Personally, I love the look of a banged tail. Also full whiskers here too, have been for years after watching my horse bang her nose multiple times trying to find her hay.
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If whiskers are sensory it seems the removal when the horse is very young would have a greater impact. I remember reading an article many years ago about neurological impact on kittens if they didnāt have whiskers. Like, their brains developed differently without whiskers. Iāll try to find it. I donāt know if that is where all of this discussion started, but it makes some sense that it is maybe misunderstood. removal impacts the horse if done as a foal, but probably once it is grown (with whiskers) removal doesnāt impact neurological development.
Iāll see if I can find that article.
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Then there would be lots of neurological horses since they are usually trimmed up nicely to be shown on the line at breed shows as babies.
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Itās a fine rule however; seems to me, the FEI should be more proactive in enforcing existing horse welfare rules; before adding new ones?
One particular FEI Event rider and a lovely mare with a history of visibly bloody mouth, wearing too tight nosebands, comes to mind.
Reminds me of public welfare mandates that are not enforced then more mandates are addedā¦ so nothing really changes.
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Iām not going to say there are NO studies, but I couldnāt find any through Web of Knowledge. I tried a few minutes of searching different terms and didnāt find anything close.
Iāll also echo the poster that said there are studies out there on basically everything, so thatās actually a little surprising. TBH, most of what is published these days is pretty minor. You donāt need major funding for an experiment like this. You need someone with some time and access to a few horses, and maybe some IRB approval. Although a lot of the minor publishing comes from other countries, where thatās not an issue. These days itās pretty common to have undergrad students do a project as part of a class or independent study and have the results published in a Journal of Little Consequence. Itās good experience.
Iām certainly not offended by the rule, and donāt see the harm in leaving whiskers alone, unless they are specifically causing an issue in a particular case.
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Holy crap thatās a lot of hardware! Also, way too close to his/her eye. wow. Throat latch looks like a choke latchā¦ OK Iām done. Closing that pic. I canāt.
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Iām just disappointed so many are upset about the rule when itās clear we donāt know really have concrete evidence one way or the other. Whisker clipping seems like the opposite of the old ācanāt hurt might helpā mentalityā¦ itās ācould very well hurt and doesnāt help anything at all whatsoever.ā
In the absence of specific, peer reviewed evidence we donāt just throw our hands up in the air and ignore the argument all together. I really like what Sue Mcdonnell, equine behaviorist at UPenn had to say:
āFirst off, while I donāt know of research data specifically in the horse, plenty of data in other species indicates a significant portion of the brain devoted to processing information from facial vibrissae, which correlates with importance of these specialized sensory organs. Until their function, and the effects of cutting them off, are fully understood, alteration for cosmetic purposes is not consistent with humane and respectful animal care.ā
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You donāt get to make a rule on an international level because thereās no studies one way or the other. I bet thereās lots of rules I can make up with no scientific backing because it seems like lots of horses donāt like it.
Blanketing, body clipping, shoeing, slow feed devicesā¦ the list goes on.
With clear and blatant abuses going on, they went this route.
And yeah, whisker clipping might help. Remember there are NO clarifications as to whether or not shortening of the whiskers is ok. With a 6" (measured) eye lash whisker, my mare got eye irritation from a fly mask pushing that whisker into her eye. My other mare is violently opposed to having her whiskers pinned under bridlework. Never have I ever seen a horse worse off than they were before their whiskers - a clumsy careless horse will be just that with or without 2" of protection around their muzzle. My horses know where their food is at, and outside of being fussy jerks, every morsel of it is edible. They donāt need to sift it, or get rocks out of it.
They arenāt studying it because there is no proof, and they know it. This is a PR stunt.
But Iāll just sit here and watch dressage riders cram their horseās head into their chests in warm up doing some āLDRā work, and thatās totally legal. Yeah! Horse welfare!
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Well actually you do when you are a veterinarian that is part of the FEI veterinary committee. You are not, so that would be why they can make those rules and you cannot.
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Iām also someone who wants peer reviewed studies before I go off making international rules.
I know I know, what a horse abuser I am.
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I mean, are you serious? Do you realize how many things you do to your horse on a daily basis that given the choice, they would opt out of?
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Yea I am serious. And the things that I do with my horse that she would āopt out ofā are for her health and safety not for superficial cosmetic reasons.
For example when the vet was out last week, my horse would have absolutely opted out of the dental exam if given the choice. But obviously, she needs that so she can be happy and healthy.
Whisker clipping does nothing for the horseās health or safety whisker clipping is purely because we like how it looks.
Personally if Iām going to put my animal in a position where I know she really wonāt like something, Iām going to be sure thereās a valid reason. Appearances arenāt a valid reason.
Iām really not sure how to explain that you are supposed to care about your horseās wellbeing.
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Yeah, and neither does riding. We do it for us.
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Actually, I gave you multiple examples of why I clip my horses that have NOTHING to do with looks and everything to do with ensuring their comfort and safety.
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Iāve searched, multiple times, over the past ten years. Iāve had multiple students search and then abandon the topic as a class assignment/presentation because they couldnāt find any studies, either. So my conclusion is that there isnāt any research out there to support the claim that clipping a horseās whiskers is in any way harmful. I would be very interested if someone else is able to dig up the information.
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If your horse is finds you riding him that unenjoyable you should probably work on that.
Now be sure to do some stretching so you donāt injure yourself from all these mental gymnastics.
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If you think your horse wants to be ridden, I want some of what youāre smoking. 
Edit: Let me remind you, you said āwhisker clipping does nothing for the health or safety of horsesā
Neither does riding. We put them at more risk, actually, asking them to perform athletic endeavours for nothing but our personal gain.
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I [quote=āMontanas_Girl, post:74, topic:752840ā]
Actually, I gave you multiple examples of why I clip my horses that have NOTHING to do with looks and everything to do with ensuring their comfort and safety.
[/quote]
I ignored that story because itās pretty apparent the confirmation bias is too strong with you if you really think a fly got stuck in your horses unclipped wars because he was unclipped and not because the hair is supposed to keep them from getting in the inner ear.
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I personally can draw a line between riding a horse clipping whiskers for a look. I donāt know what to tell you if youāre having trouble seeing the difference. I suppose I shouldnāt be shocked though. I have seen your take on some other issues on this board and empathy is just not your thing.
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Likewise.
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