[MyBelgianAzzy]

Grooma makes a pulling blade... it looks like the mane is pulled IF you do it right and you take your time.

[gaelinsgirl]

Like someone else suggested - you could shave out half the mane - but I would do it from the underside so that the hair lays over the top of the shaved strip and doesn't show. But you'll have to clip once a week to keep it tidy, otherwise the regrowth will poke through his remaining mane.
One trick I learned from someone is to use scissors, but what you do is take a comb and tease the hair up towards the roots until you are left with just the longest strands, and then you just cut them off abit shorter than the length you want the finished mane to be. Then you brush out the tangled back combed bit and carry on up the mane. You can do this over and over until you have the desired length and thickness.(and it looks like a pulled mane - not like one you cut with scissors.) The only problem with your horse is that combing out the tangles after each cut might annoy him too.

[harli36]

Here is a post that I made before that I'm just copying and pasting.

"First do all the steps that you would normally do to traditionally pull the mane. Grab a few of the longest hairs from underneath the mane and back comb them up towards the crest. You should only have a few hairs (no more then 10 ) left in your fingers. This is where when you were traditionally pulling the mane you would rip the hairs out of their neck. Instead of doing that take a pair of scissors and as close as you can to the root of the hair cut the couple of hairs. Like this....



I was using thinning sheers here but you can use regular scissors. If you "pull" the mane this way it will look exactly like a regular pulling job that has had a month or so to grow out. There is no pain to it, it thins and shortens the mane and it won't mess up your braiding results at all.

One very important point though if your doing this or using a solo comb DO NOT cut the hairs at the bottom of the mane. It MUST be as close to the crest as possible or else you will either get unnatural looking results or you will get stragely hairs that will make a braiding job tend to look frizzley.

A solo comb is a little easier to maneuver then using the scissors and comb but IMO it's not worth the $30 for this small convenience."

I can't recommend this process enough, it thins as well as shortens and I have never had any problems doing this with braiding. No one can tell the difference.

I would highly urge you to NOT shave the underside of the horses mane. I made the mistake of doing that once on a horse who had a big thick double mane and once it's done your tied to doing it forever because as it grows out it looks HORRID.

[I Love BODIE!]

Thanks everyone for their replies! We have tried twitching and it has little effect. I'm going to look at the solocomb/scissors thing and *cross my fingers* hopefully it will work!

[thor<3]

I just cut my horses hair with plain hair scissors.



It turned out nicely, and I can still braid it for dressage. His mane is thick and wavy, so trimming it is the best way to keep it looking nice.

He also hates when we pull his mane so we had to resort to this, but it worked. Just put a little of the work into each grooming session so it doesn't grow all the time.

Hope this helped =]

[sarahhowen]

Hi, Overhear in the Uk you can buy a thinning comb which is a simple way to get the same result of pulling the mane but without actually pulling it!
Take a look at the attached link and it will show you an image of the comb, also you can click on the more info tab which tells you more about it and what it does.

I to have a TB who hates having her mane combed (she is a wimp though!) I find that this comb is great and it takes the stress out of pulling it. Another handy tip when pulling a mane is to do it directly after exercise as this is when the pores are open and it is less painful for the horse although I don't know if it will help with your situation. I would try the mane comb though - You may even be able to get one through ebay

Ah the link wont upload! ******! do a google search on "main comb triple action" that should take you to it!

[wrightdanes]

Well - how would you like your excessive hair (armpit? bikini?) plucked out while you're tied to a post? Actually if you do SMALLER amounts of hair over SEVERAL days, you horse shouldn't mind. Just wrap about 20 strand around a metal mane comb and hank down. If the horse is still fighting you, then maybe you need to think about going into a different disipline! No really - if that's bothering the horse, then it hurts, so get yourself a thinning comb. You can try Petsmart, too.

[MyBelgianAzzy]

Originally Posted by wrightdanes

Well - how would you like your excessive hair (armpit? bikini?) plucked out while you're tied to a post?

It's actually not bad? I would die if they only did few hairs at a time though. Lot's of women get waxed in various places, including whole bodies (in the case of swimmers and gymnasts). You learn to hate it less each time. Especially if you keep up with it. I imagine it's about the same with horse's though, too.

You also made a comment about doing a few hairs at a time? Perfect suggestion.

[Xiphias]

LOL, all I had to do is pull two hairs from my old gelding's mane, and he went ballistic...He looked just fine, weather we were fox hunting, or doing hunter paces...showing any disapline..and he was a happy camper not to have his mane pulled....

Cathy

fox hunting

cross country/eventing

[Heavenly Jumper]

I love the way his mane looks roached, Cathy. On the right shaped neck, a roached mane can look divine!