Depressing Post About Horses Turned out for the Winter

Here's a depressing post about horses on an island that apparently work all summer long puling carriages, then are turned out for the winter.

http://bree1972.wordpress.com/2010/10/08/do-they-know-1082010/

There are hundreds of these horses and their manes are shaved before they're turned out for the same reason people used to bob horse's tails back in the day - for fashion. The post states the horses will have manes all the same length in the spring and if they don't have manes over winter they can't get burrs in said manes.

These horses are losing two important functions of the mane; protection from the cold (and the sun as horses can get sunburns and even melanoma, especially grey horses) and protection from insects. It's sad.