The horse’s mouth blog: why do horses have moustaches?

By an expert (Reggie)

Well it’s my turn again, and this time I thought you might enjoy a funny video of me and my famous moustache. But as this blog tries to tell you something you might not know about horses, this one’s all about moustaches.

The simple answer to this question is that some breeds of horse have them (including cobs like me), and some just have the right genes. The hairier the horse (mane, tail, feathers on the legs), the more likely they are to also have a moustache. And it does serve a practical purpose, helping us to collect more information about our environment. Think of it as a hairy sixth sense. We appreciate having it groomed and trimmed as hygiene is important to us too, but moustaches are there for a reason and shouldn’t generally be removed.

Here I am with Eliza who is feeding me treats. Every so often the moustache gets trimmed just a little or I’d be tripping up over it, but at the moment it’s pretty long, and I’m told that it tickles? So I like to flap it around to make the humans laugh. As you can see, it’s working pretty well here.

I’ll definitely be proudly sporting my ’tache again this Movember.

Our ponies are the true heroes of Park Lane Stables! They give so much so happily, and we make sure they receive the very best care that we can give them. Caring for 25 horses is scarily costly, and paid for exclusively through donations and fundraising. If you’d like to thank our ponies with a bale of hay or a tasty salt lick, just head to our Donate page. Every single donation helps to fill the feed store.