Trim whiskers or no?

[SarahandSam]

I normally don’t trim my horse’s muzzle whiskers. However, with the bridle he’s got right now (the Collegiate Comfitec), the flash part always seems to catch his whiskers when I’m putting it on–I try to go slow and be careful, but there’s always a whisker or two that gets caught when I do the keepers.

I’m debating whether it would be better to shave off the whiskers just underneath his chin up toward his lips, the ones that are always getting pinched… losing a little bit of whisker guidance seems less annoying than having your whiskers get pinched a lot, I imagine. But I’m not sure a) if that’s true, b) if it’ll look weird to have only part of his whiskers shaved (we have regionals next week so I’d like him to not look feral), and c) if that’s going to be annoying in other ways when they start growing back in–the flash pressing on stubble, etc.

He’s currently on daytime turnout and stalled at night, if that helps. He has had whiskers clipped entirely before when we did hunters, and he seemed fine with it, but I’d rather not trim them if we don’t have to unless it seems like it would be better to do so.

[CanteringCarrot]

It’s illegal to clip whiskers here, so I don’t. I also feel like one of the last things someone notices during your dressage test is your horse’s unclipped whiskers :winkgrin: If I was in your predicament, I’d consider trimming the ones that are interfering with the bridle if it appears to be more comfortable for the horse. I’ve never had that issue before though.

[ThreeFigs]

I don’t trim whiskers, either, and I’m here in the USA. However, I see no problem with trimming the problem whiskers. If it’s just a couple of whiskers, no one will notice, not even the horse I think.

[merrygoround]

If you’ve ever watched a horse check out a fence to see if the were was hot. you’d realize that whiskers are a horse’s Distant Early Warning mechanism.

Ear hair, whiskers, and eye lashes serve a purpose.

[EVneo]

My horse had a hair that did that because of where the Micklem’s keepers are - I snipped that one hair and he lived to tell the tale. The rest of his whiskers are free to fly.

[Fillabeana]

Yeah I think you should trim those few hairs that get pinched.

I would trim them but not all the way flush to the skin, just so they don’t get caught in his bridle.

I trim the vibrissae on my Paint mare’s eyes. They get super long and get caught in the halter or bridle cheeks. I shorten them to four inches or so. They get crazy long and bother her otherwise. But I definitely leave her with vibrissae of an effective length.

[SarahandSam]

Thanks all! I think I’ll just trim up those few hairs, I’m glad to know other people have dealt with the same issue similarly.

[KyrieNZ]

It is illegal to trim whiskers here (New Zealand). My horses live out 24/7 and they’ve never had a problem. I’ve always thought if you have a flash strap, or a curb chain though, it would be more comfortable to NOT have whiskers that could potentially get caught / pinch?

[XXS]

It is illegal to trim whiskers here in Austria. Lately I cut one eyelash a bit because it curled into the eye, but this is the maximum I do.

[meupatdoes]

It would also be illegal in Saudi Arabia for OP to ride or do sports without her guardian’s permission, but OP doesn’t live in Saudi Arabia, she lives in the United States.