Do any of you have a horse that you simply can't plait up?! Advice required....

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ecrozier

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My 4 year old is (if I do say so myself ;) ) pretty great in almost every way! However, he has a serious phobia about his mane/neck. Tbh it started when he was microchipped, he doesn't bite or kick but is very effective at throwing his weight around and essentially barging you out of his way.
I am working on desensitizing him gradually and have also had a NH recommended person out and she was happy with his general behaviour and said he certainly doesn't usually 'dominate' or anything like that, and we are still doing her groundwork exercises.
I have this week had a bit of a breakthrough and he is now letting me cut (I know, I know) his mane with thinning scissors and I am doing my best hairdresser impression to avoid the bowl cut look!
However, go near him with a plaiting band and that's the end of that...
So apart from any extra ideas, what I am asking really is do any of you ever not plait for dressage? I think for riding club stuff I can probably get away with it so have until next summer to work on it, and know bsja we will be fine but tbh I am more likely to BE or BD him next year! He is a big sports horse type....
Would I look totally out of place?! For local dressage I am going to write an apology on my entry form and plait his tail - will make me feel better if nothing else!
 
yep...
spend 3 hours plaiting up at Bramham and half hour getting the bridle on! Mine violently shakes her head when you get near her ears which makes for an interesting time!

Somehow managed it....

She has always been funny since a foal and is 11 now... never going to change! Absolutely nothing wrong with her. (she just associates this behaviour now as you only have to show her a bridle and she shakes her head!)

Just in her head. Nightmare!
 
I had issues with my gelding's mane and I still can't pull it. However I can now solo comb it and plait, but it has been a bit of a long road. When I bought him as a 4 yr old I was told you could do anything with him except go near his mane (he was twitched to be plaited for auction poor boy), so I don't know what triggered it (could have been microchipping). Anyway, I did basic desensitising work - every day making sure I would do something with his mane and reward him (sugar lumps are your friend!). It became a bit of a ritual - same place, similar time of day, I'd tie him up and stand on a step and comb his mane, then reward him. By building this up slowly he now relaxes completely to be plaited and I can solo comb his mane into some form of neatness. But I can't pull it or backcomb it in any way but I don't push the issue. Forelock has always been fine, issue is the mane from around halfway up the neck to the poll.
 
As a short term solution (and if your horse isn't bonkers) it may work to sit on him and plait? I did this and then my horse couldn't escape from me/barge me about!
 
I am SO glad I posted this feel much better knowing I am not alone! ElleJS do you have that battle every time? Mine is absolutely fine about his bridle...
Halfstep, that's exactly where I am now. He will let me stand on a box next to him, comb all the way up, and I have managed to cut about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way up and it doesn't look too bad, I am using those thinning scissors and the using sharp hairdressing scissors to 'feather' it! Weirdly he is also absolutely fine with his forelock I can plait that no problem!! How is/was your boy for the vet/injections halfstep? And how long did it take to get go the point where you could plait?!
 
HottoTrot I have thought about that! But being 4 and big Im not sure I want to risk it! Will work on fiddling with mane whilst riding though as that can only help.
 
Both our ponies get sweet itch, and hate being touched anywhere near their ears. We use lickits as a bribe, which works very well with one - and also another of our horses that doesn't like having its mane pulled. We only ever use them as bribes. They seem to go into a trance for a while licking away. Its like a humane twitch! The 13.2 is too clever to be fooled by a lickit though - but its worth a try. Trouble is they make such a mess of the nose so it wouldn't be very good on a show day!
 
yep most the time.... i can pull her mane if twitched when i get to around her ears.
sometimes with the bridle she is okish, when she puts her head on the floor (!) and as long as I am super quick i can do it. Most the time its a struggle and normally results in me grazing my knuckles as she bashes my hands against walls etc!! She hates the flash and throat lash dangling. As for plaiting her forelock and top three plaits... it can take ages... at Bramham she had her front plait and top three in all week as couldn't get them out or in again! silly mare.... if I am quiet and patient and get someone to gently brush her face (which she loves) we can do it. So it takes three people to plait one mare.... luckily she is super duper!
 
Ooh likits, worth a try thanks!
ElleJS, sounds like a mission! But as you say if the horse is good enough it's something we will put up with I guess! Little monster. Going to try a bath today!
 
I sympathise! I bought a 4 year old a while ago who was terrified of everything - headshy, I couldn't get near her mane or legs to trim them; so we did our first few shows unplaited, even some BD ones. She wasn't the most quality-looking animal in the world, bless her, and actually looked better unplaited, but it was still a long hard slog de-sensitizing her enough to reduce her bulky mane and persuade it into a nice neat, solo-combed line (whilst avoiding the scissor-ed look!)! So I followed the same plan as HalfStep and just did little bits each day, and following our first winter I managed to plait her for a working hunter class, which was quite a result - we had managed to come to an 'agreement', where I used the solo-comb and she immediately got a polo each time!! ! I'm afraid to say I did have to resort to ACP and a twitch to do her legs (she'd had mites as a youngster and remained very ticklish). Best of luck with him!
 
Have you tried doing it from the other side? I had a horse that I couldn't plait without lots of headshaking, so I tried standing on the near side and lifting the mane up and plaiting and magically it worked! Got to be worth a try!
 
Halfstep it's interesting what you say about microchipping - my 5yo mare has never forgiven or forgotten the vet who microchipped her, and although she is fine with other vets, she won't let that particular one near her.

She was funny about her neck and mane for a long time (better now) which made it interesting plaiting her for her ID inspection as a 2yo, and when the inspecting vet tried to read her microchip she was having none of it :( so I had to do it (while busy apologising and hoping they wouldn't mark her down on temperament).

Like I say, she is better now, and I have spent quite a bit of time just quietly fiddling with her mane. I never pull manes, I use a thinning comb on everything, so none of them get their hair pulled out by the roots. Maybe it will just take time OP.
 
Thanks guys. Interestingly he isn't headshy in the slightest, I'm not very tall and to brush his head and forelock I climb up and sit on the fence and he rests his chin in my lap!
He is also fine with his legs being trimmed, luckily not very hairy but I can trim heels etc, and today he had a head to tail bath including his mane. Not bothered.
Good idea re the other side weezy I will try that.
But as others have said now I am certain it started with microchipping! He was never brilliant for the vet but used to let me plait and solo comb, now not even that.
I did manage to finish trimming today, used scissors but like a solo comb so don't have that horrible blunt ended look, or not too badly anyway!
Thanks for all advice, going to keep standing on box and combing and then will progress to plaiting bands again!
 
Mine is absolutely fine for injections so maybe not the microchipping! Actually, what Weezy said is a good idea, I used to plait him to the left originally because that seemed to make it a bit easier (god knows why). It is with such relief that I can now plait normally without it being a drama and taking an hour!
 
I think that you should plait even for riding club dressage if you can. I did a ODE a few years ago and there was 1 horse that wasn't plaited and it really stood out and looked like they couldn't be bothered. I also ran out of time at another ODE and just sectioned his mane off and rolled it up into little balls - which looked a bit rubbish but at least looked like we'd made a bit of an effort. My boy is a pain to plait too. And to stud. So I don't do eventing any more, just SJ on a surface. I got fed up with the shouting and swearing and battering and sweating! (not proper battering of course, just slappinng on the rump and doing nothing but making my hand sting!)
 
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Plaiting is not required in the rules for BD, so I would just go out and have fun and work on the mane issue as a separate thing. It would be a shame if you set back all the careful de-sensitising work you are doing just to get it done for a show.

Slightly different, I had a horse who would allow you to plait, but the longer the plaits stayed in, the more pissed off he got, e.g. tossing his head, little rears, etc. It seemed like the plaits annoyed him so I have up on them.

Out of interest on the microchipping: all four of my horses were microchipped last month and the vet used a small syringe to administer a topical anaesthetic, then the microchip. Not one of the four moved a muscle or notice the microchiping. My groom had her filly done the other day and the vet did it with no anaesthetic first, so the filly found it quite painful. They got it done because it was all over before she realised, but I do wonder what will happen next time a vet comes near her with a syringe. For people who have had problems, do you know whether the vet used a topical or not before the microchipping?
 
Teebagsmum, I regularly compete my older horse at riding club and affiliated and I think have have seen a few people not plait, (including me on him sometimes - but he is Arab so technically don't need to altho usually do!) I honestly don't think I could plait him at the moment even with hours of time to spend doing it, but I'm not really keen to spend too long waiting to compete him as it's such an importan part of his education IMO. But hopefully by next spring when we are doing one day events etc we will be able to plait!
Booboos no, my vet didn't give an anaesthetic. He had several failed attempts (wasn't my usual vet was another from same practice) at getting the needle in and in the end we had to give sedalin (whole tube) to get an IV sedative in. Then the microchip (and his booster!). WaS quite a drama, if hadn't needed the microchip for passport would have left it tbh!
 
our 2 year old filly hated having her mane brushed or touched. We have a grading coming up so needed to do something. two weeks ago I got a tube of sedalin from the vet and gave her half of it. Then we trimmed her mane with a solo comb, couldn't do much else even doped up! since then we have been fiddling with her mane daily, just plastic curry and fingers. TODAY - I managed to loosely plait her entire mane, didn't try the forelock. I stood on a chair in the stable and she didn't move a muscle! I'm going to try again tomorrow to see if the effect lasts.
she has been microchipped - I didn't think about that being the cause. no pre-treatment.
Keep trying!
 
I had this nightmare mane on io
P1010396.jpg


OH spent months trying to do something to no avail- all the time he wouldnt let us even touch his mane, never mind pull or plait so she did this for his first show:

IMG_2828.jpg



ok so he has to be twitched but she can hog it in less than 5 mins

:D
 
Yes- 2 (mother and daughter!)
One we could never use bands and plaiting was mostly acheived through bribery and distraction via food. We could definitely never divide the mane up first or tuck sections out the way. She hated the feel of bands- strictly thread only and then you absolutely could not touch her with the thread on the neck.
The other we've de-sensitized through persistancy but her was less ingrained.
 
Wow, I'd never guessed quite so many horses had issues with the same thing as mine! At least he isn't just a one off!
Progress tho, whole mane is now a uniform length, looks pretty good considering I think, still fairly thick but made mistake last year of using a mane rake on it and that just left millions of little wispy hairs sticking out of plaits (before he was chipped!) -at least this way the plaits migh be chunky but ought to be reasonably tidy!
and last night he let me comb it into sections without the slightest strop, and I even managed to sneak a band into one section! Tonight we try for two bands... We may be plaiting by September!
 
My 4yo is fine to plait his mane, and ok with the forelock until you go to roll the forelock up and goes absolutely do lally, lifting me off the floor and I am 5ft11. He was ok as a foal then the last 3 years nightmare.

Has had to do his last 2 futurities with a free forelock and plaited mane.

Keep playing with it etc but still goes potty :(
 
its taken me a while to plait my horses mane - she still has to have it cut or i'd prob be missing a few front teeth - she is also bad to be bridled (i hear parelli could help me with that? :p JOKE!) and very head shy - she's got better and better but i do plait the day before and use a lycra hood overnight - it just means i'm not bothered by time and she's more relaxed becuase i'm not rushing

i started with just literally playing with her mane - separating it etc - not doing any more - just each day playing a bit more - always from middle first - not top or bottom as both of them would bother her - its taken a long time but i can now plait her happily (altough top plaits are still a bit of patience needed) and my forelock plait is always off to one side as i can't plait straight down - but you'll get there - just do a bit of work on it each day :)
 
I used to have to use a bungee on my horse and then get someone to hold a twitch on his lip until I could plait his forelock. It gradually got easier over time until I could plait his forelock without the twitch and then plait him completely without anything at all. Now he knows that if he stands still and gives me 20 mins he will get rewarded with a few mints once I am finished and it seems to do the trick. He is still a bit funny with his forelock but never to the extent he used to be.
 
Thank all - PosieHoney, thats exactly what I am doing at the moment, managed two bunches in his mane today....will try for three tomorrow! In the middle as you say. Weirdly he is totally fine with me doing his forelock. I'm not keen to twitch really as I think I am far too slow at plaiting to risk that apart from anything else! Plus I don't want him to start associating plaiting with twitching etc as its all a bit traumatic, I have only twitched him once and that was to get an IV sedative in when he has a suspected fractured splint and needed xrays. But we will get there eventually! Got plans for his first ODE in September so thats the aim!
 
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