Should You Clip Your Horse's Whiskers?

I came across an article at www.equisearch.com, where a reader asked an expert a question on clipping off a horse's whiskers; how her horse does not allow her to clip its whiskers. Why would one want to clip off a horse's whiskers anyway??

Why choo need to cut off my whiskers??

A horse may appear to be of no use, but in actuality, horse whiskers transmit valuable information to horses. The eyes of the horse are positioned in a way that everything directly in front of him or below his nose are not covered in his range of vision. So, these whiskers help them to see the objects that are not in his range of vision. For instance, if your horse grazes, he cannot see directly below his nose and what lies on the pasture. Instead, he depends on the whiskers to tell him that something that lies in the pasture, as he feeds, is edible. Whiskers that extend near their eyes can also signal them of any obstacles that cannot be seen on the grass, such as a branch that is poking. Therefore, whiskers are useful for horses to serve as an extension sensors.

Before you go on trimming your horse's whiskers, ask yourself first if such action is extremely necessary. Clipping off whiskers is a common practice but horse owners simply do it for cosmetic purposes. Competitions do not judge if your horse has perfectly-trimmed whiskers. A healthy, shiny coat, through good grooming practices and proper nutrition, is an aspect for judging your horse base on appearance - not the whiskers. If you have normal trips and your horse is perfectly fine, then there is no way that his whiskers will get in the way of his performance and behavior, so there would be no reason to cut it as well.

ADVERTISEMENT: Ulcers in horses can hinder better performance.
 For optimum equine performance, use equine omprazole, AbPrazole.

Some horse owners do clip their horse’s whiskers and most of them would experience extreme reaction from the animal. Who wouldn’t? –you are trimming your horse’s “third eye”. However, extreme resistance to your touch may indicate a certain problem. For instance, a horse could have visual impairment and will solely rely on the whiskers for extra vision, and having the owner clip it off would only mean ridding of his extra sense of vision. Clipping off whiskers under the jaw and having your horse react to it fiercely, could probably mean that he is having oral problems that he tends to become sensitive when you touch that particular area.