[SeaSide81]

Nice braid! I have seen something like that on Friesian before.

Anyone know any good online instructions for braiding manes and tails? I would like to see them .

[Sandra-A1]

There are several places mentioned in past threads about the topic of braiding....that will show you how to braid for shows (just do a SEACH on this forum to find them).
In all honesty I would not turn a horse out to pasture with anyone them done to the mane!

[SeaSide81]

Hmmm, any other pointers on how to keep the mane pretty then? I certainly don't want the horse to get hurt or tangled, but I would also like to have them show in a nice mane . Horses! I swear they conspire to make us insane!

[Sandra-A1]

Just keep it picked out regularly and clean.
Just a simple occasional hosing off with water and applying a bit of hair conditioner will do wonders.
You have to remember too that genetics pay a BIG role in whether a horse will gown a lot of long mane or not too. My husband's mare has the thinnest mane that will grow only a little over half way down her neck. When you look closely at the neck where the mane grows you can see that it is really narrow and thin too.
She will grow the thickest, longest tail (we no longer even wrap it because it would be dragging the ground if we did), but not a long thick mane.
When it comes down to it you simply have to work with what genes you have been dealt and if they are not there then you accept what you have and deal with it.

[LadyDulcinea]

I keep Bugsy's tail in one braid in a tail bag. His mane is trimmed short for the western events, so I don't worry about doing much with that. Swayze on the other hand has a tail that is about two inches off the ground...and that's hanging from a 17.1 hand butt!! His tail is way too thick to fit in a tail bag so I just put it in about four or five smaller braids and finish each off individually. His mane is also really long. It hangs down to the point where it almost covers his entire neck completely. I try to keep it in about ten large braids in the summer to keep it off his neck. When I don't he gets REALLY sweaty under there. When it is braided like that it gets checked on every day to make sure he's not rubbing it on anything. Something I've seen people do though, and I've even thought about it, is putting mini "tail bags" in the mane. They are just smaller ones but the idea is the same. They fit on an individual braid. (And they are so cute!! ) To give you an idea how thick his mane is...I can part it straight down his neck, just like a person would part their hair, and put half of the whole length of his mane on one side and half on the other and no matter which side you look at, it looks like you are looking at a full mane. I could braid both sides if i wanted to....I just think that would look goofy though.

[Asfaloth]

My Appy has a very long mane and I considered braiding it to keep his neck cooler but I would worry about the braids breaking hairs. If ylou make it loose enough not to break hairs then it will come out or knot up worse than if it were left free. I just run a comb through it and detangler every few days to keep it knot free. His tail is getting nice but babys is really long alsmost to the ground. Again I do nothing but run a comb through and detangler. I prefer to uses a moisutising detangler rather than one that makes the hair slipery so it is a bit more maintenance but the hair grows well.
Pic 1 Pumper. Best shot of his mane I have at the moment.
pic 2 Baby showing off her georgous tail

[huntertb5]

how on earth do you do that braid?

[Pharaoh's Fire]

I always put a running braid in my arab's mane when I'm riding because her mane is extremely long, and I like to be able to see what her right shoulder is doing. It also keeps her a lot cooler, and prevents the mane getting all tangled from my reigns rubbing on it.

I don't think I'd ever leave her mane in a braid for turnout, though. I can put up with the constant wind knots, but I think I'd die if she lost a huge chunk of mane, or the hairs started to break.

[Pharaoh's Fire]

I was going to try explaining how to do it, but I think it ended up being too confusing. The easiest way I can think of explaining it is that it's like a French braid, only instead of adding new pieces of hair on both sides, you only add new pieces of hair on one side(The top).

There are some braid examples, and stuff here:
http://www.raspberryridge.com/Kids-Mane%20Care.htm#Running%20braid[img]chrome://targetalert/content/skin/new.png[/img]

[angelpaint]

I braid my horses tail in to 14 braids strait down do help it grow faster. Its fairly easy just takes time. Good luck =)