[Horsebrat20]

For a huntseat horse, for braiding, how long should their mane be? And when you pull their mane, what exactly are you doing, thinning it, or pulling hairs sticking up. How do you pull? How do you know you need to pull? Thanks

[Lopin' Leopard]

I dont know how long the braids or mane should be cuz I've never dont it. I dont pull our horses manes though. Its to thin and shorten the mane. I comb the mane out then hold a few of the longer hairs, dont want to take too many at one or its hard to pull them out, and then comb all the shorter hairs up then pull the longer ones down to pull out. Then I brush that part of the main out to check the length. Go up and down the neck this way. Dont start or the top and work your way down or start at the bottom and work your way up, this would cause you to no get it as even, one end longer then the other. Hope this helps.

[arabianlvr87]

If you're planning to do the little "bump braids" the mane should only be a few inches. When you pull it, you're thinning the mane as well as shortening. To pull, you usually use a knife type thing.

[dressagerider67]

I would(depending how thick the mane is) have the mane be 4-6 inches long. This has always worked best for me when I braid manes, and you won't have hair sticking up either. Also, if you do have problems with the hair sticking up in the braids(I think you said that) then maybe(if you use yarn when u braid) u aren't separating the end of the braid from the yarn.
Hope that helped u out a lil bit.

red_hors erica red_hors

[Horsebrat20]

Thanks, now i just have to summon up the courage to cut her beautiful mane bawling I've waited so long to have a horse with some mane length, but now i have to cut it. Oh well, the up side is when i braid it, it will make her neck look longer, her's is kinda short. Thanks again!

[Paintingpaths]

When I pulled my horse's mane it looked like it would hurt but it actually feels good. And an easy measurement of how long it should be is the lenght of your hand sideways. It looks a lot better then if you were to cut it, then they have to thick of a mane. It will look good when its over but I saved some of it. It was sooo long. Good luck

<small>[ March 20, 2004, 06:48 AM: Message edited by: Paintingpaths ]</small>

[babs]

No - one at our yard would 'cut' a mane - like with scissors, i have seen it done and no one likes it.

you can buy something called a solo comb but a lot of people don't like them.

I just did my horses mane for the first time last week and its not as difficult as you think.

his was easy 6-8 inches long and really thick and split down either side of the neck.
My friend did a bit to show me first. then a few days later i did a bit more then a bit more a few days later, then i plaited it over for 3 days to try and get it to lie on one side (instead of spliting in two) and it worked. Cos it is thinner and shorter it lies over better.

I will have to do it once more then that will be it for a while. i used a mane comb (the one with the handle - not the fat one.
the way i was shown was to brush the mane over to one side hold few strands underneath, backcomb the rest , wrap the bit you're holding around the comb, hold the top of it with your thumb and pull, you are better to do a little at a time and preferably after exercise or keep him busy with some hay.
Good luck. I'm sure you'll do ok

[CJ]

My horse has a beautiful long mane an inch thick, which when done up in hunter braids looks like a line of grenades on his neck. Instead,I put him in a French braid for English shows (he also goes Western). Nobody ever complained that he was "out of uniform". Added bonus, the French braid went in quicker than the hunter braids.

[probarrelracer]

People at my farm would be fired for taking a pair of scissors to a horse's mane, or forelock. I would pull it if I were you. Just grab a 1-2 inch section of mane, hold the very end of the section, use a comb to "tease" upwards, then pull out what is left in your fingers. Kind of hard to describe without pictures.