[Blistering Winds]

I STILL don't get it.

How is it So much better than a proper cut?

How is it not hurting the horse (cause my horse pins his ears if you grab mane)

Why is it "better" than running a bristle brush?

You are literally PULLING the mane out Yanking on it till it gives



Please, enlighten me. Because I STILL don't get it.

[MakeItOrBreak89]

It is a personal choice weather or not to pull your horses mane.
I myself think that it shows off a horses topline and just gives an overall tidy appearence. And if you are showing (english and some western) it is necessary. Even if you don't show in big enough shows to have to do braids it is still needed for a nice turnout which is showing respect for the judge. Seeing a bluntly cut mane or even one that has been "layered" in an attempt to imitate a pulled mane is not quit the same. Pluss if you need to braid them it is impossible because it would be so thick.

My horse that I have now loves to get his mane pulled and will even nap the whole time. But he pins his ears when I brush him. Does that mean that I shouldn't brush him just because he doesn't like it?

My other horse used to hate to get his mane pulled and would rear and strike out. When he was on the track they used to drug him so they could get it done. I never pulled his mane but I used a thining blade of it just to keep it neat still.

If you never show or just have a horse to play with or do trails I don't see the point unless you like the look and easy maintenance of a pulled mane.

[harli36]

There ARE some horses who truely don't find it painfull at all, but IME they are the minority. I've worked with more who don't find it comfortable in varrying degrees. My current mare FLIPS out whenever I try to pull her mane and that is with using all the tricks to get the hair to come out easier and using listerine at the crest in an attempt to dull the pain. I will not pull her mane in the traditional manner. For how much she dislikes it it would be cruel.

IMO pulling is painfull but it definetly looks nicer IMO then just cutting it straight across or whenever someone uses scissors or thinning shears at the bottom of the mane. When you do that it looks cut like it's been chopped off. Some people get better results with their tricks (like cutting the hair at an angle) but you can still tell it's been cut.

ALso if your horse has a medium thick to thick mane you need to pull it because pulling the mane thins as well as shortens the mane. And a thinner mane is important for braiding.

There are ways of getting the same results as pulling without the pain though. If you go through all the steps of pulling (ie grabbing a few hairs from the underside of the mane and then back combing towards the crest)without actually yanking the hair out but cut it as close to the crest as possible then you get the same exact look as you do when pulling with the only exception being that it's like a pulling job that's has grown out for about a month. No problems braiding it either. Since I've "discovered" this method I will no longer pull any horses mane in the traditional way. I guess I just no longer see a point to it.

Why is it "better" than running a bristle brush?

'
I don't quite get what your trying to say here??

[Blistering Winds]

When I run a brush, the "dead" hair comes out.

dog brush

That is similar to what I use.

Now, when I brush, I'm not brushing for show or interested in pulling, but I've been yelled at, screeched at, lectured, and I think one lady looked like she was going to FAINT because it is SOOOO HORRIBLE to brush with one.

Yet here they are, YANKING their horse's hair out with a comb....


A recent discussion with a girl who will be training Katie for next year got me into this fickle again about pulling manes.

My BO wants me to pull Sage's mane. HECK NO! She's "Performance" anyways. not going to take her pretty mane away for the sake of a "FAD".

[Blistering Winds]

So enlighten me, what hairs are you 'determined" to yank out?

Is it just a thinning issue (which blister would not need at all)

is it a cheap cop out because people don't know how to cut straight and properly?

I'm seriously interested because I may "have" to do it next year. But ONLY Blister. Sage isn't being touched. Lady can kiss.....well, anyways.

[MakeItOrBreak89]

Well while a bristle brush can get the 'dead' hair out it will also break off the "live" hair (tecnically all hair is 'dead' but that will be left for another topic) leaving you with a frizzy mane. When pulling you take the hair out from the roots, not break it all of at different lengths, thus leaving yourself a thinner shorter mane without all the "frizzys" from brushing it.

If you are not grooming for a show or intend to show in the near future (6 months or so) then that is completely your choice as to what you want to do with your own horses mane. Not Your BO's or anyone elses for that matter.

If your horses mane is already relitivly thin you could try and "chop into it" from the bottom to shorten it but not give it a blunt cut OR you could do what I do when I need to shorten up a horses mane but it is already pretty thin which is...I "chop" into it from the bottom to about an inch longer than I want it to end up and then I pull it another inch so it gives it a nice pulled look without it thining out to much.

Pulling is deffinatly not a shortcut in anyway. It takes a long time to do a good job on a mane if it hasn't been pulled short previously. IMO cutting it is the cheap cop out because you don't want to take the time nessicary to pull it evenly. Some people (including myself) that have horses with already thin manes or those that cannot stand having their mane pulled will spend alot of time cutting into it to make it look very natural and not leave a blunt edge.

[kellidahorsegirl]

haha

I think it hurts them....I can't pull any of my horses manes cuz they just shake their head and neck until I go away...makes it hard. It does look 'nicer' but I show jumpers, so am not concerned of vanity over my horse's comfort. I cut all my manes and they look great. Just takes skills of being able to make it look natural.

[magic_rider]

I pull my horses mane because it look s better that way, i use a pulling comb and i don't think it hurts him at all as he has never complained, if you cut it with scissors the mane will be really thick, it dosn't look as good.

[sirius-dressage]

I cut Lucky's mane...but only because I am inept when it come to pulling. I can't do it properly to save my life. I do attempt to take some hair off one part of his mane that is rediculously thick. I don't think it hurts him so much (probably because I'm not even doing it right)...he stands perfectly still. If I pull for too long he will start to get a little ansy. Mostly...I just cut it.

The thing about Lucky is he has a cowlick right in the middle of his neck so I have to cut that hair longer than the surrounding to make it seem like it's all one length. I accidentally cut his mane super short (like, an inch and a half) but I think I really like it short and sticking up a bit, makes his neck look really filled out. And he has some sort of mutant hair gene for his mane...it grows like CRAZY! I will have to cut it again in a month.

His tail doesn't grow at all...btw...I dunno what that is all about. *sigh*

For the record...I brush both of my horse's manes and tails. Lucky's I brush daily. Doesn't make a difference in the thickness one way or another. Lucky's mane still grows and grows and grows. Nova's tail only breaks off when it grows long enough for him to step on it.

[JumpingBean]

I've noticed that most seem to mind the stretching of the skin on the opposite side of the neck more than they mind the actual hair being pulled out. Supposedly all the hair is rooted in the fatty crest which has fewer nerves, but there are STILL horses who just do not like it, period. I have one, I would know.

It thins the mane, and for horses who will be braided, the uneven ends are slightly easier to handle. But if you know what you are doing with scissors, you can make a nice natural looking cut that is also perfectly easy to work with. I prefer to cut manes -- no fuss from the horse, although if he tosses his head he could end up with a missing chunk of mane.

The ONLY thing that pulling does which is difficult to reproduce with scissors is the thinning. However, pulling a horse with an already-thin mane sometimes leaves the mane standing straight up, because it lacks the extra weight holding it over! If cut manes are ugly, so are mohawk pulls.

If pulling is a necessity, I have found that some horses have an easier time right after they are worked. Supposedly the pores are open. I don't know if that's an old wives' tale or not, but it does seem to work.