Long manes in winter....

[Hippona]

Ok....my 2 (arab and highland) have long manes....t'arabs is down to his shoulder....


Best way of looking after it in winter? Do I spray it to keep mud off?
Leave him to get totally scruffy, pick off the worst and give him a good going over in spring? ( usual method)

Any products that work really well?

Is there anything similar to Megatek to use as a leave-in conditioner/strengthener but without the associated price-tag?

Cheers muchly

 

[Carrots&Mints]

My friend uses mud gaurd on her highland and works wonders.... I think it's gold label it's in a spray bottle rather than cream she swears by it though x

 

[mcnaughty]

Mane bags or hood??

 

[Brightbay]

I don't do anything I do keep an eye, and if I see a wind plait starting to form, I untangle it (with my fingers), but I don't put anything on the mane. I rarely brush or comb it during the winter, especially as it's often wet and the hair is more likely to break.

I guess I'm lucky in that my boy doesn't seem to have a natural "curl", so it doesn't really get tangled. Used to have a mare who had a "curl", and I spent the whole winter, every two or three days, untangling dreadlocks.

 

[Clava]

My haflinger has a long white mane, it gets the occasional wash and lots of mane and tail spray, it stays pretty much white all winter and she lives out 24/7.

 

[sychnant]

We are on clay soil, I was dreading winter!

He doesn't seem to roll much which helps. I spray Showsheen on him a couple of times a week, and use a human hairbrush to detangle once it has sunk in. So far, so good!

 

[Polotash]

Spray some baby oil onto a brush and then brush through mane a couple of times a week. Cheap and helps the air tangles fall out, as well as the mud.

 

[ironhorse]

We have a lot of reining horses on our yard which have long manes. They are kept plaited into half a dozen braids, taken out and replaited every few weeks. These horses do go out with hoods or full neck rugs on tho and do tend to wear hoods in the stable.
The youngsters tend to have their manes loose and are just detangled and demudded every now and again, or in the case of the yearlings, not till the spring! My 4yo was in light work last winter and I just used a mixture of megatek and any coat gloss to keep on top of the tangles.
Eqyss (who make Megatek) also make a serum-like product which is wonderful for conditioning and only needs using once a week.
OP, you say Megatek is expensive, but are you using too much? I've had a bottle for two years and it's only just starting to run out! You only need 2p size dollop to do an entire mane - you just rub it into the roots.

 

[Shysmum]

I use pig oil and sulphur on Shy's mane and tail - just wask out when it's collected a lot of dirt, then reapply x

 

[Slightlyconfused]

I plait losely then when the mud drys just wiggle the plait and the mud flakes off.

 

[Hippona]

OP, you say Megatek is expensive, but are you using too much? I've had a bottle for two years and it's only just starting to run out! You only need 2p size dollop to do an entire mane - you just rub it into the roots.

Ermmmm probably

Thanks peeps.

 

[Kikke]

I plait losely then when the mud drys just wiggle the plait and the mud flakes off.

That's what I do on our Belgian draft, or if you want to be even safer mane bags!