Horse hates having his mane brushed???

biggingerpony

biggingerpony

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Hi all,

I got a lovely ex racer as a Xmas pressie in December and he really has been the opposite of the stereotype of the nutty ex racer. He is a joy to ride and to handle and I'm very happy with him :)

However his one little quirk (I suppose he has to have one!) is that he is VERY resistant to me brushing his mane, I only brush it very very gently but he really resists and shakes his head constantly, I'm trying to desensitise him but it doesn't really seem to be working, he's fine if I massage his neck but as soon as I start gently pulling the mane he doesn't like it. Even when I'm riding if I accidentally get some mane caught in my gloves he hates it! His mane is now getting quite long and unruly, I've tried using a solo comb which he didn't like at all. I'm kind of at a loss in what to do? I want to do low level eventing and hunting on him where he will need to be plaited but I really don't want him to be sedated. He has the physio coming out on Thursday and I will mention it to her. Does anyone have any thoughts?
 
Sounds like you are doing the right thing. I've got an ISH who is touchy about his mane - especially the crest near his ears. But you are going to have to pull his mane at some point - and he clearly isn't going to like it - and plait. But the more you work to get him settled the better he will be. He has probably got the idea that if he fusses about you'll stop. (Understandable!) You need to work around that and only remove the pressure - be that your hand, the brush or a pulling comb, when he is standing still.

Personally I'm not a fan of a solo comb. I've found horses tend to object more to it than to traditional pulling done properly. But I do know others swear by them so that is just my experience.
 
This doesn't fix the issue at all, but my youngster doesn't like his being brushed, not tried to pull it but can imagine he'd be awful! Mine got a bowl cut with scissors. His friends pick on him but his mane is manageable.
 
my horse hated his mane being brushed, I just brush it with my fingers instead, and he's fine with that, Apache has a 3 foot arab mane, so I just put some detangled on, and work it through with my fingers gently untangling.
 
I have a little pony who arrived, smartly pulled, and very nervous about having his mane touched. Not hard to guess why - he had been quickly and painfully mane pulled, to look nice on arrival (not that I would have bothered).
Time and patience every day, a little brushing through, stopping when he's tolerating what you are doing, not when he's is stressing about it. I chopped it with scissors over the winter,and he's very relaxed about it being done now with a solo comb. I don't give him a reason to worry about previous experiences, so don't bother with pulling it.
Sounds as if scissors is the way forward for yours just now.. and hairy plaits for competing! :)
 
My ex- racer girl is a little quirky concerning her mane- not a problem to brush or comb, but turns into a beast if I try to pull it. I've had to resort to trimming with scissors- not ideal, and I'm really improving my hairdressing skills!!

Have you considered that he may still be very tense in his neck/poll from racing? Maybe he could be sensitive due to tension, dending on how long he's been out of racing and whether he's seen a Physio much?
 
my horse was similar when I bought him, couldn't stand his mane brushed/pulled/touched in general both on the ground and when riding. I hogged him eventually and he was much happier, it has now grown back and I assume as he is a little more trusting, he will let me brush and solo comb it if I am very gentle.
He is a TB type and I was worried he'd look very silly hogged but he didn't look too bad at all. Depends what you plan on doing with him of course - mine was hacked/SJ so it didn't matter what his mane looked like!
 
My ex racer was the same when I got him - I presume he was dealt with/handled quite brusquely while in racing with his mane being yanked out! He is fine now to have it brushed but I'm afraid I've still not got him to accept it being pulled so I use a rake to thin it and solo comb to shorten it (took a while for him to consent to the solo comb too - he was still expecting it to hurt). I try to keep on top of it and keep it neat so there's never too much to do at once, although this year I've let it grow as he hasn't had a neck cover on this winter so he's sporting some flowing locks to keep his neck warm. Will gradually get round to sorting it but it will be quite a task, turns out he's quite a hairy by TB standards!
Edited to add I've never even thought about pulling his tail - value my life too much!
 
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My welsh was the same. I detangled using just fingers at first, in fact sometimes I didn't completely detangle at all. My principle was that I would always do something with his mane, but stop before he got really upset. Gradually worked up the amount I did, and can now brush as normal. Took a couple of years though. :)
 
My mare is terrible even scissors annoy her. I have to scissor her mane with my arm underneath so none of the cut hair touches her neck, that way she can just about cope. Brushing has taken time, patience and a lot of herb treats! I find she will not tollerate a comb but a tail brush is ok.
 
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