For those of you who pig oil and plait long manes

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FellOutOfFavour

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This is my first winter with a native who has a long mane and tail with fine (not coarse) hair. We are on clay soil which gets very muddy, the mud dries into solid rocks which are impossible to remove from mane/tail without breaking the hair. The field is also on the top of a hill so always windy and the wind ties his mane in knots.

I know a lot of people use pig oil on natives/traditionals manes and tails and then plait during the winter to keep tangle free. So last week he was out for a day in a gale which tied his mane into a massive knot, which he then cemented into place with a liberal quantity of clay gloop and (just for good effect) decorated with dock seed heads. By the time I got to the yard the whole lot had solidified. After this I pig oiled and loosely plaited his mane and tail thinking I'd leave both like that for the winter and undo, re-oil and replait every couple of weeks. Pony has other ideas and is now an expert at losing plaiting bands, and the shorter hairs at the top of each plait came out within 24 hours.

How do you guys manage your long manes on fields which will be a quagmire by mid winter without using neck covers?
 
I don't really! I just do a quick detangle with my fingers when it is dry enough, or pull off twigs / lumps of mud as needed. It usually comes off easily enough once dry, if I need to keep it clean (e.g. for an outing) I do wash, use mane and tail spray and resort to a neck cover. He does get micronised linseed in winter which helps his coat and mane to "de-mud" more easily. I plait his mane more in loose plaits in summer to keep him from getting too hot (even out in the field this can be a problem for him).

The tail is more of an issue, I usually cut it shorter in winter as otherwise the mud lumps at the end are awful, luckily it grows quickly so easily grows back in summer.

I use pig oil, but on his feathers not his mane.
 
I'm on clay too, so share your pain. Basically, like every other hairy part, you largely have to shut your eyes and wait for spring. I don't use neck covers because he gets too hot and is more likely to lose his mane which is very long and thick. I do use pig oil but prefer olive oil for manes. When its dry, I put the oil on my hands and rub a small amount through and put a running plait in. I redo it it every day or two and never leave it in when stabled at night if the hair is wet. I try to avoid brushing as much as possible, using my fingers so as not to break the hair.
 
I just wash and thoroughly condition and keep on top with mane and tail spray so her mane is always lovely and soft and mud jst seems to glide out! If I plait she makes a pigs of things and it ends up worse!
 
We have moved from sandy soil to clay this summer so I'm dreading it with three of my four being feathered hairies. Tails have been doused in Canter and loosely plaited from the bottom of the dock and get undone, brushed out and re-done every few days. So far this is keeping their tails tangle-free and nicely conditioned. I really don't like turning them out with plaited manes because they will inevitably get stuck somewhere, pull hard and remove a chunk of mane and possibly take some skin with it so I'm just having to suck it up and get on with it.

Do Nettex still sell 7-day Mud Away? I used to find that useful years ago when I was on clay before?
 
Spooky - I was going to post this morning about keeping long tails less muddy and if anyone has a clever plaiting/tying up idea. Again ponio is on clay and after 3 days of solid rain the field is a swamp and tail is mud brown and not black anymore. I don't worry too much about her mane but the tail is rotten specially when I get a thwack across the face picking feet out!
 
Coblover63 said:
We have moved from sandy soil to clay this summer so I'm dreading it with three of my four being feathered hairies. Tails have been doused in Canter and loosely plaited from the bottom of the dock and get undone, brushed out and re-done every few days. So far this is keeping their tails tangle-free and nicely conditioned. I really don't like turning them out with plaited manes because they will inevitably get stuck somewhere, pull hard and remove a chunk of mane and possibly take some skin with it so I'm just having to suck it up and get on with it.

Do Nettex still sell 7-day Mud Away? I used to find that useful years ago when I was on clay before?
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They do but pig oil is about 1/4 of the price and just as good.
I don't have a native with a full mane but I do have 2 greys. I use a tailbag - they're wonderful. You can get a set of similar little ones for manes but no idea if they're any good as my two have snuggy hoods. Agree that plenty of mane and tail spray and regular washing and conditioning is the best way


ETA link to tailbags: http://www.tailgator.co.uk/tg/pages/tailbagorder.html
 
We are on heavy clay.
I put pig oil on the mane, leave unplaited and thoroughly brush once a week only.

Luckily my gelding is not the type to roll mud into his mane (unlike my other horse!), so I just have to pull out a few mud bits from his poll and forelock sometimes, but other than that it stays really nice.

I actually prefer Net Ex's 7-day mud away! But a bottle only lasts me a day with my lot!!
 
Any silicon based tyre shine will get the mud out more easily/ keep it from getting in. Can be a bit cheaper and easier to apply than pig oil.

If you're doing a running/ spanish plait, consider two, one on each side. You can also "sew" through them with a ribbon and bodkin to provide a bit more stability.
There's plenty of spanish mane tutorials on you tube, similarly polo tail plaiting and iberian working equitation tail techniques. Hope that's of some help. I sew the tail of mine up against the top of the plait (into the middle of the neck) if they're getting turnout in muck, find it stays better.
 
Carr & Day Mane & Tail helps keep me sane in winter and neck covers! It seems to last a while too not like other "mane & tail" sprays that seem to disappear. I once was so desperate as ran out of conditioner I pinched some for my long hair and lost count of how many people told me my hair looked great that day (never revealed to anyone what I'd used! Lol).
 
Thanks everyone. I unplaited his mane today and even while in plaits the wind has managed to put it into twirls and knots. There are also huge lumps of solid mud which won't break off (there is no way I'd try to brush them off - I have to use a metal curry comb at times on his body to chip it off!
 
Princess Rosie said:
Carr & Day Mane & Tail helps keep me sane in winter and neck covers! It seems to last a while too not like other "mane & tail" sprays that seem to disappear. I once was so desperate as ran out of conditioner I pinched some for my long hair and lost count of how many people told me my hair looked great that day (never revealed to anyone what I'd used! Lol).
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I have a hairy mud monster, lots of white, with a heavy mane and tail, my niece is a plaiting expert on manes and does something with two strands twisted, better than a normal plait and keeps his mane tidy, his tail is too heavy for a normal plait, so I loosely knot it and pop it into a tail bag, given the mud we have, I cut my other horses tails to just below the hocks for the winter, but they don't show
 
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