Mane pulling nightmare-- any ideas

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poiuytrewq

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My horse came to me very neatly pulled and trimmed and looking lovely, however now is beginning to look slightly scruffy. I cant pull his mane as soon as i try he starts swinging his quarters around and chucking his head about. I have tried tied up untied, with hay with food everything. I have also tried a solocomb with the same reaction.
Could i give acp? It wouldnt be too often say 3x a year
 
I have a similar sounding horse, I back him into a corner (very open corner) don't tie him up and that seems to settle him. I also twitch when I can get it on for a few moments first this seems to settle him. I would never try traditional mane pulling with him again as he obviously finds it unpleasant. Sedation made him worse/dangerous.
 
My horse can be like this but I don't think he's so bad, I had to do it in bits, I couldn't do the whole mane in one go so he looked a bit funny for a while but that was the only thing he would tolerate. Just do a little bit with the solocomb when you've got him tied up to change his rug, so he's standing at a time when he would be normally. Or get someone he knows to stand with him when you do it, or stand with him when someone else does it.
If all else fails, try ringing where you got him from to see what they did with him.
What is acp exactly, is it a sedative that you can get over the counter?
 
My horse is the same, he too came with a lovely neat mane and when I commented (as it was a bush when I viewed him!) she said he was a bit of a nightmare. I reckon she probably did pulling overload and put him off for life! I have since used a solo comb which at first he objected to but soon realised I wasnt going to hurt him. However he has a bushy mane so when he was last heavily sedated we thinned it all out. Big mistake it is now looking like a bog brush and is falling on to the opposite side, even though it has grown quite a bit. Im sure with a little patience he will let you solo comb it, once he realises you aint going to rip his hair out.
Natashia ACP/ Sedalin is a drug you get from the vets, its effect varies from horse to horse as does the amount given to dope the horse. Saying that it doesnt work if your horse is already hyped up and my horse can easily 'snap out' of it if excited or upset, so it doesnt work for me for pulling purposes.
 
Will he let you rbrush/plait it?
There are some good thinning combs that help tidy it up then you just have to nip the ends up.
 
One of mine hates it too. He'd never let me pull it. I use a solo comb, but make sure its not blunt or it will pull which makes them give the same reaction as when pulling. My boy just took a little while to realise the solo comb doesnt hurt - to begin with they pretend it does...! Then to thin it I use one of those Smart Tails rakes.
 
Ive got one of those rake thingy's but havent dared use it on his mane as I thought if I wanted to plait up I;d have loads of different length cut bits which would make it even harder to plait??? Have you found that happens?
 
i had to turn into horsey hairdresser today
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after cutting my mares mane and then she wldnt let me pull it! cldnt leave her looking stupid so i got the scissors and cut into the ends like a hairdresser does to blend in the cut and i must say it looks pretty good. and because she didnt feel anything while i did this she was happy to stand still unlike when i tried pulling her mane! give it a go it works!
 
Thanks everyone! He is absolutly fine to brush it, even to brush it quite roughly but the second i have two hands on it he starts. He came from racing yard and they are not the most helpful so i dont think thats a option. I may try a twitch- we always used them but i thought they were a bit frowned upon now?? However as a few people have suggested it i will give it a go, I do hate scruffy horses!!!
Thanks xx
 
What helps with my horse is if you pull the mane out by upward tugs rather than pulling it towards you or downwards, seems to hurt less!!! I can also remember seeing something on tv about using cloves to numb the horses neck before mane pulling, apparently you rub the clove alone mane line and it acts as an anaesthetic (may numb your fiingers too so be careful!), I've never tried this but if you do let me know if it works!!!
 
My mare hates having her mane pulled (can't really say as I blame her
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) I make sure she is hot and sweaty so it comes out easier then rub some clove oil into the skin to numb it a little. Make sure you wear gloves if you try this tho or you'll get numb fingers
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