Re: Long mane

[Jodie]

I have just got a horse and have joined a adult riding club and want to enter the dressage comps. But my mare has a really long mane, I don't want to pull it coz it is one of the things I love about my mare. I was just wondering what people do to there horses mane when competing in dressage and are those stlyes good in a long mane.

Tracey

[floppy]

ehm i know some people that compete in dressage with horses with long manes and instead of plaiting it the tie sections in rubber bands that it ends up looking like a net...sorry i dont know what it is called and you proably are confusd with what i am saying

the end results leaves a long mane neatly tied and laying flat against the neck. I dont knwo up to what level it is accepted though.

ok i found a picture, go to :
alternative mane braiding (http://www.naturalhorse.com/archive/volume2/issue4/article_13.php)

[lamprellsarah]

this looks great when you have done it, i have known a few people to so it, mainly if they have thickish set necks though, a lady at our stables has a cobby light palimino gelding and she does dressage and always uses this plait.
and another dressage horse i know that has it is a connamara, i have done dressage with a horse with a long mane it was so silky and looked so nice i didn't dare pull it, i have been placed but i don't know what they thought of it!!!

[alleycat]

I noticed that a lot of the Lusos in the pics posted by Pedro wore this style of braiding, and I thought it looked fabulous, much nicer than regular braiding. Long manes are beautiful, I've never understood why people seem to want to disguise them somehow!

[Bebe]

My mare has a long mane and I didn't plait it for our dressage tests. I made sure it was brushed through and put some baby oil on the brush so the mane was nice and shiny, also helps to keep it flat and tangle free. I did the same with her tail (very thick and long).

Running plaits (like a french plait) look nice if you can manage them.

Amanda

[Wally]

This is the bit which makes me so frustrated. To be correct you should plait for higher level dresage, but if you have a M&M type it is also correct to show them full, mane and tail flowing!

I know several folk who have very high level dressage horses who are hairy types, they show them in thier full hairy glory, mane and tail flowing.

So if you have a talented M&M or Arab who is able to strutt his funky stuff I'd do it with mane and tail to the extreme. If you have a T'bred or similar I'd say plait him up. Look into what is traditional for your breed and go with that.

[Tess J]

I have done dressage on a unplaited Highland pony who has a very full mane and tail up to Elementary affiliated. The only comments we have had from judges about his mane nad tail have been very nice. We get other people telling us how lucky we are not to have to plait but he takes so long to get clean - white/grey Highland I don't think we have the easy option! I agree with the previous person that if it is traditional for the type of horse you shouldn't have any problems.

[ilovebacara]

YOU COULD ALSO DO WAT IS KNOWN AS A RUNNING PLAIT WHICH IS WHEN YOU START TO PLAIT THE TOP OF THE MANE AND THEN YOU KEEP IT RUNNING DOWN THE MANE!! THAT DIDNT MAKE SENSE AT ALL DID IT??? ANYWAY IT IS A PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE THING TO DO TO A M&M HORSEY IN A DRESSAGE TEST IF U JUST WANT THE MANE OUTTA YOUR WAY WEN U ARE RIDIN THO I PREFER IT TO BE FLOWING NICELY :)

[Kerry's Partner!!]

If Kerry and I ever ever get to a competition (in my dreams), I would never do anything other than produce a shine in her long mane and tail. Frankly, if we were ever (in our dreams again) to enter a dressage competition at any level this is the one thing in which I would not compromise - I'm far far too human/naive/ emotional I know but: how can any horse show it's stuff if you tie or cut away all of its naturally demonstrative bits?

[Lgd]

My friend has a Fell Pony and has competed up to Medium level, he has a full mane and tail and goes unplaited. Ther are a couple of Lusitanos competing in our area and they either go unbraided or the mane is done in the lattice pattern described above, one of them is competing successfully at PSG and is going to the Nationals in one of the Freestyle to music classes. so there does not seem to be a problem with a full mane as far as the judges are concerned.

[Mossy]

Tess J
I agree! NOTHING would persuade me to mess around with Moss' mane. I'll pass on a tip I got from Wally if I may. Ariel, not on the dock area, gets a white/grey tail looking lovely. Gets rid of all that yellow. I follow it up with Canter mane and tail, and he comes up a treat. I have not a clue what to do with Connie, as she is PB Welsh but although her tail is lovely, her mane is not her most glorious asset.
I think a long really clean mane and tail look lovely.

[Chantal]

Uh, forgive me for being daft, but what is an M&M horse? I don't have my own horse and haven't been riding that long, so this is a new term for me. Although I can tell you that I think I've heard that lattice plait above described as a gypsy plait. But I could be wrong.

[Katharine]

Chantal - M&M stands for Mountain and Moorlands. Native breeds - Highlands, Welshs, Dartmoors etc.

[ilovebacara]

my friend has got a fleaditten grey pony and she uses pantene pro v and it works really well! he shines up so bright u nearly need sun glasses to look @ him :D

[Penelope]

I think long manes look great on m&ms and spanish breeds, but I persoanlly used a running plait as the mane used to get caught up in my reins and things! with the running plait You still get the flowing look, just it is easier not to get tangled up!
I've never been keen on the trellis plait but then thats just a personal thing, and I think I just never had a pony who suited that "look"!
My TB x Welsh I would keep her mane totally pulled and plaited, but if it was grown it wouldn't be her best asset! I do however let her tail grow long as her tail is the nicest i've seen in 10 years of horses! It is a gorgeous shiny black and it fows beautifully, I do plait it for showing though.

[kaykell7]

i have a grey highland mare and like u i have always been told that its ubnacceptable to plait it and it looks so nice down and i agree the up keep of it is rather hard

[lleeaannee]

When turning your horse out plait the tail VERY loosely(like yo would to your own hair (if you're female) not as a show plait) and secure with a single band. This will shorten the tail enough to stop it dragging in the mud. When bringing the horse in from the field unplait the tail and if the ends are muddy just dunk the end bits in a bucket of cold water. Hey presto - clean tail!