long manes

[H & Bailey]

hi just a quickie.How do any of you that have horses with long manes keep them tidy?
And.....when you are riding does it get in your way or is there a technique of coping with it.?
Im used to horses/ponies with short pulled manes and am now growing Baileys mane a bit it is still tidied...ie ends off so it is straight but is getting longer.Its also quite thick and 'woolly'.He tends to ride with his head high and his mane goes all over and in your face when cantering.Its good to hang onto but im always untangling myself!I thought about buchies which i tend to do in the summer but now the weather is drawing in i dont get as much time to do things like that and would rather spend the time i have riding.
Im so tempted to pull it again....I have a solo comb!!!!!Fantastic things.Im also not sure wether his longer mane suits him or makes him look more ponyish.....I know he is a pony!!!!Heres a picture for comments..i also know he is on the tubby side!!!!

[nix]

Hiya!

I personally think coloured cobs like your handsome boy look wonderful with long manes. We've got a lad who looks very much like yours with a mane nearly to his knees, his owner uses lots of mane and tail conditioner! ;)

My Arab's mane is long and has started getting "rat's tailly" now the weather's turning. I use my fingers to separate his mane out, loads of mane and tail conditioner and a body brush to finish off. Hope this helps. :)

[Wally]

Now I'm usually all one for leaving things as the good lord made them, long manes and tails, whiskers and fuzzy bits everywhere.

But NOTHING look nicer than a coloured cob turned out plaited and trimmed for the showring. (leaving the muzzle whiksers of course)

Fat Cob look awful with a full mane, so he's the only one whose mane we pull and smarten up. Cymro the Welsh Cob has a full mane which is going wavy for some reason!

[galadriel]

I like long manes :) I also find that spending the time brushing the mane helps me & horse relax; it's good together time.

So far I haven't had a problem with a mane whipping in my face while riding, so I can't offer you advice there--but it's a neat image, you know?

[Bebe]

Bebe's mane is almost as long as Baileys and is very thick from the forelock to about halfway down her neck and then it thins out. My only gripe with it is that I'd like it to be the same thickness but I do really like the length.

To keep it tidy I spray it with canter mane and tail about once a week and comb it with a wide tooth comb. That's it though, don't do anything else with it (same goes for her very long, thick tail).

In summer I took to doing a french plait along her crest to keep it off her neck in an attempt to keep her a bit cooler. Only took about 5 mins to do and looked very neat when I did it like that for our local show (just wandered around with her, didn't enter anything). Now and again I shorten it a bit to tidy the ends up, just use scissors and a comb but I backcomb it as though pulling and then use the scissors in an upwards motion to cut the hair (don't like to pull manes).

It does get a bit raggy looking towards the end of winter but for most of the year it looks shiny and pretty tangle free. She's not a breed typically known for a long mane either - partbred Cleveland Bay. My friend has a welshie and she covets Bebe's mane as her chap rubs his out so Bebe's always looks better :)

[Miss MoneyPenny]

I have the same problem as all you guys as well. Penny is a traditional cob and so her mane is long, it is getting close to her shoulder level now, even longer than the piccys on my website. All that I do is like the others, loads of conditioner and elbow grease. She too has a very thick section at the crest and I will be trying to thin it a bit when it is a little longer otherwise I will start and end up with a hogged Penny!

Sorry I couldn't be more help, although I too have yet to be whipped in the face during canter.:D

[Aly]

I adore horses with long manes. Over the past few years I have been riding many high school dressage trained andalucians and arabians, and contend not just with double rein, but also with massive crests and enough mane hair to fix every bald man in the world. Of course the mane often gets in the way for schooling and excercising, and so I have found that best sollution is to whip it up into two running plates, by parting the mane down the middle, and running plait one side and then the other. Normally however for breed shows stallions are not plaited so it pays to practice ala naturale as well.

[Jay.o]

I love horses with long, thick tails. Mysys is just about past her neck (on the way to her knees :D ) Kept neat and tidy all the time. I dont cut it off straight i try and do it 'jaggedy' so its mnore natural.

If I plaited, I would have to cut it to get it up in the balls whihc I am NOT doing. I want to leave her natural and as hairy as possible.

So, mysys mane is longer than Baily's and I dont have any problems at all. I like it when shes cnatering and her man flows back - looks like shes going faster lol. I just carry on holding the reins and dont open my hands so the mane cant get tangled up with me and my hands. :D

[Arabmare]

My mare has a long mane, although I will admit it her that keeps it that way all i do is brush it!!! She can have bad hair days lol! When its windy! I ride well with the mane as I know its a back up for holding on lol!!!!!

Heres a pic or few!!!

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/james.greenfield/photoshoot14.JPG


http://homepage.ntlworld.com/james.greenfield/photoshoot6.JPG

one of me coping with riding with it!!!

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/james.greenfield/xjump9.JPG

[taffy]

long forelocks are normally tucked into the browband when the horses are ridden at my RS. They horses are ok with that !!

[Yann]

I love long flowing manes, when we went to collect Rio her previous owner had 'tidied her up' much to our dismay and it terribly short. It's taken over a year to get it like it is, and we hope it'll grow a bit more:D

All it needs is a regular brush through, so far it hasn't got bushy, hoping it'll stay that way.

Her forelock is quite long too, acts as a built in fly fringe (which is what it's supposed to do:))

[makebelieve]

Short trimmed manes look nicer for the showing horse. I like long manes on horses that are for pleasure. My friend's ponies have long manes except one that was for a show she had last month. When I get my horse, the mane will probablt be pulled. Thats my fave way of a horse's mane, for mine at least.

[Dreamchaser]

I love long manes, as long as they are kept well. Short manes bug me and they bug the horses more when flies are landing on their neck where the mane should be. I just love to brush through a mane. It is sooo relaxing!

[shandy84]

Hiya,
any ideas??? My arab filly has a long mane but keeps having spiky bits growing at the top not looking very good either that or she has been rubbing it she's had repellant on for lice etc but I don't know how to get it to grow through and loook good rather than scraggy it is shoulder length at the moment-pulling is a big no no she wont have it???

[tasha]

Has anyone got my predicament? Im leaving Kally's mane to grow out as Im only home at w/e due to uni. But her forelock hasnt grown..I see a difference of 1-2" in her mane each week but never her forelock.

In fact Ive had her 2.5yrs and never pulled it..and it hasnt grown!! Does anyone else have a horse like this?

[H & Bailey]

Tasha -Baileys forelock hasnt grown longer either just seems to get bushier!
Im still tempted to pull it but am resisting.....

[tubby]

The biggest problem with long manes is not only the keeping it tidy but it can affect the steering when it gets round the reins !! Bensmust be 2ft long & I often find that theres no response when I apply 1 rein :D:D:D

[ilovecobs]

i dislike a long mane on anything except welshies, arab, and spanish horses. i like to see a cob with a short mane or none at all as it shows off their lovely crest. i get reallly irriatated by long manes that are tatty and all entwined together. they also get gaught up in reins when i'm cantering and jumping.

but bailey suits his so i would leave well enough alone. you could try to thin it without shortning it by taking hair off undeneath:D

[tasha]

Kallly's hasnt even got bushier..its just a wisp and I really wish it would grow as it looks pretty pathetic.

Here's Kally's forelock 2 and a half years ago:

http://groups.msn.com/NRphotos/tashakahluaandco.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=130

And this summer..I cant see much of a difference!!

http://groups.msn.com/NRphotos/tashakahluaandco.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=1581

[nutkin]

try bathing kallys mane with an antibacterial shampoo as my horse had no forelock at all. the reason was that a midge was attacking him and causing him to rub it away. Since starting to use the antibacterial shampoo his mane is slowly improving although it will probably never be thick and long at least he has some forelock there now. It may help to improve your horses forelock if you try this.

[Tor&Warrior]

I used to ride a TB which had practicually no forelock and they never pulled it and it never grew. Apparently it was because the people who'd had him befor had pulled it so much it had damaged the pholicals (sp) so would never grow again. Hope this is a help!

[tasha]

Thats a good thought Nutkin, but surely if she had a midge attack etc then it would cause more damage then just her forelock, especially if she had had it over 2 yrs.

Also I cant get to her forelock to wash it anyway..Kally hates water round her head!

[nutkin]

my gelding only suffered it with his forelock and another gelding at my yard has it in the top of his tail only. Apparently it isnt sweet itch just a sensitivity to certain flies. It could also be due to being overpulled as said or it could even be caused by another horse chewing it or any number of things. I would guess that your horse is most likely just rubbing it away, but if she seems quite an itchy horse then try using a bacterial shampoo and see if it makes a difference.

[Mehitabel]

petal has a pathetic forelock as well - walloping great big mane but piddly little wisp of a forelock. i never ever brush or comb it - leave it strictly alone and it is very slowly looking a bit more like a nf pony's ought to. smae with the mane - 2 years ago hers got rubbed by one of those rambo rugs with the built in necks, and it is still recovering. so the top half of her mane, which is like a bush, gets plastic curry combed, but the forelock, bottom half of mane and bottom of tail never get touched. the top of her tail gets plastic curry combed so i don't have to pull it so often.
i am not a fan of long manes though - i like them neatly pulled.

[Janette]

Hi H&Bailey, I think he looks just great with his mane - and I'm really really jealous! ;)
Perhaps thinning it a little would help.

[Suetoo]

Arabmare! Your horse is GORGOUS! She is sure nice to look at.

[H & Bailey]

Thanks janette,his mane is looking nicer,Im definately not going to pull it.
Im a bit annoyed as rosie had a lovely long mane but someone has chopped it!Im definately going to grow hers!