I recently returned from a very successful teaching clinic in Germany for Saddlefit 4 Life® and had the opportunity to once again work with some excellent equine ergonomists and some stunning horses. What I found really interesting is the amount of animal welfare concerns that have become the basis for some mainstream changes in law for various governing bodies. Beginning with the equivalent of the Kennel Club, where it is against the law to dock any breed’s tails or clip their ears. Mind you – it is strange seeing a Rottweiler with a long tail or a Doberman with floppy ears and a long tail – but without a doubt it is a much more humane practice. I think these restrictions are slowly gaining favour in North America as well. So how does this relate to horses?
Well, for one thing, it is against the laws of the FN to clip horse whiskers (any facial hair for that matter). It is sometimes really noticeable how hairy the horses are, but even more so in contrast to what we generally see at North American competitions. (Somewhat off on a tangent; it is also more prevalent in North America to generally be against ‘hairiness’ in general – women in particular need to ensure that their armpits, their legs, etc. are smooth and hairless; even men now get waxed as the younger generation is even more against being hairy. In Europe there are still women who don’t shave – anywhere!)
And then I had my staff start doing some homework by checking out conversations around horse grooming on various equine chat rooms. Read the full article here.
~ Jochen Schleese CMS, CSFT, CSE, courtesy of Saddlefit 4 Life
