Follow on... bens mane or lack of it...

[Queenbee]

Hi Guys, following last nights thread:

http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=610057

as promised, I have taken some pictures of what we are dealing with!

Now as I said, there is a show on the 12th of this month, but its local and basically a practice for the big one, so im not expecting anything more than for ben to see the sights and gain some experience. I know that we still have masses of work to do for the big show. Now the big show is in June... the sixth to be exact so a few weeks to go yet... hopefully we may get an inch of extra growth to the mane by then...

Anyhow, this is what it looks like...

this is what an urchin he looks like at the moment still with woolly bits Im really hoping that Dr Green kicks in soon!

and just a couple of him being special and gorgeous

any comments welcomed, particularly with regards to the scraggly mane

 

[JenHunt]

bless him! he's lovely!

not much help w/ regards to the showing, but Ron's mane does something similar over the winter, so I just pull it quite short once rugs come off (actually over did it this time and it stands on end at the moment! ). the idea is to pull it to about the same length as the rubbed bit and even it all up. once it's plaited you can't tell.

as I say I'm no showing expert (in fact the last showing class I did was 25 years ago on a 12hh pony)... so that suggestion ^^ is no help if you're not plaiting up!

ETA (now i've read the other thread!) that if the thick bit is really thick, it might be worth doing the thinning over a few days so you don't make him sore. but personally I much prefer a pulled rather than solo-comb or scissored mane. I can understand that not everyone shares my view though!

 

[Queenbee]

bless him! he's lovely!

not much help w/ regards to the showing, but Ron's mane does something similar over the winter, so I just pull it quite short once rugs come off (actually over did it this time and it stands on end at the moment! ). the idea is to pull it to about the same length as the rubbed bit and even it all up. once it's plaited you can't tell.

as I say I'm no showing expert (in fact the last showing class I did was 25 years ago on a 12hh pony)... so that suggestion ^^ is no help if you're not plaiting up!

Yep, I agree, Im going to have to get brutal pulling wise on the upper part of his mane if im going to stand a chance of it looking decent in the ring now. I just wish I could have done it how I wanted... then Id have a lot more to play with... This was his mane last week the photo makes it look a lot thicker at the bottom than it was... hence the scissors plan

 

[Polos Mum]

Are you happy with how the rest of the mane looks?

I've very sucessfully used conrnecresent (sp?!) on hair to make it grow back quicker - not sure if it would work on a mane - and it might be a pain to clean off for the show - so on second thoughts cancel that! But maybe someone could suggest something else.

Can you have a practice plat to see how it looks - or even pull more of the thick bits and use those for your fake plats?

 

[JenHunt]

ahhh... yes, I see what you mean QB. there looks to still be a fair chunk of mane left though so you should be able to get it sorted ok

and yes, I'd be annoyed with the YO too... surely it should be up to you what you do with his mane!

 

[Queenbee]

Are you happy with how the rest of the mane looks?

I've very sucessfully used conrnecresent (sp?!) on hair to make it grow back quicker - not sure if it would work on a mane - and it might be a pain to clean off for the show - so on second thoughts cancel that! But maybe someone could suggest something else.

Can you have a practice plat to see how it looks - or even pull more of the thick bits and use those for your fake plats?

for me, the lower part is now far too whispy and thin (think appy mane) and the upper part is still too thick and long (although this can be fixed) however, for even plaits Im going to have to go postal on the upper part, thinning and pulling to death... then let it grow and take it from there... the other option, as you say is to get the upper part to an 'ideal' length, use some of the leftover to make some false black plaits, some of his tail when pulled to make some false white plaits. and stick falsies on the lower mane and plait up the upper crest area... Im just not certain what to do for the best...

My gut says to leave it to grow and then choose a plan of action closer to the time, but I am off to a show in a little over a week so kind of need to decide on whats best now...

my only problem is that if i decide to go with plaiting what I have... its going to be really tiny plaits... I think that will look stupid on ben... He is a mans man! Larger more substantial plaits would suit him.

 

[MoonRiver]

Pull the thicker bit a bit more, then as you plait make the clumps (subtley)slightly wider as you get to the thin bit, should give a bit more mane to plait to chunk it out a bit. If you only fold the small ones over once before banding/sewing you can make them look a bit bigger than wrapping up too tight.

Not sure if any of that makes sense but I had to do it a lot for hunters with wispy manes

 

[Ladyinred]

Small plaits kept under crest level will lengthen the appearance of his neck and make him look very elegant.

 

[Queenbee]

Pull the thicker bit a bit more, then as you plait make the clumps (subtley)slightly wider as you get to the thin bit, should give a bit more mane to plait to chunk it out a bit. If you only fold the small ones over once before banding/sewing you can make them look a bit bigger than wrapping up too tight.

Not sure if any of that makes sense but I had to do it a lot for hunters with wispy manes

Small plaits kept under crest level will lengthen the appearance of his neck and make him look very elegant.

thank you both, a couple of really good tips/suggestions there...

I think im going to crack on with thinning and shortening the upper part of his mane tomorrow and save what I pull (just incase)!

 

[Queenbee]

do you know what... scrap the whole thing! I find myself worrying, plotting, planning and mithering about what he will look like, what I will look like, will his coat grow out, will he look muscled enough, will he lead well, stand well, will his bridle suit, with he p!ss off around the ring like a git, will he be sparky or a slug...

Anyone want to prep and show my horse?!

How on earth do you guys who do show regularly stand the stress?

Oh and I wont be scrapping it really

 

[Queenbee]

bumping for any/all the help and suggestions I can get

 

[Lolo]

That mane looks absolutely fine for plaiting, Reg's is considerably thinner and wispier yet plaits really nicely.

Wet it first, then section it out. Make sure if there's a sudden change in mane length you try and keep the 2 separate lengths apart. Gel the section, and plait. Should stay tight. If you do this the night before and then put a hood on, they'll set rock solid for the next day

 

[Honey08]

I think it looks fine for plaitting, I was expecting much worse!

I would thin the mane further up a fair bit and level it to the length of the shorter part, then plait it all with finer plaits.

I had to pull my husband's horse's mane really short once (I do it once a year while he is sedated for the dentist, rest of the year I solocomb) and I had a show the following week. I had always thought he suited chunkier plaits, but he looked just as lovely with smaller plaits. At the end of the day, its his neck you're looking at, not his plaits.

 

[Queenbee]

That mane looks absolutely fine for plaiting, Reg's is considerably thinner and wispier yet plaits really nicely.

Wet it first, then section it out. Make sure if there's a sudden change in mane length you try and keep the 2 separate lengths apart. Gel the section, and plait. Should stay tight. If you do this the night before and then put a hood on, they'll set rock solid for the next day

I think it looks fine for plaitting, I was expecting much worse!

I would thin the mane further up a fair bit and level it to the length of the shorter part, then plait it all with finer plaits.

I had to pull my husband's horse's mane really short once (I do it once a year while he is sedated for the dentist, rest of the year I solocomb) and I had a show the following week. I had always thought he suited chunkier plaits, but he looked just as lovely with smaller plaits. At the end of the day, its his neck you're looking at, not his plaits.

thanks guys, feeling less stressed and a lot more relaxed now...

you guys are ace

 

[Twizzel]

I could photoshop some plaits in on the pictures?! hehe, sorry couldn't resist. Hope it sorts itself out by RC eekk...

 

[Queenbee]

I could photoshop some plaits in on the pictures?! hehe, sorry couldn't resist. Hope it sorts itself out by RC eekk...

p1ss of

me too rach! Soooo much to do! xx

 

[Moomin1]

You should be ok with some careful adjustments QB! Try not to wash his mane the day before the show if poss - do it two days before so it's slightly greasy. Instead of doing small sections and lots of plaits, you may have to do less plaits with larger sections, so that when you come to the thinner bit, you can 'cover' it by taking the hair from either side of that little thin bit at the bottom, and plaiting infront of it (if that makes sense). You will have to use lots of gel and hairspray poss. Put the gel on your hands before plaiting and keep topping up - and then spray with extra hold hairspray once plaited. If it helps you can wet the mane slightly too, then put gel on your hands and plait. It should dry pretty quick and it will make it more manageable whilst plaiting and stick better.

My mare's mane ended up pretty identical to this last summer before her show - she had one patch which was almost missing, but with some careful 'covering up' it turned out ok!

 

[Queenbee]

You should be ok with some careful adjustments QB! Try not to wash his mane the day before the show if poss - do it two days before so it's slightly greasy. Instead of doing small sections and lots of plaits, you may have to do less plaits with larger sections, so that when you come to the thinner bit, you can 'cover' it by taking the hair from either side of that little thin bit at the bottom, and plaiting infront of it (if that makes sense). You will have to use lots of gel and hairspray poss. Put the gel on your hands before plaiting and keep topping up - and then spray with extra hold hairspray once plaited. If it helps you can wet the mane slightly too, then put gel on your hands and plait. It should dry pretty quick and it will make it more manageable whilst plaiting and stick better.

My mare's mane ended up pretty identical to this last summer before her show - she had one patch which was almost missing, but with some careful 'covering up' it turned out ok!

Thank you! This showing ******s is all so stressful! On the plus side I started to pull his tail today after a ride... Just little bits to see if he would object and boot me... He was a saint! So that's next on the list. Little bit every day is my strategy!

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Personally I'd be spitting fire stil at the state of that mane

Anyways, I'd be pulling the top bit and leaving the bottom bit, just do it all to same length. I'd be practicing plaiting that top bit, will take more of a pulling than the bottom. Try him with rosettes ( the ones I do) and make them different sizes and see what suits him, then get a pulling comb and a pairing band and mark on the comb the width of the base of the plait. Means you can make them all uniform sized on the normal bit of mane then slightly thicker on the thinner parts

Then try him with neckline plaits, playing about with the sizes, and work him with both in and take pictures so you know how they will look When he's on the bit working properly

 

[JFTDWS]

This showing ******s is all so stressful!

You can say that again. I did a county with my old lad, traditional cob, years back and it was beyond stressful! Never again, I swore!

And I've never had to worry about pulling, between him and the highlands

 

[Lolo]

I'll take photos of Reg's mane tomorrow for you Queenbee, if it'll make you feel better! His is like Ben's at the bottom, then has about 6 inches of mane which is about 2 inches long and tufty (rub rugged it out over the winter, slowly growing it back) and then the top is long-ish and wiry and curly.

Plaited, it looks spot on

I used this gel today, which was amazing. Wet the mane first, section it up, smooth a tiny blob of this gum through and then plait as normal. It's amazing and I hardly used any of it... Plaits set neatly without being hard, and all the tufty bits were smoothed down nicely

 

[Queenbee]

Personally I'd be spitting fire stil at the state of that mane

Anyways, I'd be pulling the top bit and leaving the bottom bit, just do it all to same length. I'd be practicing plaiting that top bit, will take more of a pulling than the bottom. Try him with rosettes ( the ones I do) and make them different sizes and see what suits him, then get a pulling comb and a pairing band and mark on the comb the width of the base of the plait. Means you can make them all uniform sized on the normal bit of mane then slightly thicker on the thinner parts

Then try him with neckline plaits, playing about with the sizes, and work him with both in and take pictures so you know how they will look When he's on the bit working properly

Thank you! Gosh there is so much to think about... It's like a military op... In fact I reckon the military get off easy by comparison!

You can say that again. I did a county with my old lad, traditional cob, years back and it was beyond stressful! Never again, I swore!

And I've never had to worry about pulling, between him and the highlands

No mane pulling or plaiting... Can I just say at this moment I do not like you very much

I'll take photos of Reg's mane tomorrow for you Queenbee, if it'll make you feel better! His is like Ben's at the bottom, then has about 6 inches of mane which is about 2 inches long and tufty (rub rugged it out over the winter, slowly growing it back) and then the top is long-ish and wiry and curly.

Plaited, it looks spot on

I used this gel today, which was amazing. Wet the mane first, section it up, smooth a tiny blob of this gum through and then plait as normal. It's amazing and I hardly used any of it... Plaits set neatly without being hard, and all the tufty bits were smoothed down nicely

Lolo.. A pic of your boy for comparison would be fab if you could! And thanks for the link.. I will invest in some gum