How do you manage your manes?

Achinghips

Achinghips

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My new horse has a mane that is his crowning glory - it's about 2 foot and very thick - stunning. Lots of shire in him. Any advice on what to do with winter approaching? Don't say hog - lol!!
 
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I pretty much leave my arab's mane alone and only brush it out a few times a year. I sort out wind-tangles carefully with my fingers and never use rugs with necks. :)
 
use detangler on it once every week or 2, and finger comb (only use brush on it rarely, helps thicken it out!) and it also helps keep mud off :D also plaiting to help it stay on one side and make it all wavey xx
 
*tries to stop but cant..*
HOG. haha my girlie is hogged, bit naughty since she is welsh but she gets sweetich and i've not yet perfected the management plan..if i start next march i'm hoping for a full welshie mane!


you could pop a snuggy hood on him ??
 
I'd use lots of de-tangler and get all the knots etc out and may be tempted to thin it out a bit to help with management. Running plaits are good for keeping it neat etc though :)
 
Baby oil lightly brushed through manes, tails and feathers helps keep them tangle free and stops the mud from clogging the hair up. It's a lot cheaper than detanglers sold specifically for horses, and it works just as well. Just don't use too much ;).
Also, baby oil mixed with sudocrem is what I use as a barrier to prevent mud fever and cracked heels. With that, you need to mix it into a thin paste and slather it all over your horses legs, making sure you rub it thoroughly into the skin and not just on the surface of the hair. Tried, tested and works 100%, I've not had a horse with mud fever for years using my home made barrier cream ;)
 
Is he living out ? I personally wouldn't leave a running plait in if he's living out. There's a risk of some of the hair breaking at his crest when he rolls, or has his head dowm grazing. That's just my personal opinion though :).
I would leave it loose, and just brush baby oil lightly through the hair every other day :)
 
My boy too has a mane that is his crowning glory. I keep it plaited and bagged. I take it out once a fortnight, detangle and rebag. These stop it being damaged when I ride and stop it getting dirty and messed up. I love alva barrier as a preventative for staining too if it isn't bagged.

I do show my boy so it is let loose whenever we are out and about.
 
i do a loose running plait or loose long plaits down the way. if mine hadn't rubbed his mane out completely on trees a few years ago it would all be long all the way down his neck. Its growing back in now though - i use standard rugs with detachable hoods - seems to keep it laying flat and its growing back at last. Having a standard rug over a rug with a full neck (not detachable) caused a lot of the rubbing in the first place
 
Achinghips said:
Yes. Do you plait it up and then put bags over the top? How do you secure them? :)
Click to expand...

Yep - you plait the mane, slide the bag over and secure with velcro fastener and elastic bungee cord (they come with instructions)

with bags:

manebags.jpg



without:

2011-04-16172120.jpg


2011-04-16172054.jpg



hope this helps :)
 
Wow those bags look brill - what a beauty!! - are they for field or stable? How do you manage that in the winter, rugs etc, also the feathers? Yours and mine are very similar and to tell the truth I'm frightened of ruining it - and mud dreadlocks:)
 
He's stabled full time in the winter but when he goes out in the turnout he has a necked rug - but he is fully clipped.

The bags stay in permenantly whether he's in or out in the summer.

I use pig oil and sulphur religiously on his feather - although he had it all removed due to his operation in August - it's growing back with a vengence!
 
Are you planning to keep it long? If so keep it really clean and tangle free using good conditioner and also some silicon spray.

I have a Clydesdale with at least a 2' mane too and it takes some manageing. Make sure that rugs don't put pressure on the area around the wither. Keep rug lining spotlessly clean, I wipe inside of neckrug every day with baby wipes, allow to dry before putting back pn horse.

If you are good at sewing, make yourself a neck rug liner with some satin, velcro to the inside of your neck rug to secure. If you sew the hook part to the liner they will stick to the wool lining of the neck rug, otherwise you will need to sew the partner loops on. The best type of covers are the ones that do up really snug around the throat as it stops the neck rug sliding down the neck and bunching up and rubbing the mane off.

Use a dog comb - the sort with a handle as the teeth are very smooth ans will not break the hair. Always start at the bottom of the hair - same as you do for the tail, work your way up the mane then you reduce the risk of pulling out the hair.
 
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