Alternatives to Mane Pulling?

I Love BODIE! · 06-14-2008, 08:43 PM

I'm looking for some alternatives to mane pulling. My horse absolutely HATES it and will fight past a 1300lb horse's dose of tranq. to buck and spin and rear to get away from the evil hands that pull his mane out

So, anything else I could do? Or any way for me to work past his little "temper tantrums"? He's fine with brushing, grabbing, yanking, etc, but will not allow for mane pulling (he's a little bit of a weird horse

).

Thanks in advance!

Emily

shyxpony · 06-14-2008, 08:45 PM

I've never tried this but you could use horse clippers maybe and clip the hair rather than pull it... my mare also hates getting her mane pulled, I feel for ya!

I Love BODIE! · 06-14-2008, 08:56 PM

Just trying to think that though - how would it work? Would I clip the bottom of the hair? I need it to be done pretty straight to braid for dressage...

shyxpony · 06-14-2008, 09:03 PM

Are you pulling to make it thinner or to even it out? I always use scissors to even it out, it's way quicker & easier than pulling. Just trim off the bottoms, go across first to get the majority off and then vertically to make it look more natural.

I Love BODIE! · 06-14-2008, 09:06 PM

Both - his mane is really thick and grows about 1.5inches per month (AND he's a TB!), so I don't think just cutting it will work. It might work for another horse at the barn who also has the same problem (but not as much of a reaction when he's tranqed)

idlewild · 06-14-2008, 09:07 PM

Yeah, you could always just clip some of the mane. A friend of mine has a draft cross mare, she shows dressage only, but still, the mare has SO MUCH HAIR! So she literally shaves half the mane off. It looks kinda tacky (I think) up close, but from afar in the ring anyone looking on is none the wiser. I think I have a picture of them in the ring, lemme go look.

I Love BODIE! · 06-14-2008, 09:11 PM

Shave it off?!? But Bodie's mane is so pretty

I'd like to see pictures though - maybe it will look o-kay.

Ooh, just thought of something, what about a different tranq.? Or is there only one? I've never done it myself, so I have no idea. Are there tranq's with different levels of effect?

shyxpony · 06-14-2008, 09:13 PM

Ahh, don't know what to tell you, then. My mare also has a super thick mane and it grows really fast, but her previous owners cut it so it was about 2 inches long and it poofed out SO much... it got longer and wasn't as poofy anymore but someone cut it again (no idea who it was) so it's back to being poofy. Ugh. She hates getting her mane pulled, right now I'm just living with it being 3 inches long and POOFY (it's about 3 inches thick)... waiting for it to grow a little more...

Ah, the joys of horses with thick manes! You could I guess just cut it so it was shorter and even so you can braid it and live with its poofyness when it's not braided...

idlewild · 06-14-2008, 09:21 PM

Ok, so I lied. I have pictures of the mare, but it was before she started doing the shaving thing. Yeah, I know, personally, I'd never do it! lol, I think it's close to being a cardinal sin of mane grooming

You could def try a different tranq. Have you tried twitching? I know it sounds horrid, but there are those twitches that aren't chains but kinda like a pair of pilers with two metal bars that squeeze the lip, you can adjust the tightness and they work really well. I used to have to pull the mane of and then braid a pony who acted very much like you're saying Bodie does. Thank God he was only a 13hh pony, otherwise I would have been dead meat. We finally twitched him and it did the trick. When he was good we'd slowly losen the twitch, if he acted up again we'd tighten it.

Xiphias · 06-14-2008, 09:27 PM

I had one like that, the sweetest horse in the world, till you tried to pull his mane, he would even squeal....which led me to finally realize that it hurt him....I got out my clippers, and roached it off....and I was showing hunter/jumper/and eventing....so what? My horse's forlock was braided, and his tail was either braided, or pulled in dressage fashion, and banged at the bottom....it never made a bit of difference to the judges!

Some horses have sensitive crests, and it is cruel to pull their manes when they act like that....

I don't see any horse sporting event, where your horse is going to be knocked down, because his mane is roached off...

Cathy

06-14-2008, 08:43 PM	#1
I Love BODIE! Senior Member+ Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: California, USA Posts: 1,352 Images: 66	Alternatives to Mane Pulling? I'm looking for some alternatives to mane pulling. My horse absolutely HATES it and will fight past a 1300lb horse's dose of tranq. to buck and spin and rear to get away from the evil hands that pull his mane out So, anything else I could do? Or any way for me to work past his little "temper tantrums"? He's fine with brushing, grabbing, yanking, etc, but will not allow for mane pulling (he's a little bit of a weird horse ). Thanks in advance! Emily __________________ -Emily- Protégé ("Bodie") 17h 1996 Thoroughbred Gelding I was ON HGS when we made 3,000,000 posts!

06-14-2008, 08:56 PM	#3
I Love BODIE! Senior Member+ Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: California, USA Posts: 1,352 Images: 66	Just trying to think that though - how would it work? Would I clip the bottom of the hair? I need it to be done pretty straight to braid for dressage... __________________ -Emily- Protégé ("Bodie") 17h 1996 Thoroughbred Gelding I was ON HGS when we made 3,000,000 posts!

06-14-2008, 09:06 PM	#5
I Love BODIE! Senior Member+ Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: California, USA Posts: 1,352 Images: 66	Both - his mane is really thick and grows about 1.5inches per month (AND he's a TB!), so I don't think just cutting it will work. It might work for another horse at the barn who also has the same problem (but not as much of a reaction when he's tranqed) __________________ -Emily- Protégé ("Bodie") 17h 1996 Thoroughbred Gelding I was ON HGS when we made 3,000,000 posts!

06-14-2008, 09:07 PM	#6
idlewild Senior Member+ Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Northern Colorado Posts: 4,105 Images: 334 Blog Entries: 122	Yeah, you could always just clip some of the mane. A friend of mine has a draft cross mare, she shows dressage only, but still, the mare has SO MUCH HAIR! So she literally shaves half the mane off. It looks kinda tacky (I think) up close, but from afar in the ring anyone looking on is none the wiser. I think I have a picture of them in the ring, lemme go look. __________________ iDance, iSplash, iJump. iEvent U.S. Cavalry - An Army of Two Honorary Aussie, Oi! Feliche + Idlewild = Serial Eventers I was on HGS when we made 2 and 3 million posts

06-14-2008, 09:11 PM	#7
I Love BODIE! Senior Member+ Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: California, USA Posts: 1,352 Images: 66	Shave it off?!? But Bodie's mane is so pretty I'd like to see pictures though - maybe it will look o-kay. Ooh, just thought of something, what about a different tranq.? Or is there only one? I've never done it myself, so I have no idea. Are there tranq's with different levels of effect? __________________ -Emily- Protégé ("Bodie") 17h 1996 Thoroughbred Gelding I was ON HGS when we made 3,000,000 posts!

06-14-2008, 08:45 PM	#2
shyxpony Senior Member+ Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 1,528 Images: 1	I've never tried this but you could use horse clippers maybe and clip the hair rather than pull it... my mare also hates getting her mane pulled, I feel for ya!

06-14-2008, 09:03 PM	#4
shyxpony Senior Member+ Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 1,528 Images: 1	Are you pulling to make it thinner or to even it out? I always use scissors to even it out, it's way quicker & easier than pulling. Just trim off the bottoms, go across first to get the majority off and then vertically to make it look more natural.

06-14-2008, 09:13 PM	#8
shyxpony Senior Member+ Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 1,528 Images: 1	Ahh, don't know what to tell you, then. My mare also has a super thick mane and it grows really fast, but her previous owners cut it so it was about 2 inches long and it poofed out SO much... it got longer and wasn't as poofy anymore but someone cut it again (no idea who it was) so it's back to being poofy. Ugh. She hates getting her mane pulled, right now I'm just living with it being 3 inches long and POOFY (it's about 3 inches thick)... waiting for it to grow a little more... Ah, the joys of horses with thick manes! You could I guess just cut it so it was shorter and even so you can braid it and live with its poofyness when it's not braided...

06-14-2008, 09:21 PM	#9
idlewild Senior Member+ Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Northern Colorado Posts: 4,105 Images: 334 Blog Entries: 122	Ok, so I lied. I have pictures of the mare, but it was before she started doing the shaving thing. Yeah, I know, personally, I'd never do it! lol, I think it's close to being a cardinal sin of mane grooming You could def try a different tranq. Have you tried twitching? I know it sounds horrid, but there are those twitches that aren't chains but kinda like a pair of pilers with two metal bars that squeeze the lip, you can adjust the tightness and they work really well. I used to have to pull the mane of and then braid a pony who acted very much like you're saying Bodie does. Thank God he was only a 13hh pony, otherwise I would have been dead meat. We finally twitched him and it did the trick. When he was good we'd slowly losen the twitch, if he acted up again we'd tighten it. __________________ iDance, iSplash, iJump. iEvent U.S. Cavalry - An Army of Two Honorary Aussie, Oi! Feliche + Idlewild = Serial Eventers I was on HGS when we made 2 and 3 million posts

06-14-2008, 09:27 PM	#10
Xiphias Senior Member+ Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Maryland, horse country USA Posts: 16,506 Images: 627 Blog Entries: 29	I had one like that, the sweetest horse in the world, till you tried to pull his mane, he would even squeal....which led me to finally realize that it hurt him....I got out my clippers, and roached it off....and I was showing hunter/jumper/and eventing....so what? My horse's forlock was braided, and his tail was either braided, or pulled in dressage fashion, and banged at the bottom....it never made a bit of difference to the judges! Some horses have sensitive crests, and it is cruel to pull their manes when they act like that.... I don't see any horse sporting event, where your horse is going to be knocked down, because his mane is roached off... Cathy __________________ Member COL Club- hand over the Oil of Olay and nobody gets hurt! http://www.freewebs.com/xiphias21034/ I was on HGS the day we made 2 million posts and 3 million posts

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Alternatives to pulling a mane	Taxi Jumper	Horse Grooming	7	08-31-2006 07:56 PM
pulling a mane	Pony00	Horse Grooming	6	01-23-2006 10:24 AM
Mane Pulling	DustynMe	Horse Grooming	5	01-06-2006 05:26 PM
Pulling a mane	touchofdandy	Horse Grooming	4	01-05-2006 05:56 PM
Mane pulling	1rish	Horse Grooming	4	04-27-2004 08:27 AM