pulling manes versus trimming

[SO1]

Pulling manes sounds slightly painful, why can't I just trim using bluntish scissors if it's just a length issue a bit like trimming my horses tail if it gets a bit long -is a horses mane really so different from its tail that it cant be trimmed?

[helenc]

A straight cut mane looks a bit odd I think & it would look even worse if it wasn't evenly cut.

If you are worried that your horse won't like his mane being pulled then why not try a solo comb?

[Iron Maiden]

My horse seems to really enjoy having her mane pulled (she's weird, she's gone off apples too). Might be worth trying it on your horse, if he doesn't mind, it's not a problem! IMO you can't beat a nicely pulled mane for tidyness & ease of plaiting. Unless it's a cob of course, in which case it's skinhead or hippy!

[Bebe]

Scissors give too blunt a finish, it just looks weird. You can achieve a nice effect with them if you cut up into the hair vs cut across the bottom, I do this with my mares mane (too thick to pull, my fingers wouldn't stand up to it and it would take forever to do a bit at a time). It always looks reasonable but does take a bit of practice to perfect.

I normally use thinning scissors to get the mane thin enough to plait, it's quite labour intensive to do it this way though so I'm going to invest in a Mars coatking blade, they're meant to be the business for mane & tail thinning.

[xxxkristinaxxx]

Do not cut the mane with scissors straight across it wont look good


Pulling a mane has much better results. It is not supposed to hurt the horses and looks lovely after you have finished!
Pulling a mane will thin the mane and also shorten it!

Heres before and after pics of xenas yesterday:

Before:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b113/xoxkristinaxox_/Photo-0031.jpg

After:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b113/xoxkristinaxox_/Photo-0033.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b113/xoxkristinaxox_/Photo-0035.jpg

[MrDCBags]

It hurts less if you pull it after exercise when the pores are open!