I thought about that too. If it adds an enhanced sensory element as @drop_shot claims that would be uncomfortable too. I also clip the eye ones 
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Ok, so definitely not disagreeing in most cases, most horses don’t like it and I can see why. That said… MY horse absolutely LOVES it. As in will happily lean into it, and eventually his head drops, lip droops, and he basically goes to sleep. Similar to what he does when I curry him. He is a very itchy horse who loves a good rub, currying is his FAVORITE, and he loves being body clipped too. He is definitely a weirdo, and his behavior is not indicative of “normal” horses.
That said, I rarely pull. It’s a lot of work, I always end up with hair on me, and I can get the same results using scissors. Fortunately, my horses don’t have thick manes.
@Pokerface One of my ponies is the same!! He falls asleep when I pull his mane, leans into me and is super relaxed. Its uncanny! But my other 4 ponies are like hell no. So I use a thinning rake (I flip the mane over to the other side and rake near the crest of the neck). They all love this and I just flip the mane back over to the right side, comb out all the loose hairs and it braids super well. The pulled mane is better to braid of course, but the thinned ones braid up quite nicely as well.
The did pass a rule in Canada the past year that whiskers and ear hairs are not allowed to be trimmed for Welsh ponies. So I didn’t do it of course (did the underside of the jaw and legs as I have half welsh) and when I went to a driving show, I was dinged on turnout for it. I explained why I did not trim whiskers and ear hair and I was told I could have still trimmed and had enough time for it to grow back for my welsh shows (he asked me first when my next welsh show was). I was quite surprised at his response, but it didn’t bother me nor will it change my mind or trimming “schedule”. I must say I do like the look of trimmed whiskers and ears, but a rule is a rule and I can especially see this for ear hairs. I do turn my guys out for most of the day during the summer and winter and always felt bad about cleaning out the ears (my guys will not keep fly masks on with ears!).
I did this as well. They would get super long on one of my horses that they would get caught in his bridle or halter. I don’t see how that was comfortable! I commit the ultimate sin and just trim both horse’s manes with…scissors 
when needed. Takes less than 5 min. Neither has thick manes so looks fine. The bowl cut look disappears in a couple days.
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I cut with scissors and my horses manes look very good. All good european showjumping grooms do this. It’s so funny to me the “American standard” we have here (most for hunters) is outdated and just because people don’t know how to cut a lane properly doesn’t mean it can’t look amazing. You just have to learn how. I started out doing it on retired horses for practice.
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For the love of Moses stop comparing cat whiskers to horse whiskers. In cats, the size generally corresponds to the size of the cat (width of its body). Example- Maine coon whiskers have know to be up to 6 inches , those hairless cats have tiny curly ones. The whiskers in cats are connected to a muscle sling, that allows cats to move them independently.
Clip, don’t clip- whatever- but the cat comparison doesn’t hold water and is so drama-esque. 
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There is some science suggesting that the whiskers are a vital part of equine anatomy. That’s why the fei banned shaving them.
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That’s amazing.
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I had a horse who would strike at you if you tried to clip his whiskers. I could do his jaw and ears just fine (he liked wearing ear plugs so got ears trimmed enough I didn’t pull his hair putting in and removing plugs). And my current European horses also give me a horrified look even when I just tidy up the super duper long ones. Including the horse I can full body clip loose with no halter. So that has made me think twice about the whisker trimming.
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I have 3 currently that literally shove their face and muzzles into the clippers and twitch their little lips happily. Weirdos. I am def not tryingto convince people who don’t trim to trim- just sharing. Mine currently are all feral looking
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I am coming to the conclusion that whisker trimming is/should be a case-by-case basis thing.
We always did it and I was delighted to see someone upthread mention shaving cream and people razors because, yes, I did that, too. I never knew a horse that seemed to be affected by it but if I did, these days, I think I would clip or not clip accordingly.
My trainer looked somewhat horrified when I asked about clipping prior to my first show back in decades – it’s not a hunter-hunter barn – so I’ve been avidly reading up on the topic. I’m suspecting some of this barn’s horses may be losing theirs from getting caught or tangled because no one’s got freak Rip Van Winkle whiskers for muzzles not being clipped or even shortened a bit. If that’s the case, it may be telling.
Most horses just don’t have ridiculous whiskers. Some do. Some have quite the hirsute display but they’re really well camouflaged by the horse’s colour.
The last ones are the most hilarious when worked in cold whisker frost-inducing conditions! Where did all those whiskers come from! 
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Trimming whiskers is a point that I stand firmly on - You do you, I will do me.
I personally can not imagine how annoying it would be to have their eye whiskers rubbing on a fly mask all day. If you are the type that thinks those whiskers are super sensitive life saving things I assume you leave your horse with out a fly mask.
My horse has almost no whiskers on her muzzle because she eats out of hay net. She is a weird horse too because if given hay from the same bale, some on the ground and some in the hay net, she likes eating from the hay net. So clearly those worn down whiskers are not causing her too much stress.
You do you. Go shaggy and be proud of it. Trim everything tidy and be proud of that.
And to clarify, I do not trim my horse’s whiskers at all. She will not leave a fly mask on so I see no reason to trim the whiskers there, and she keeps the whiskers on her muzzle short herself. Her ears stay pretty tidy on their own.
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I love this and am all about live and let trim (or not).
I start to feel resistant when “but the science…” becomes like a game of telephone. Which also reminds me of the long-running arguments over the extent to which wearing your hair up compromises the effectiveness of your helmet.
People draw logical conclusions, that may be supported by studies of other things, which then become The Science Says. The implication – that becomes a fact to some – is that this specific scenario or thing has been studied when it has not.
Tell me what science may suggest but don’t tell me it’s a fact without a dedicated study to go with it.
This is why I’m really fascinated by the cat comparison debunked upthread. And I’ve been staring at my cats’ whisker-width in relation to their body size all day, every day
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Thank the lord that horse whiskers aren’t as wide as the horse!
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