[jumper123]

Okkkk.....sooo I'm going to a show next weekend and I am away from home on vacation and I'm going to a show next weekend with the barn I'm boarding at while on vacation!!! Sooo now that I'm away froom my trainer at home(who braids for me for shows) I relized I'm going to have to braid my horse!!! Such Fun! I have a How to Braiding video I've watched , and I've practiced a little too. Any advice on thisss!!?? Any videos online I could watch? Would you reccomend I use yarn or bands???? Oh man!!! This could get interesting!!! Oh welll I'll have to practice allllll week!!! How long did it take you to get the hang of it? Do you think I can do it for next Saturday with enough practice???? Thanks in advanced! Wish Me luck!

[jumper123]

forgot to add....I'm a hunter!!!! sooo obviously hunter braids!!!!

[Haas Horse Farm]

Here is a thread on Button Braids.

[Preppy_Ponies]

Okay so here are some links for you the first 2 are old threads and the others are what I found on a quick google. Hope that helps and have fun braiding

Well, a step-by-step of hunter braids (with yarn)

Braiding - Hunter how to and how many

Texas Horseman's Directory Braiding

Braiding and Plaiting Your Horse

http://www.raspberryridge.com/Kids-Mane%20Care.htm

[jumper123]

Thank guys!!!! this helped a ton!!!!! I think I can do it now!!

[Haas Horse Farm]

Good luck at your show and let us know how you do!

[Huntseat]

IME, braiding with yarn, while it produces a nicer, more "finished" look overall, takes a lot more practice than braiding with rubber bands. If you give me a moment I'll attempt to make step-by-step instructions on braiding with rubber bands. I've had a lot of people compliment my "band braiding" and say that they can hardly tell that I didn't use yarn.

[Huntseat]

Okay, here goes. Forgive me, I'm not at the barn so I don't have a real horse to braid right now so I did the best I could. The sizing is a little off b/c obviously it's not a real mane. I used yellow rubber bands so you can see the contrast in color.

1. On a real horse I try to section the mane into 1 to 1 1/2 inch sections, depending on the neck and the thickness of the hair.

2. I braid straight down, loosely at the top and then I braid as tight as I can from the middle down. You'll see the reason for that in the next steps. Rubber band it tightly as close to the end of the hair as possible.


3. Take a piece of wire doubled over and stick it up through the center of the braid right at the crest of the neck.


4. Stick the end of the braid where the rubber band is through the wire loop.


5.Pull the wire with the end of the braid back down through the top of the braid. If the braid is too tight at the top it won't fit.


6. Put another rubber band around the entire, doubled over braid.


7. If your horse's mane is black, sometimes black rubber bands turn grey when they're stretched out, so use hoof polish, shapley's black show touch up spray, a sharpie, or anything else that will blacken the bands to match the mane.
Here is a picture of my friend's horse after I braided it with rubber bands. They had been in for a couple days so it was a little messier than when I had just done it, but overall not too bad.

[HIGHRIDER~25]

HHA the pictures of the plastic pony! AHAH

[Huntseat]

Hehe, It was all I had so I tried my best, LOL