UGGHH- my horses mane!

[workinggirl]

OK, so I have a draft/tb, and if you've know of any you know what I'm about to post- his mane is driving me crazy! It's thick, it won't lie flat, it's sticks up, it splits in tow. I pull it short, but still it's so crazy. I want to braid for shows but there is so much of it still. And if it's not braided it looks messy, unless I put a mane tamer on it for awhile. I am about to roach it just so he looks clean! UGGHHH! Any suggestions or tips? Thanks for listening!

[scribbles]

braid it over to one side, leave it braided. good luck! and pull every week! eventually it will get more manageable!

[equest]

braid it over to one side, leave it braided. good luck! and pull every week! eventually it will get more manageable!

Agree.

[VandyLover]

I don't have a draft, but my TB/oldenburg's mane used to be thick and unmanageable. Here's what I did:
In an empty spray bottle, mix a little baby oil with water. EVERY SINGLE DAY, sray that on your horse's mane and brush it onto the correct side at least once. Buy one of those sleazy hoods and put it on every night/time period in which your horse is stalled--after you brush it down with the baby oil mixture.

I had to let my horse's mane get relatively long and thick for this (maybe 7 inches), but I pulled it two days ago to a show length of three or four inches and it hasn't budged. However, this takes time, as I've been doing this for a couple months. You have to retrain the growth of the hair.

[Pally]

I had to let my horse's mane get relatively long and thick for this (maybe 7 inches), but I pulled it two days ago to a show length of three or four inches and it hasn't budged.

This makes sense to me, since when you pull, you remove both length and thickness. So you can only take away too much thickness before you lose too much length (or vice versa for too thin manes), in the course of a regular pull. So perhaps the answer is to let it go a little long (hey it is winter, what better time to try) and then start over with a mass pull that takes out a lot of thickness. If he's good about pulling of course ;)....that could backfire otherwise.

That and living in some sort of training braids or hood, whether the mane is long or short.

[VandyLover]

Braids would probably work as well as the hood would, I am just anal retentive about grooming and curly manes drive me up the wall :lol:

[Claire_T52z]

At my barn when a horse's mane is like that, we normally let it grow a little bit longer than it should be for shows and band it about a month before each show. This way it's more to the correct side and the braider, if not yourself, has more to work with. If you braid yourself and seem to be having troubles an idea is to get a braider to braid for you, if you wish to spend the money!

[Midge]

If his mane is thick, most likely his crest is wide and you should be very careful about pulling it too short. Pull a small amount of hair every week. Let it be about six inches long from the right side of the crest. Manes are easy to shorten, but impossible to lengthen.

[workinggirl]

Hmmm, something to think about. I've tried longer, shorter, pulling, thinning shears etc... seems like a lot of work!

[Bolero]

My Holsteiner stallion has a really thick mane and a thick neck... this is a tidy mane nightmare. Here is what has helped me: letting it grow slightly longer (6"-ish), band it constantly (best results after bathing - wet, squeaky clean mane) and pull every other month to thin out without losing a ton of length.

Everyone laughs at the stallion with myriads of "pony tails" but when show day comes, it does lay flat!

[Dakotawyatt]

Roach it! It will look so nice and neat! And the beautiful drafties with the thick, cresty neck pull off the look nicely, in my opinion.:winkgrin: