Roached Manes

[nickers]

I know Pat mentioned in a recent post about roaching her ponies' manes, so thought I'd throw out a question. I'm considering doing the same with my driving pony's nasty mane. I'm wondering how long it would take to grow out to a braidable length if I should absolutely hate it? Or will I be stuck for the whole show season and be forced to wait until next winter to let it grow out?

[Ashemont]

You'd be stuck with it for awhile... probably the whole show season. But I must say I LOVE having my ponies manes roached. I've gotten tons of compliments on how neat/tough/sharp/etc. they look ;)

[Kota]

Well, it depends on how fast your pony's mane grows! I roach my Belgian, but her mane grows out incredibly fast. I last roached in november, its a good 8" long now.

[Thomas_1]

Usually about a year.

I really hate the look of hogged manes on ponies. For the likes of showing classes here it would be considered VERY wrong to hog a pony's mane

(Hogging is what we call roaching over here.)

[MandyWing]

I show with the sportcob roach which is a modified clip. I don't roach it all the way to the skin, i leave about 1-2 inches like a fjord only shorter. They look very sporty and always look neat. I leave the forelocks long. I started this in 2005 when i started showing pairs and I just couldnt bear the thought of braiding. Plus my guys are half brothers and are welsh arab cross. One got the shaggy welsh mane and the other has the arab mane so they didn't really match AND one rubbed half his mane out with sweet itch AND the other one had a tiny scrawny neck so...as you can see, it hides a multitude of problems. I have shown this way in pleasure and combined driving with all my horses since 2005 and have only had positive comments from judges and spectators. Granted...i don't know what they are saying behind my back :) After about 2 months i have to reclip them as it starts to fall over and you can braid it then. Sterling roached his warmblood pretty short, like 1 inch in November for Katydid and then it grew out long enough to braid by the end of January for the CAA conference.

I say go for it ! it will grow back, if you don't like it.

[Ashemont]

Good to hear that Wendy. I was a little concerned that you'd be upset with me for having roached Mollie's mane.... although I did let it grow as much as possible before Sterling picked her up ;)

Old arthritic/PPS hands cannot braid. I can't afford to pay to have it done all of the time and my ponies are MUCH happier NOT being braided. Maggie will rub her whole mane out! Roaching works fine for us. We're only doing CDEs (I sold ALL of our carriages suitable for pleasure shows so now I can't do that :D ) but it's nice to know it would be OK there too. :)

[UnderTheSonWelshCobs]

Is braiding mandatory?

I never met a pony that took a year to grow in mane. Around here I'm doing bridle paths constantly because they grow so long in such a short time. I wear out clippers just trying to keep up.

Tails here are outrageous as well. I'm constantly banging up tails so they don't step on them.

[goodhors]

Braiding is not mandatory, traditionally is incorrect for driven horses, except Hackney's in the show ring.

However you do see many horses braided in CDE stuff, shows off the pretty neck you are building with correct Dressage. Less flutter if hair is tied down, does not distract the eye. You see this with banding short manes in Western ridden horses. Manes can't rise and fall in movement. Just hang there, flat on the neck. No Cowboy ever tied his horse mane down! Maybe cut it off if he got his reins tangled in it!! Banding is a recent invention in showing.

I understand it is "expected" to see advanced horses with braided manes, but have not seen a rule on braiding written anyplace. Hunt folks coming into driving try to do braided tails too. Traditionally, a braided tail is very wrong on a Driven horse in a show. He is not a Hunt horse, he is a Driving horse at this time. Exception would be a Sporting Tandem, fully braided Leader with saddle on.

Personally, I think the braiding got going big, when someone with lots of time on their hands at a CDE, did up their horse. Does look nice, maybe they placed well, so they got copied! Mushroomed from there. Braiding to show, legend got started.

I don't know how much you could, or even would. lose in points. Probably would not matter a great deal, braided or not. Just braiding is a wrong look, on the Traditional driving turnout. Hackney's excepted.

Along with that, is the older, Traditional driving folks are aging out. People now in Driving, often don't know correct look because they have seen mostly incorrect Turnouts on CDE and pleasure driven horses. They have not got the driving education, to know where or why, certain features were done on Turnout of vehicles.

CDE is getting far away from Traditional, in what is known and allowed with the Driving horses being presented. But CDE is the most visible of Driving, so the braiding continues!

I actually band the manes on our horses, for casual Pleasure showing and CDE. If we were at bigger venues, I probably would get up early, do the braiding. With four, I can band everyone in about an hour and a half. Very neat and presentable with short, flat manes all on the same side. Actually invisible to the Judges we used to see at Presentation, standing. Braiding neatly, takes longer as I get older, stiff fingers I guess. As the main Hired Help, I have many other, more important things to be doing, times four, as we prepare to depart for Dressage.

One horse braided, piece of cake, timewise. My small son was watching me wrap legs on his Pony Club horse to go home. He was not trusted to wrap her well yet. A by-stander remarked at how fast I could get the legs wrapped. Son said that "Just one horse was nothing, they should see Mom wrap 16 legs when we took all the horses! Just a blur!!" We all laughed at that one.

[Thomas_1]

Is braiding mandatory?.
Note: We call it plaiting.

Absolutely it isn't for a driving horse. Indeed its considered Incorrect.

Exceptions here are hackneys and driven morgans shown in American harness which have "lattice plaiting"

Ponies are native breeds and it's always considered incorrect here to plait those.

It's been creeping into driven pleasure show classes in the past couple of years. It's not really seen in HDT's other than occasionally with novices at the lower levels.

Around here I'm doing bridle paths constantly because they grow so long in such a short time. I wear out clippers just trying to keep up. Mine have bridle paths trimmed out about every 4 weeks and to ensure the bridle maintains it's correct fit.

Tails here are outrageous as well. I'm constantly banging up tails so they don't step on them The tail here should be trimmed neatly to about the height of the proximal sesamoid at the fetlock. It's considered wrong to plait driving horse's tails.

[Tamara in TN]

I show with the sportcob roach which is a modified clip. I say go for it ! it will grow back, if you don't like it.

hey we got an name for it now ???? :lol: I'd rather roach than not....easier on everyone....

best

[UnderTheSonWelshCobs]

I KNEW I loved driving. I HATE braiding (plaiting or whatever anyone wishes to call it). Nothing but an added worry show day and a major pain in the tail. WOOHOO I never have to do it again.

I have some horses I love long maned and others I like pulled. For example.. Comet wears a shoulder length mane beautifully but Louie looks better pulled some.

Many of mine are left long just because I simply can't maintain 16 manes at all times. I do bridle paths as needed but it's more frequently than four weeks. they grow way faster than that.

I bang tails only high enough so they can't step on them. I don't like them too high it looks really weird to me.

I no longer shave muzzles. I do clip up under the jawline just to show how nice the head is and I never do eye whiskers. I quit doing muzzles ages ago. Honestly once you get used to it you don't even notice it in photos anymore. I figure God gave em muzzle whiskers to help keep them out of trouble so why should I shave em off.

Ears too. I don't shave them I just trim the old grandpa hairs that stick out. The more simple I keep it the more fun I have. And.. this is all about the fun isn't it?

[Thomas_1]

For a driving horse it's pretty much functionally essential to trim off eye whiskers.

Otherwise the blinker is likely to fold it back to poke the horse in the eye.

Its one of the reasons driving horses become head shy/bridle shy.

[LostFarmer]

I have some I roach and some I leave long. I like the roach best of all. Shave the mane and get it out of the way. On the little ponies I leave a spot at the bottom of the mane for the kids to climb on and off with bareback. Besides I think the little grays look more like mini percherons when they are roached. LF

[UnderTheSonWelshCobs]

I've been driving for 14 or so years and I've never had an eye whisker blinker problem. Not a head shy horse or pony in the bunch. BUT I do open my blinkers as wide as I can. I hate closed in blinkers. I actually would throw them all in Kant See Backs if I could. I just can't find any for minis or small ponies.

[49'er]

I scribed for dressage last week at a HDT. It looked like any horse that came in that was not braided lost one presentation point at the end in the collective remarks. I do not remember any entries coming in roached. This particular judge also gave a marathon vehicle an automatic 7. Interesting because I know other judges who do not judge this way. They know how hard it is to get a marathon vehicle in great looking shape. :)

[KellyS]

Well, I roached New Pony's mane this morning. I've been trying, without great success, to pull it and train it all to one side. It has a schizo personality and I finally decided that roaching and (hopefully) taming it as it came back in might work best. :)

I LOFF the look of braids, and thinks it just looks lovely when it is done right. I've made a lot of extra spending money braiding horses over the years and switch between buttons and hunter braids. Perhaps it's not traditional, but it sure does show off a nice neck. :yes:

I try to stay practical with grooming...
- Manes are kept pulled so as not to interfer with reins when riding. Plus, it makes them quite easy to braid when needed.
- Whiskers are kept clipped, especially with horses that wear a figure-8 or flash noseband.
- Eye whiskers are clipped just short enough to not interfer with blinkers--Thomas is quite right about how easily they can poke a horse in the eye if they are too long.
- Bridle paths just make life plain easier when bridling. :)
- When horses/ponies are in regular work, lower legs are kept clipped; much easier to dry them and prevent crud when hair is short.
- Tails are banged about mid cannon--keeps them from getting stepped on, especially when a horse drops their haunches to back up under saddle or with a carriage.


I try to have a "beauty parlor" day in the barn every 2 weeks or so. The boys certainly seem to enjoy it. The only one that gets nothing but brushing--the mini donk. :D

[MaresNest]

I'm wondering how long it would take to grow out to a braidable length if I should absolutely hate it? Or will I be stuck for the whole show season and be forced to wait until next winter to let it grow out?

I have 2 horses who have super thick Shetland pony-like manes. I roach them once a year, in May or June. (Here in SC, we don't show much - if at all - in the summer.) By November (when the shows start back), their manes are a perfect braidable length again.

BUT your mileage may vary.

[pricestory]

I tried everything with my pony before I roached. The rule book actually says (or at least used to) that you were to show to breed standard. For my Morgan, that means long. Which was unbelieveably ugly had hid her beautiful neck. She looked great pulled and braided but these old fingers couldn't do it anymore and who has $$$ to pay for braiding. So the last time I got a presentation comment that her braids could be tighter, I roached her and have never looked back. I like about 6 weeks growth. I curve it from the bridle path to where the neck strap comes, in a graceful arch. I've only had positive comments and will never go back.

[KellyS]

Here's New Pony sporting his new "do." :)

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=376712&l=72de5&id=1059684218

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=376717&l=5c880&id=1059684218

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=376719&l=a081f&id=1059684218

[Drive 1 Two]

I scribed for dressage last week at a HDT. It looked like any horse that came in that was not braided lost one presentation point at the end in the collective remarks. I do not remember any entries coming in roached. This particular judge also gave a marathon vehicle an automatic 7. Interesting because I know other judges who do not judge this way. They know how hard it is to get a marathon vehicle in great looking shape. :)

If that was at Black Prong I know which judge you were scribing for!!! The other 2 gave us 10 on presentation and that judge gave us a 7...We were in a marathon vehicle! Plus we were braided!