Can i please have some advice about plaiting a mane??!

[texansunrise]

I have just started doing some showing and i am feeling confused by some conflicting information from several different people at the yard.. My horse has a short neck that is bit poor on top line and more muscle underneath ...i think he looks better with small plaits and more of them ..where as i have been told that there is too many ..not enough..too thick..too thin ..etc so i just wandered if anybody would be kind enough to tell me the general rule of thumb with plaiting a mane .I dont know if this makes a difference but i am doing working hunter classes and some ridden show.Thank you x

 

[mulledwhine]

I am sure the more experienced out there will be of more help than I , but, I was alwas told to off set a long neck make the plaits biggers, and to make a short stocky neck appear longer then they should be smaller to make more of them, and there should always be an odd number.

HTH

 

[skewbald_again]

I have just started doing some showing and i am feeling confused by some conflicting information from several different people at the yard.. My horse has a short neck that is bit poor on top line and more muscle underneath ...i think he looks better with small plaits and more of them ..where as i have been told that there is too many ..not enough..too thick..too thin ..etc so i just wandered if anybody would be kind enough to tell me the general rule of thumb with plaiting a mane .I dont know if this makes a difference but i am doing working hunter classes and some ridden show.Thank you x

Well it always used to be 9+ forelock in my day, but my daughter was recently told 'an odd number plus forelock, any odd number you like'
Obviously I have had to be resuscitated on hearing such heresy, but maybe some young whipper snapper will confirm this for you?!

 

[monkeybum13]

Well it always used to be 9+ forelock in my day, but my daughter was recently told 'an odd number plus forelock, any odd number you like'
Obviously I have had to be resuscitated on hearing such heresy, but maybe some young whipper snapper will confirm this for you?!

In PC we were told odd number but any odd number.
If I only did 9 in L's mane they would be huge.

 

[skewbald_again]

yes, that's where my daughter was told it, too.
What is the world coming to?
(mumbles into tweeds and stomps off into the sunset grumbling quietly to dogs)

 

[texansunrise]

thank you for your replies... i thought that they should be odd ...but i am getting confused by how many plaits i can have...i would like to have as many as i can evenly divide his mane into ..but have been told that it is wrong and should be 14 max ..where as another person suggesting other wise :Z

 

[rupertsmum]

http://www.horsehero.com/5483
This is a video of Louise Bell and she does a good plaiting demo. She also says that the number depends on your horse and what suits it rather than a 'correct' number.

 

[texansunrise]

In PC we were told odd number but any odd number.
If I only did 9 in L's mane they would be huge.

yes i tried this for my last show ( as informed by livery ) and you can see in my albums theylook bloody awful !! I would much rather have more - im sure that would look much neater x

 

[texansunrise]

http://www.horsehero.com/5483
This is a video of Louise Bell and she does a good plaiting demo. She also says that the number depends on your horse and what suits it rather than a 'correct' number.

thankyou thats a great help..im just going to do my own thing as i love plaiting and can do a fair job of it...he would look better with smaller plaits...think il get up extra early to avoid the other liveries who love to 'help' x

 

[bonnie93]

id just go with what looks best and odd num +forelock. always think it looks best if the plaits on the neck are the same size as the one on the forelock

if hes got short neck id definately do more smaller ones, and because hes lacking topline have them along the top, makes top of neck look thicker, rather than to the side (if that makes sense!)

little cheats like making the ones in the middle slightly raised and thicker can fool the eye to by emphasin neck, creating the look of better topline, but if done wrong will just look messy, lol!!!

 

[rupertsmum]

Good luck! let us know how you get on!

 

[ecrozier]

Gawd if I only had 9 they would be the size of footballs! My boy is 16.2 with a reasonable length of neck and a VERY thick mane and I usually end up with 15 or 17.....the first time plaited him he had about 27 as I had barely managed to thin his mane at all!
I'd go with however many look better but had also heard more plaits make a neck look longer as per above replies!

 

[NOISYGIRL]

I use an afro comb, it seperates the hair either side of the comb and gives lovely straight lines either side of the plait.

As others have said, odd number on neck, depends on the horse, I did 21 once, then the owner didn't bloody turn up to take the horse hunting, I swore and said he can take them out ! they were lovely too, all sewn and everything

Hence I NEVER plaited for this person again