Grabbing the mane?

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-x-laurrie-x-

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Nov 26, 2007
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Jumping at the weekend i suddenly found myself grabbing the mane mid-jump. I have never done this before, and didn't make a conscious decision to do it.. very odd! :o
So thought i'd ask, do you grab the mane when you go over? and is it a habit i need to nip in the bud? at first i thought it would limit movement, but then again it certainly eliminates any possibility of jabbing him in the mouth..
thanks :) x
 
I do it, it's an instinctive thing I do if I'm not sure whether the horse is going to stand off or put a short one in. Bitter experience says stay defensive & don't go forward in that situation, but if the horse does ping there's a danger I'll reward them with a crack in the gob. Grabbing the mane means you don't do that. Happily I seem to be doing this less now but put it this way, I would never hog a horse I was going to jump ;)
 
The first event I went to, I did quite well in the dressage, and then couldn't jump at all and fell off in the S/J.

It hadn't occured to me to unbraid the mane after dressage :rolleyes: I don't think I can jump at all without a security blanket to bury my hands in !
 
Kay2 said:
Well...it works for Ellen Whitaker! :D;)
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It's OK as long as you don't forget to let go when you land ... I've been trying not to do it, ever since I realised that if you keep holding on it tips you forward in the saddle and unbalances the horse when he lands (and I only do little jumps - it would be worse if they were big).
 
I sometimes grab the horses mane when jumping, it depends. Though I have had nasty cuts before on a certain horse that had a really long mane. When i grabbed her mane and then let go the hair my hands would get tangled and then the hairs would slice under my nails and cut them....ouch! Also with Miska as she has such a long mane I did find myself trying to untangle my hands before the next jump...:D But I do think it is a good thing to do until you're confident you're not going to pull their mouth.
 
When I still jumped I used to do it if I wasn't sure of a stride. My trainer used to say that when the stride is completely wrong, the jump is too high and the rider is about to wimp out ( = me!), then only the horse can save the situation, and shouldn't be smacked in the mouth for his efforts ... Grab mane, sit balanced & kick *lol* ...
 
most horses have very little or no sensation on their manes (although there are a few who dont like to have their manes "pulled")...but as long as they havent rubbed themselves raw through something like sweetitch, a horse (I should think), would be MUCH more appreciative of the rider holding on to their "numb" manes for balance rather than tugging and pulling on their mouths which is far more sensitive!

I remenber being told to grad the mane when jumping, or even to teach me to sit forward in gallop. Does no harm as far as I know, but I am happy to stand corrected if anyone really knows any different! I grab my horses mane when Im unsore of my balance...I remember doing hunter trials on my last horse and almost losing my balance because I had nothing to steady myself on (I'd hogged his mane)...wont be doing that again!

I also grab the mane and NOT the saddle when I am mounting/dismounting...simply because if the saddle were to slip, I wouldnt be pulled underneath the horse with it - instead, Ive got one arm holding the mane to keep me upright, and NEXT to the horse rather than underneath it, lol...besides that, it spreads my weight, so Im not twisting the horse's back as I pull myself up - some of the pressure is on the neck, and causes less damage....I dont like it when people mount my horse holding on to the saddle only - I see it as an accident waiting to happen!:D

p.s. I was watching Lucinda Green clinic (I think it was that - twas definately some professional XC and eventer anyway)...She was grabbing the horse's mane - infact, I dont think i saw many jumps where she didnt reach for the mane!
 
I've also been told by RI to grab mane - recently actually during grid lessons, I had to go down the whole line without letting go! Now that did feel very odd, but it was a good lesson as it meant Jez had to figure out everything for himself without me getting in the way. Am not sure I'd do it normally tho, his shoulder is so big his neck feels a long way away!
 
When I was learning to jump I was taught to hold the mane, I think both to teach me to bring my hands and overall position forward, and to stop my novice hands interfering with the horse's mouth. It's something I continued to always do when doing gridwork for the same reason (that or just taking my hands away and putting them on my head or hips.)

Once I started learning to jump courses though, I stopped, so I was never in danger of throwing my hands away, leaning on the neck, or ending up untangling myself from mane in the split second before/on landing when the hands are needed to help steady, collect or steer. I did still grab the mane though if I could see I wasn't right into a fence and wanted to avoid jabbing horse in the mouth.

My last horse ended up having to be hogged, but I kept a small bit at the bottom of his neck as an emergency handle :P
 
thank goodness.. :) glad to hear it's a normal thing. didnt know ellen whitaker did it, but hey it must be right!
can see how getting tangled up is a problem though - that could be pretty disastrous..!
 
I'd have probably been a lot better off when first learning to jump if someone had got me into this habit :D Sometimes people will still say to me now grab some mane or the neck strap but i just physically can't get my brain round it as i never got taught it. Wouldn't have helped me when jumping this last year as mare i used to ride was hogged :)
 
I tend to have a firm hold of Clover's mane when jumping especially hunting. However when one day he jumped about 4' over a tiny 2' post and rail and sent my flying into the air over his back, I was horrified to find (when I'd regained my composure) that I'd taken a large chunk of mane into the air with me!!!
 
Perhaps the mane has evolved with this purpose :) Providing riders with a means to not interfere with the horses "fifth leg" when jumping.... ensuring we leave it to them over the fence!
 
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