Dealing with native bushy mane and tails

[BlackRider]

I've recently got a fell pony, and he's got a lovely (and very think) mane and tail.

What is best to put on it to keep it tangle free? (and preferably unscented - as he doesn't seem to like products with scent).

I did try some eqyss but could do with something a bit more heavy duty - plus he wasn't keen on the smell.

(preferably not a spray either)

 

[WelshD]

I use Supreme Products Moisturise and Condition, it's a spray but I spray it on to a brush and brush through. It's not heavy or gloopy. It's awesome stuff

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

I dont.
What I do is hand free off any tangles 2 or 3 times a week or pull out brambles in between Its never plaited up/along and any rugs used in the depths of winter are either no neck or pref full neck, with the end of mane being pulled out at the bottom nr the front fixings.
Current Fell pony been with me just over a year & still has v long mane intact (its almost to knees but def to point of shoulder), despite me leaving mane this way & leaving it free for all jumping etc. I dont band up her forelock either - its down to her nostrils.
If am competing, I hand go through the mane and tail 3 days before and then spray Supreme (as per Welsh D) or a simple mane & tail conditioner in both, then keep it tangle free for the next few days by hand.
Works out fine, and has done for the many natives I've had over the past umpteen yrs

 

[MotherOfChickens]

I've recently got a fell pony, and he's got a lovely (and very think) mane and tail.

hey, me too aren't they brill!

I've never bothered with the Exmoors but this winter in an attempt to avoid bog burn and to keep manes good I am trying pig oil (in a spray, patch-tested first) on manes, tails and feathers.

eta I don't used necks on rugs and he's only rugged when I need him clean/dry. I've had Lusitanos for a number of years and have found plaiting manes = them looking worse.

 

[BlackRider]

Fab - thanks everyone

I"m used to arab manes, I used used to leave it, and untangle by hand very few months if it started to get dreadlocked, so perhaps the same approach will be fine.

(yep - fells are fab !)

 

[MagicMelon]

My sons pony is a Dartmoor so has a pretty thick mane and tail (although not crazy thick). I just keep it brushed out every few days so knots and those awful devil twists don't happen. I usually squirt some basic baby oil into the tail, seems to keep it tangle free and its very cheap. For the mane I use one of the bog standard mane & tail shine type sprays.

 

[Fiona]

Does baby oil stop poo sticking to tails? My connie has a lovely thick tail but it needs washed lots because the two sides hang down and get pooed on.

I use Carr day and Martin mane and tail spray which lasts for ages..

Fiona

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

"Mane and Tail" (the pink wording one!!). Sorry, can't remember who makes it! But I followed a recommendation from a friend who's got a professional yard, and it IS good stuff.

Cheap an cheerful alternative?? Try WD40 spray.......... works a treat. (BUT PLEASE patch test first). And don't use either product before the farrier visits for hot-shoeing, especially on feathers!! (flammable!).

 

[Dave's Mam]

I try to do as little as possible to mane & tail, bar the bit where his bridle goes.

 

[pansymouse]

I make my own spray out of baby oil, cheap watery hair conditioner (human) and water - one part of each. It works as well as anything you pay up to £10 a bottle for. She's not keen on having her forelock sprayed so I spray it on a brush to do that. For general preventative maintenance especially in her tail in the winter I use pig oil in a spray.

 

[Hallo2012]

mines a welsh B so less hair to start with but last owner has somewhat massacred it (think they have used a blunt thinnning knife liberally as the last inch of mane is dry, frazzled,frizzy and a mess where as the new growth at the top is silky smooth).

i mix a UV hair filter spray in to the coat shine and use that 3 times a week-spray in,let dry and comb carefully. the UV filer just stops the sun frazzling the hair even further.

wash with tresemme shampoo and then smooth a small blob of tresemme conditioner through the mane and leave in. tiny amount of pig oil on the last inch and comb through.

its looking loads better just for 4 weeks of that. i also put the pig oil on his feathers and in his pink heels