I, too, would have cried. In all actuality still would!
I had a pony out on lease quite a number of years ago - registered shetland/hackney cross that was trained as a hunter pony. When we showed up at a show, she'd had her lovely coronet band length tail "bobbed" to her hocks - like you would see a western horse in the west in the 60's & 70's (by the 80s, long tails were coming into vogue for western horses,too). This mare, like all of our ponies have, trotted out with her tail carried "gaily", or raised, at the dock - so her tail looked like it was cut at her lower bum cheeks. It was hard to deal with! I was more than a little angry. The woman tried to say that was how the Europeans did it - but she was surprised when I countered that with actual pictures of them - to include ponies. It did eventually grow out, and I realized that I was probably silly for getting angry, but still....
I DID cry as I cut the tails and undercut manes in April and May. But it was SO MUCH EASIER to work with the ponies w/ so much less hair. If I'd had clippers properly working - they'd have all been body clipped as well (then with the sun out we'd have had some major lice kill BUT we'd also have been dealing with sunburn or sheets for some). At least we aren't currently showing or going to events - haven't even had family out on a regular basis, so like I said - MUCH easier to deal with.
But I always catch my breath and get shiny eyed when I see something like that! The worst part is - sometimes that will make the forelock grow bushier/thicker (of course, only on the ones you'd prefer it didn't)!
