[SpiritSaddle]

Okay, i'm a little confused. Is there accually a way to thin the WHOLE mane or just thin the ends? I read the post about thinning shears, but that just thins the ends, correct? my horse has the thickest mane i've ever seen. My trainer says it's like all her horses put together :-P. So can i accually thin all of it? it not, it will NOT stay on one side...and well i'm going to a show soon, so i better do something about it!

[SpiritSaddle]

*whistles*

[Megs]

lots of mane pulling, because you can rip the hair out by the roots a few at a time, and that will definatly thin it out. i have never heard of thinning shearers...

[Moostang]

I asked that question a while back.. you can use thinning shears to do it.. works wonders..
here was my thread
Thin but not shorten the mane?

[ridingtwhlady]

If you go to "search at top of this page and type "thinning manes" there are a lot of good posts about the subject. One of my horses has a very thick mane, but I like it. I just worry about these 105o heat index days like today. I don't know if braiding it would help.

[Flyer Fighter]

thinning shears work great. a woman at my barn has a tb witha mane like none other and she uses the thinning shears and his mae has calmed down so much

[Jeblina]

My mare used to have an unmanageable mane it was so thick....and I'd have to pull it about once a month. Here's what I did...

Using a wide-toothed comb....comb out the mane until there are no tangles.

Then you can grab a FEW of the long hairs at the bottom of the mane....tease the rest of the mane around it up and out of the way....wrap those few long hairs around the comb and PULL!

Those longer hairs are usually on the underside of the mane, so when you pull them, it causes the mane to lay down flatter. The first time you pull a mane that is very thick, it might take a while, and you may have to do half one day, and half the next. But if you keep it up and maintain it, the next time it won't be so bad.

I don't like thinning shears....I've very rarely seen a good result from them (although the people using them weren't that experienced with them either )...so I was turned off from using them. Yes, actually pulling the mane takes more time, but in my opinion, it gives a better, more natural looking result!

[SammyDoodle]

I use a thinning blade on Charlie - I comb his mane to the wrong side and then just comb it down using the thinning blade. This takes lots of the "bulk" out of the mane without ruining it.

When I bring his mane back to the right side it looks totally natural (he is a Welsh Mountain Section A so I can't pull his mane for showing) but it is not bulky any more

[Trevor-Runner]

Wide tooth combs work great, I agree with Jeblina.

[SweetSavannah]

pull it!!

just a few tips first... only pull when the hair is dry, never when its wet. try to pull the hair when the horse is warm but NOT sweaty! and do little bits at a time.

a cheaters way of thinning the mane is to get a very small pair of clippers and shear off a strip of mane either in the middle of the neck, or on the side where the hair falls so that when it grows back it wont be sticking up untidily but hidden by the falling mane.