Clipping around the eyes

[jegray21]

I have probably a very stupid question and did consider creating a new id name to ask...lol..

Some of the photos in the AMHA magazine shows the horses with the eyelashes clipped. Is this done for halter classes? Does it bother the horse in anyway to not have the eyelashes or is this photo shopped?

Sorry...just had to ask

 

[Sue_C.]

Yes, some people do clip the eyelashes completely off.

It is something that I personally would never do. I myself don't grow proper lashes and know the constant irritation caused by the lack of lashes to protect the eyes from falling dust etc... I would never consider voluntarily putting my horses through what I must live with.

 

[Alex]

Yes, some people do clip the eyelashes completely off.

It is something that I personally would never do. I myself don't grow proper lashes and know the constant irritation caused by the lack of lashes to protect the eyes from falling dust etc... I would never consider voluntarily putting my horses through what I must live with.

I totally agree with you. The more shows I go to and and the more magazines I look at, It seems like almost everyone is on board with this trend. People will tell you that it makes the eye "pop" which, honestly, it DOES. But it is just not something I can put my horses through.

My horse with naturally thin eyelashes has the runniest eyes I have ever seen and they get so irretated and goopy, I couldnt imagine what she'd have to live with if she didn't have them. It's simply wrong IMO.

 

[Sandy B]

Although new to minis, I am not new to show horses or halter horses. We shave the long eyelash whiskers above & below the eye but not the eyelashes themselves. To me that is cruel and something I would never do. Eyelashes are there to protect the eye from debris, dust and insects as well as a warning for a horse to blink if something touches the eye. Shame on anyone who does this.

 

[kaykay]

I do not shave eyelashes unless its by accident. I will say though they do grow back quickly but I would never let one outside with no eye protection if they had theirs taken off. I hate even clipping the inside of the ear as that is also to keep bugs out. Its all too extreme for me. I remember several judges commenting on how they loved tinys white eyelashes when we showed her. I dont think they see eyelashes very often.

I dream someday of having a natural horse show. No razoring, no taking off eyelashes, no makeup just clip with a 10 and thats it LOL A girl can dream right?

I know its getting popular to body clip with 50's etc. I will never do it. I wonder sometimes how this starts where people think horses look better with no hair?

 

[Sue_C.]

I wonder sometimes how this starts where people think horses look better with no hair?

It has been stated many times here on different posts that it is so "the judge can SEE the horse's conformation".

In my opinion, if a judge needs a summer coated miniature clipped to the skin to "see it's conformation" he/she isn't much of a judge.

I clip for the horse's comfort, only in the spring and fall when the coat interferes with colling-out after a work-out, and with a 10 for the body, and a 15 for the finer areas. Thank goodness I don't show sanctioned shows, but if I did, I would stick to this just the same. Perhaps I am just lucky, but my show horse's coats are glieaming, slick, and tight...why would I want to shave them down to a duller baldness, then slime goo on them to make them shine again? Besides, if the horse is deserving of a first placing, the blade size isn't going to change it's conformational correctness.

 

[Minimor]

I dream someday of having a natural horse show. No razoring, no taking off eyelashes, no makeup just clip with a 10 and thats it LOL A girl can dream right?

Doesn't matter if they have such a show or not, that is how I show mine now. Bodies get clipped with a 10...sometimes a 7 and with the hair...I never take off eyelashes and I don't clean the ears out completely, I don't razor and I don't goop up the faces--I hate that entire look and so won't do it. We do okay, and we have some pretty good competition here.

In my opinion, if a judge needs a summer coated miniature clipped to the skin to "see it's conformation" he/she isn't much of a judge.

I completely agree.

 

[kaykay]

We are the same. We body clip with a 10 or 15. But I do clip the inside of the ears as much as I hate it. I did razor for one show this year and she got Jr. Champ and Grand Champion mare. The next show she got 2nd. So I have to wonder if it does make that big of a difference??? I know when we showed at the Illinois area show no one from Illinois razored. They all said they quit except for Nationals. They were adamant that a rule will go thru this year similiar to the Shetland rule of no razoring above the nostrils. We use very little gel or makeup. I think we do pretty good most of the time

But I do have a ton of people tell me I should razor.

 

[Leeana]

I know its getting popular to body clip with 50's etc. I will never do it. I wonder sometimes how this starts where people think horses look better with no hair?

I've never seen a horse full body clipped with a 50??? I use a 50 on parts of the face and prior to razoring and am sure I would notice if we had a "naked" horse walking around here in area II..

I never take off eyelashes, however, have done so several times when clipping a jumpy horse and took them off by accident.

All of my horses have eyelashes, if they are at the shows or standing here at home..

 

[Annabellarose]

I just bought a gelding that I would like to show and he has very light flax (almost white) eyelashes. He has a dark face and dark eyes and the eyelashes are really, really obvious, even from quite a distance away from him. I won't shave them when the time comes (they're "purdy"

).

 

[~Lisa~]

I am not sure I have ever seen a horse done whole body in a 50 as well

I honestly am not that dedicated to winning- my horses have done ok for themselves almost all have at least top tens at the National level. That said even when showing they are out all day - stalled at night

Somedays I envy those that are very dedicated and work hard daily for the wins they get and that includes grooming. I guess I am just to lazy - in my head I think I can do all of those things but I never get around to it lol

I do not think it is cruel or abusive in any way. I do not think those that do love their horses any less then I do in fact clipping properly and doing a good job is truly an art and I.... am no artist LOL

 

[Relic]

OMG l would love to see a mini thats been body clipped with a #50 to see what they look like ...

oink oink

 

[kaykay]

Sorry my bad I meant 30. Sometimes I type too fast for my own good LOL Although someone did tell me once that they have done body clips in a 40. I have been told several times that 30's are common especially at Nationals. Again to me its not attractive but thats just me

 

[disneyhorse]

Yes, some TOP trainers do body clip with 30's, this is not uncommon at the National level and I have seen MANY of these horses going into the Grand classes and they are NICE halter horses of course, so no matter how they are clipped, they are beautiful animals! They have sweats and blankets on and honestly the hair at Nationals grows SO fast because the winter coat is coming in, so that is why I am sure they do it. I have seen these trainers locally, and usually they clip with 15s that I can tell during the summer months when the hair stays shorter.

Not saying that I would ever clip with a 30, but that's what I have observed.

As to clipping off the eyelashes, I don't do it but I'm not sure I think it's the worst abuse a horse could endure. Hair grows back.

It would be hard to "police" clipping of eyelashes, as there is a lot of clipping that goes on around the face and not all horses are great. I have accidentally taken off parts of eyelashes MANY times.

When it all comes down to it, I don't think a judge is going to pick or not pick a horse because it has eyelashes shaved off. So it's simply a grooming preference.

Andrea

 

[jegray21]

Thank you all for a very good discussion! It has helped me a lot with learning the clipping blades etc. My first show with my minis I clipped with a 10 blade and did not razor and was very surprised how many people noticed! They were yearlings and I was terrified to slip and cut them.

What goo do you use on the face? They like that the eyes are gooded and the muzzle..

 

[disneyhorse]

Baby oil gel is good to use on the eyes and muzzle.

I do like the ... I believe the product is "Silverado Shine"... it smells nice and has sunscreen added. The baby oil gel is good, but they can burn if you are not in stalls. The products marketed specifically for horses may be more likely to contain sunscreen.

I don't razor my horses. i just clip with a 40 or 50 blade on the muzzle and above the eyes.

Andrea

 

[Minimor]

Quic Shade is nice--shines well, contains sunscreen and has very little smell to it.

I used the Silverado stuff the one year & it stunk so bad that I felt mean putting it on the horses, plus my eyes were burning every time I was near the horses. The day after the show I had such an allergy attack--my eyes were so puffy I could hardly see, and there was even some puffiness along the sides of my nose and some on my cheeks--it had to be the Silverado that did it, as that was the only different thing I'd been exposed to. I threw the rest of it into the garbage--I wasn't going to have a reaction like that again, and was actually afraid that if it did that to me there was a real possibility that some horse or other would turn out to be allergic to it too--and I sure didn't need a horse getting all puffed up from some stupid shine gel.

 

[afoulk]

The 15 blade is my blade of choice on the body. I also use a variety of other blades on the head. I really feel that that grooming of the horse for show should be left up to the exhibitor on clipping. The rulebooks states that you may show in full coat so if that is your choice then that is what needs to be done. The folks that are clipping short are blanketing and I am sure they are taking care of the additional needs of a horse that is clipped short. It can be very time consuming and if the person showing is not willing to take the extra precautions and time to care for the animal then don't do it. We are lucky to have choices and I would hate to see rules in place that take that option away. Do what you are comfortable with for your horse. I have seen many full coated horses win classes but it also takes alot of time to keep a full coat in show condition. Good luck with whatever decision that you make.

Arlene