BE - Plaiting?

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wench

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Is there a rule that states you have to plait your horse up? I thought there was and been trawling through rule book to find it and i cant
 
I avoid it if a can - horse has bog brush mane,and my plaiting is atrocious, which is not a good combination
 
Just think about the dressage where you're trying to put across a picture of elegance and harmony of horse and rider - they'd rather have it look like you've made the effort to be the above, than gone at it half-cocked, looking like you've just dragged the horse out of the field.
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Trust me, with BE it pays to look the part.
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My more constructive answer is: have you not got anyone who could help you plait, or show you how to deal with the bog brush mane so you can practice?
 
One of my horses has a bog brush mane (combined with a deep dislike of mane pulling).

The trick with her is to keep it as short and well thinned as possible and then put lots of plaits in so they aren't too big and untidy.

She always takes longer than the others to do but really doesn't look bad when she is finished.
 
I've never seen anyone unplaited and am sure you wouldn't get marked generously by the judges, it's sort of an insult at that level...
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Best get some of that stuff my daughter uses, she reckons it's so good she can let go of the plaited part and it doesn't untwist! (it might be called quickplait or a name like that)
I use extra strength hair gel and lots of it, and once you learn how to stitch manes in it's easy..
 
Ive only not plaited for BE when the horse had an allergy which meant that his mane just fell out every time you touched it so managed to get a forelock plait in and then gelled the remaining mane he had left down... but it was only an intro and explained and apologised to the judge although it was fairly obvious that I couldnt have plaited and that we had made an effort...
 
I think that situation is fine, and the judges would understand, but although judge's aren't supposed to take turnout into account, it's noticeable the top scoring horses invariably look immaculate as do their riders.
Bog brush manes are plaitable I'm afraid..
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i've seen 2 unplaited horses at BE, ever, one was a few weeks ago at A-le-W. it looked very scruffy.
it's not in the rules, but i'm glad everyone does it, it only takes 20 mins and makes such a difference.
i don't think plaiting with bands is infra dig though, did to begin with until i saw Ian Stark pulling laccy band plaits out of his horses mane on the way back to the lorry after Advanced xc!
i never used to see horses without pulled or plaited tails, but they seem to be more prevalent now.
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there was also an absolutely flithy grey at A-le-W, had mud all over its neck, i thought that was really bad tbh. would have taken 2 mins with a bucket of water and a towel to make it look reasonable!
 
That stuff you mentioned is magic, i swear by it! Also for eventing if the plaits are only staying in fo rthe dressage adn sj and I'm plaiting in the morning, always use bands, much easier to put in and pull out, especially is mane is like a bog brush as by the time i've faffed with needles on a bog brush the plait looks awful!!
 
The grey in my sig also has a very thick mane, I can offer a few tips..

1) I try to maintain 'optimum plaiting length', which is most definitely not too short, otherwise there's nothing to hold.
2) Section out the mane carefully, so that the plaits are even and if in doubt I tend to do lots of smaller plaits rather than have any golfball style plaits!
3) Thinning scissors.. Fantastic things.
4) As HH mentioned Quickbraid is brilliant.
5) Do something else halfway through plaiting for a bit so your fingers get a rest.
6) Practice!
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If it's really horrendous and your horse is a cob type you could hog the mane? I would never consider competing BE unplaited. On the plus side when you get round to plaiting something with a thinner mane it seems super easy and takes no time at all.
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A friend of mine had a horse that she hogged and took to 4* level.. tis always an option..
I have seen unplatted horses at BE events.. but i agree with everyone else, it really isn't the done thing, to the point that you could even be marked down, although i'm sure you shouldn't be..
 
As much as I would like to say that it doesn't make a difference it really does.

I ride my sisters coloured cob x TB. My sister loves the flowing mane and feathers and we do a bit of low level showing too. Decided to enter horse for non-cob coloured class so clipped her legs, thinned her mane (but had to keep the length to satisfy sister!!) and plaited her up. She looked much more TB. This was in between 2 dressage tests. Bearing in mind that I always scrub pony to witihin an inch of its life so we look as smart and shiny as possible.

Our collective marks were so much better, even though the video and my trainer agree that this was not the case!!

Practise, practise and get someone who is really good at it to show you how to sew in (even if like me you cheat and use a band to secure the platting and then roll and sew in afterwards.
 
Echo what Sit-up said - my horse is a pure bred arab with a mane that would be the most awful bog-brush through the middle - so because we can get away with it because of his breeding I let it grow long - as at least this way it lies flat! However oce I had learnt how to do a running plait, I have always done this for dressage and now that we are eventing I do it for all 3 phases- keeps mane out of the way as much as anything! Dressage marks have definately improved, and we went on a clinic on Tuesday, I bunged a running plait in before mounting (takes literally 10 mins) and the instructor joked that I had won the best turned out prize....little did he know I had dragged my field kept horse out of the field 10 mins before loading him, my tack was dirty from a ODE on Sunday and hadn't had time to clean it, and there was mud on his ear. But the plait.....makes so much difference!
SO yep, OP, would suggest a mane rake as well, or hog/let it grow and running plait depending on breeding!
 
I always plait. I tried to leave from home with three unplaited horses and a lingering sense of guilt once to do unaffiliated dressage and my husband said 'if you want people to treat you like a professional, turn your horses out like a professional'. He was right - everything else was smart - the tack was clean, I was well turned out, they had quarter marks, hoof oil and neatly pulled tails so 20mins later they all had smart plaits and I felt (and probably rode) much better.

Practice, practice and practice again. If you want to spend all winter plaiting 8 hunters twice a week in the freezing cold for practice give me a shout! Alternatively find a friendly hunt or event groom (they really know how to plait well and quickly) who can show you how. Having the mane right in the first place is half the battle.
 
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