Mane And Forelock Care

ANN H

ANN H
Jan 19, 2005
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As you can see from my Avatar, Misty's mane and forelock are v. long and quite thick. What's the best way to keep it looking good. Its dry to look at but feels greasy (her tail's fine strangely enough). I've been told by my RI to use mane and tail every day and it does seem to be working but I wondered if anybody else had any other ideas. Washing just dries it out more.

Thanks
Ann
 
used to ride a pony with a greasy mane before it was so wierd! I just comb my mares out and rub a small bit of baby oil on my hands and rub through. Their diet effects their hair too though. saying that my pony has the thinnest little mane and forelock and a massive tail lol its so thick its hard even to trim!
 
instead of using a shampoo, use a conditioner. leave it in there for about ten minutes, and it will come up nicer. shampoo, i agree, does tend to dry it out.
 
I use the Bananarama Hair Mask from the Boots Fresh range. First I shampoo, then I leave that on for 15mins. Brilliant. And it smells nice. :D

I also straighten Daffy's mane for a show, so I use Andrew Collinge Straightening serum. Having his mane straight like that makes it look a lot sleeker and better conditioned. Cold water is better for the hair and makes it look shinier (hot water damages the hair follicles and they go all scaley) thus stopping it looking dry.

Unless he has a dry scalp (if that's the right word) you shouldn't condition the roots, as this is what makes it greasy I think. You can get all kinds of specific shampoos and conditioners now, apparently some help prevent grease. I like the shampoo similar to the brilliant brunette stuff, but this one is made specifically for tesco. In a similar bottle, the darkest brown one. Good for the hair but doesn't make mine greasy. :)

Ooh I could be a hair dresser :p
 
I have a simialr problem AnnH :) I am actually becoming obsessed with mane and tail care :eek: :) . Frits mane is very dry, although it is getting better since I added sunflower seeds to his diet (not for the mane but because it is a black food, mane is a welcome side effect :) ) and I am going to rub some baby oil in it to help the mane become less dry. I do not brush is mane every day but I do have to detangle it daily using my fingers and spraying it with detangler! Same goes for his tail which is very thick! You would not believe what I can find caught up in his mane and tail, sometime all that is missing is the birds nest!
 
Oooh what do sunflower seeds do then? I'm constantly on the lookout for things to keep Daffy black, I'm going to hate keeping him rugged most of the summer if I can't find an alternative, but he just looks ridiculous bleached by the sun. :(

Just as another thought, I have been meaning to put Daffy's hair into plaits for the winter, putting lots of detangler on first, and then just leaving them. I haven't gotten round to it, but in theory it should keep it knot free, cleaner, and save most of it from the mud. :)

Siogfinsceal said:
lol daffy im booking you to give my pony the once over ;-)

You don't want that! I'm the person who took scissors to the bottom of Daffy's (welsh D) mane because he had terrible sun bleached split ends. It looks ok now though, just needs tidying up a little to level the layers. ;)
 
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Not sure what the seeds do (not very scientific :eek: ) however they do work and of course give a lovely shine to the coat :) You have to feed the black sunflower seeds, also kelp and paprika are black food. Kelp darkens the coat, and paprika also darkens the coat, if you feed paprika make sure you stop feeding it at least 2 weeks before a show as it contains capsican (sp) which is swabable. As Frits will not be going to show for a few months it is safe for me to feed him paprika.

I occasionally plait Frits mane as you are but do not leave them in for too long as they can damage the mane if left in too long, again just going on what I have been told so would be great if anyone could verify this :)
 
Just an update on greasy mane problem! My instructor told me to spray mane and tail on every day and to pull her main from the underside wearing rubber gloves to thin it out a bit. I've been doing this for a few days and it really is working. Her mane/forelock are nice and soft and the grease is going. Thanks for all your tips.
 
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