Does mane pulling a horses mane hurt the horse?
Horses have many nerve receptors for pain, called nociceptors, in the skin housing the follicles of the mane, and it can definitely cause pain when you pull the hairs out, just as it does when you pull your own hair out. There is no evidence I know of that confirms horses having a higher pain tolerance than humans, but we do know they are stoic about masking it because they are both herd and prey animals and must mask their pain so as not to appear weak. In fact they may experience heightened pain sensitivity since pain sensitivity is a protective mechanism needed for survival. The trick is to pull only a few hairs at a time, and not try to do more than a small section in one session. I usually spread it out over several days. Also, the hairs may release more easily right after the horse is exercised. Here is a short article on it………….. http://www.alphahorse.com/mane-pulling.h… Add…..of course the mane i
