make sure he was clean & neat (me too) out of respect for the clinician.
I don’t think it harms the horse to be spit-polished & denuded, but Why?
Surely any judge is looking for performance in both disciplines and would overlook a little excess fuzz as long as the horse presented is otherwise clean & shiny.
[QUOTE=2DogsFarm;3129200]
I don’t think it harms the horse to be spit-polished & denuded, but Why?
Surely any judge is looking for performance in both disciplines and would overlook a little excess fuzz as long as the horse presented is otherwise clean & shiny.[/QUOTE]
Because it looks neat and imo looks better… The same reason why most women pluck or wax their eyebrows…
The same reason why most women pluck or wax their eyebrows
Ok this explains a lot. I guess you are stuck in the 70’s.
[QUOTE=egontoast;3129426]
Ok this explains a lot. I guess you are stuck in the 70’s.[/QUOTE]
LOL so you don’t… now that explains alot:)
I dunno about all this “cruel” labeling. Geez. People need to really get out there and see some real cruelty before deciding that clipping some nose hairs is cruel.
I’ve always clipped or otherwise neatened up my horses. I even - gasp - body clip.
They have managed to eke out an existence…somehow…
If folks don’t want to - I don’t give a rip. Seems rather ironic to call it cruel since the countries that have a problem with it don’t mind actually eating the horse; which in the US is an anathema.
Actually, ridgeback, I don’t know anyone who does pluck their eyebrows who is under the age of 70.
I don’t think it is cruel for humans either, JS.
I just think it is unnecessary, and as said throughout this thread, a matter of personal preference.
It’s not significant in the dressage world unless you have a trainer with that background.
[QUOTE=egontoast;3129483]
Actually, ridgeback, I don’t know anyone who does pluck their eyebrows who is under the age of 70.[/QUOTE]
Well Egontoast I know plenty of teenagers that do…I happen to either have mine waxed or threaded…:lol::lol: But I think you are missing the point:winkgrin:
egon - I wasn’t responding directly to you - sorry if that wasn’t clear. It was kind of just a general comment. I just found it odd that anyone would think it was cruel. I could see a case for cruelty with a blind horse or something like that.
You’re right - it really isn’t necessary to clip at all. When my guys are not in work - they go back to looking like something the cat dragged in.
Other than having an itchy spot scratched, horses seem to like being messed with about as much as a toddler having his face washed by his mommy. They tolerate it because they have to - but they really want to go outside and play. 
Don’t make me come over there >: - (
ridgeback & egontoast kiss & make up or I’ll turn this thread around!
FWIW I used to have to tweeze or live with unibrow, but now that I am {ahem} a certain age (Not yet 70!) I seldom need to pluck a stray.
So Aging has some benefits…
Well Egontoast I know plenty of teenagers that do…I happen to either have mine waxed or threaded…
Go figure. I had you pegged much older than that.
What an interesting thread! I don’t have one woman friend who doesn’t pluck or wax. We’re not over 70 either. Maybe it’s a regional thing?
I like a nicely groomed horse. Different strokes and all.
[QUOTE=egontoast;3129545]
Go figure. I had you pegged much older than that.[/QUOTE]
Oh I am older 42 on April 24th… feel free to send me a happy birthday note:lol: I just know a lot of teenagers from horse shows… I often help my trainer friend at the shows and he has a lot of kids that rode with him…
I think it looks tacky. Like jeans with a pressed crease and stilettos.
Just personal preference, again.
If you think tidied up eyebrows are tacky…then you just don’t know anyone who does it well 
When done well, you don’t look at someone and think “omg plucked eyebrows”
Re:horses
It is sort of an interesting anomaly that riders wear tails but the horses can sometimes be rather fuzzy. I suspect that the greatest influence on the whiskered dressage horses of today is the European influence.
[QUOTE=egontoast;3129578]
I think it looks tacky. Like jeans with a pressed crease and stilettos.
Just personal preference, again.:)[/QUOTE]
Hmmmm…interesting… Well some of us don’t want to look like men…I have brook shields eyebrows so I have to wax/thread…
