Mane shortening without pulling

[beingachicken]

Does anyone have any fail safe ways of shortening a mane without pulling?
I hate cut mane, it looks awful and I’ve not had great results with a solo comb (but not tried for years!)
Horse has a very thin mane but it’s got so long and I’ve always liked a really short neat mane but this one is having none of it! As soon as I back comb he go’s a bit mad!
doesn’t have to be really perfect but I don’t like The blunt choppy look

 

[tatty_v]

Yes, I shorten mine with one of these. Just take the ends off with the razor. Leaves a natural look rather than looking chopped!

 

[milliepops]

I use a solo comb but on a thin mane you do need to take enough time to just do a few strands at a time.

 

[ester]

I back comb and use scissors these days, the finish has surprised me after years of pulling. It would still need pulling properly if I were plaiting though I think.

A bit more troublesome if even the back comb sets him off though.

 

[criso]

I've got one with a thin mane who is also ultra sensitive about everything. I use scissors to take off the length but cut into the mane at an angle really slowly and carefully. Difficult to explain but it gives a nice natural look and plaits no problem.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Mine came back off loan with a phobia of mane pulling. I can brush or comb her mane, but as soon as I go to back comb it, she freaks out (and I don’t blame her, though it also rules out solo combing which is my preferred method).

Instead, I section her mane into small sections and cut it with scissors at a 45 degree angle. She can just about tolerate that. The end result is surprisingly neat, and definitely better than a pudding bowl cut.

 

[milliepops]

One of mine is paranoid about back combing but after a few mins she does figure out I'm not pulling it

 

[rabatsa]

One of mine hates back combing but I do about an inch a day. On a good day he will let me do two. A bit like painting the Forth bridge.

 

[ihatework]

A dog stripping knife works well to fray the edge after taking some length off with scissors - cut upwards on an angle and you can get a reasonably good finish without even using a knife.

 

[holeymoley]

Well I’ll get shot to smithereens for this but.... I’ve always cut my guy’s mane with scissors in a upwards/diagonal way-start at the ears and leave more and more length as you go down that way you don’t cock it up by making it too straight, having to take a bit more off is always better than it being too short! I then use one of the combs with a blade on it to make the ends look a bit more natural and to take any thickness from the underside.

 

[windand rain]

I tend to trim thin manes by using the scissors vertically rather than horizontally just snipping a few hairs at a time

 

[Northern Hare]

I cut the length off with regular scissors then use a pair of thinning scissors to soften the cut edge which work well.

 

[teddypops]

I use a mane rake

 

[HashRouge]

With a thin mane you can do a really nice job using scissors. Depending on the length of the mane, either take some of the length of by cutting horizontally and then cut up into the mane to get rid of the blunt edge. Or, if the mane is already fairly short, just cut vertically straight away. I think scissor cut manes look pretty nice tbh, and it's painless for the horse.

 

[beingachicken]

? wonder if I can practice on someone else’s before mine!

 

[JillA]

I use one of these - a craft bade fits inside so you "scrape" from underneath, can be either side if you are left handed. I find it thins or shortens really well and doesn't leave it looking cut in any way

 

[Mule]

I back comb and use scissors these days, the finish has surprised me after years of pulling. It would still need pulling properly if I were plaiting though I think.

A bit more troublesome if even the back comb sets him off though.

Where do you cut after back combing? Is it the part of the mane just underneath where you've back combed up to?

 

[Mule]

I occasionally thin it with a rake but it looks bad when it grows back. I sometimes do a nice job shortening it with a scissors and sometimes with a solo comb. Other times I do not do a good job
I'm unreliable at it. It probably doesn't help that his name is like an extra thick bog brush.

 

[DD]

yes, snipping the mane vertically instead of horizontally with normal scissors works wonders. theres a youtube video somewhere if you do a search. really easy and effective

 

[Sasana Skye]

I’m a scissors girl through and through. I section it and chop upwards, haven’t pulled a mane in donkeys. Results below on my warmblood who has a ridiculously thick mane

 

[Littlebear]

I tend to trim thin manes by using the scissors vertically rather than horizontally just snipping a few hairs at a time

I do it like this too at a slight angle to give a nice edge, I saw a video online of Alan (Charlotte and Carls groom) doing manes like this too x

 

[atropa]

I use scissors and bowl cut the mane slightly longer than I want it. I then use a combo of thinning scissors and normal hairdressing scissors to cut up into the mane and make it look more natural

 

[AUB]

I just use scissors.

 

[AandK]

I use scissors. I use a normal pair and a thinning pair, cutting upwards and at angles at the end to get rid of the harsh line.

 

[criso]

? wonder if I can practice on someone else’s before mine!

First time you could not take any length of at all but practise cutting into the mane to trim the edges to decide what sort of finish you like. Go very slowly and do a little at a time. If you are not going as short as you want to, there's plenty of scope to fix.

I don't go as neat as Sasanaskyex but a slightly more uneven look as if the mane hasn't been trimmed but happens to be short but it's all personal taste.

 

[criso]

Here's Alan Davies showing how to do it

 

[Bernster]

Ooh will watch the vid but I’m another that just cuts with scissors. Take the length off and then cut up a tiny bit and at an angle to get a more natural finish.

 

[criso]

Ooh will watch the vid but I’m another that just cuts with scissors. Take the length off and then cut up a tiny bit and at an angle to get a more natural finish.

That's similar to what Alan Davies does but thought it would be useful to anyone who hasn't tried and is trying to visualise what it means.

Did laugh when he said "we don't use shampoo on manes very often, just 2 or 3 times a week. Substitute week with year and that's me.

 

[Sasana Skye]

Did laugh when he said "we don't use shampoo on manes very often, just 2 or 3 times a week. Substitute week with year and that's me.

Haha, I thought the same. I don't think I shampoo even my own hair three times a week

 

[Fiona]

With a thin mane you can do a really nice job using scissors. Depending on the length of the mane, either take some of the length of by cutting horizontally and then cut up into the mane to get rid of the blunt edge. Or, if the mane is already fairly short, just cut vertically straight away. I think scissor cut manes look pretty nice tbh, and it's painless for the horse.

This for me.....

Daisy won't let her mane be pulled.

Fiona