Manes plaited, witch craft/crap/theft .. Sorry in advance!!

[GypsyGirl]

Hi everyone, so I no that theres always posts about horses plaited etc but I always ignore them really don't really pay much attention to them, but when it happens to close to you (on my yard) it does make you wonder!*

So anyway I was in the barn today and my friend has a little yearling cob and her daughter was grooming her today and says "oh can u help me get this out it won't come out" go over and she has a plait in the shape of a wish bone, 2 pieces of hair twisted then plaited at the end held together with a knot and a small bit of wood holding it together, it looked like a thorn from straw but was too hard.*

So that was that then showed my YM it and she said that she forgot to tell us but on wednesday she found one in one of the ex racehorses manes, horse is young but is retired and she showed us it because it's still so hard to get out it's taken her 2 days to get out and it was held together by the same bit of wood/material that the other mare had! When we went to look at it she said that its also been cut, his mane is long and he has a neat line cut out of it.. It's all very strange.*

My friends yearling wasn't out today in the field and she wasn't up yesterday her friend done them so it could of happened on the Wednesday aswell.*

Now I no the weather has been crap and SO windy but this didnt look like the wind had done it and held together with a bit of wood or something is all very strange!*

Now both horses are in completely different fields and are in separate barns, there both not the easiest of horse to get in there stable or field with if they don't know you! It's so weird .. Horses are in American barn types with doors shut?*

Any ideas? Now I no that there's stories of the magic and people stealing but I'm actully quite interested if it's magic of what they do? But is weird someone fiddling around with the horses when your not around? Don't get me wrong were on a pretty big and well known yard in the area, going to ask our YO if they no of any others that have had it done?*

 

[Ibblebibble]

my boy had a 'plait' in his mane last week, it's a wind plait, they're a pain to untwist and he's had them plenty of times before and sometimes with bits of twig (fields surrounded by blackthorn trees) twisted into them as well. theres no witchcraft involved, no thieves hiding in the bushes just the damn wind playing havoc with the boy and his l'oreal hair

 

[GeeGeeboy]

Why does no one take photos of these plaits!?!?

 

[Mare Stare]

Wouldn't it be easier for thieves just to take a photo of the horse instead of standing around plaiting manes? Especially with all this modern technology like mobile phones.

They're wind plaits. My two girls have got them at the moment. I was actually going to post on here to see if anyone on here had some tips as to how to untangle them. I normally end up cutting them off.

 

[Thistle]

my boy had a 'plait' in his mane last week, it's a wind plait, they're a pain to untwist and he's had them plenty of times before and sometimes with bits of twig (fields surrounded by blackthorn trees) twisted into them as well. theres no witchcraft involved, no thieves hiding in the bushes just the damn wind playing havoc with the boy and his l'oreal hair

At last! It's a myth about horses being plaited to steal. It's caused by the wind, just a tangle.

 

[mulledwhine]

As above, photos please

 

[tallyho!]

It's just wind you silly sausages!!!

 

[Sparkles]

Well all our cobs have clearly been 'targetted' for the past god knows how many years, not one has gone missing yet and they've had all variety of extras stuck in them. It's wind knots. Chill

 

[GypsyGirl]

ah im chilling! just thought it was very random! I also dont get why if they plait them to mark them why not just take them there and then instead of marking?

but if its the wind its a very clever wind plait because the knot and the bit of wood going through the middle of it holding it together, a bit like chop sticks holding your hair together?

Said yearling is breed by a well known gypsy stallion around here, the reason there was no photos was because by the time i said "take a picture of it" they had already taken it out lol.

It was a very detailed plait though! Clever wind it is

 

[NeverSayNever]

my Sec A has these wind knots all the time,often adorned with bits of branch or spiky thistle

on the other hand - my sec D had her mane chopped off after she was found with a proper plait. This was before I owned her but she belonged to a friend and was kept locally so I do know this to be fact and her mane hasnt recovered yet

 

[Foxhunter49]

This is a total load of rubbish.
Thieves are not going to go into a filed. plait a mane and then return at a later date to steal a horse. They are going to take it there and then.

One of my brood mares, who has a long mane had a 'plait' in it. There is no way that anyone put it there. Rolling in the mud or rubbing will tangle a mane to resemble a plait and that is all there is to it.

 

[much-jittering]

I genuinely did bring one in from the field once and found when grooming her a very small PROPER plait just behind her bridlepath, had read all about the 'marking for stealing' stuff but figured that if out of that field she was the one they wanted to nick, they had odd taste (lovely pony, but not the most flashy available in said paddock), so took it out and forgot about it.

A week later I discovered that said livery pony's new sharer had put a plait in her mane so she could tell her apart from all the other similar coloured ponies in the field - oops Still, don't think she ever managed to catch the wrong one!

 

[FionaM12]

a very small PROPER plait just behind her bridlepath,

What's a bridlepath, in this context? I've never heard this term used for part of a horse.

 

[GypsyGirl]

my Sec A has these wind knots all the time,often adorned with bits of branch or spiky thistle

on the other hand - my sec D had her mane chopped off after she was found with a proper plait. This was before I owned her but she belonged to a friend and was kept locally so I do know this to be fact and her mane hasnt recovered yet

ah thats anoying! yeah the exracer that had the plait in has had a chunk of his mane cut, its not scraggy like hes caught it, its a straight line like you would do with scissors!

Your poor sec D! I bet she had a lovely mane aswell!

Foxhunter: yes it could be a load of "rubbish" but I suppose when it actully happens so close to you its a bit different and you would want to look into it .. even if they are just rolling in the mud and get a tangle, what im saying is its so random that 2 of them have it on the same day and there both tied together with the same piece of wood/material, yes it could be a bit of bush but we dont have any in the fields but then it has been windy so could have blown over! Random yes! Rubbish maybe but I wanted to find out what people think it is

 

[GypsyGirl]

What's a bridlepath, in this context? I've never heard this term used for part of a horse.

bridlepath being the poll? sometimes people cut it short where the bridle goes, i do it on my mare to stop her mane getting tangled in with her forelock under the bridle x

 

[FionaM12]

bridlepath being the poll? sometimes people cut it short where the bridle goes, i do it on my mare to stop her mane getting tangled in with her forelock under the bridle x

I've never heard it called that before!

To me a bridlepath is a designated path for riding horses on.

 

[tallyho!]

Well, yes there was a spate of horses being 'marked' it was a bit wierd.

However, it's funny how these threads pop up when it's been windy or stormy. I can assure you that it's windy here recently and more than a couple have had plaits in. It's amazing how neat they can be!

Tail plaits are MUCH worse!!!

 

[GypsyGirl]

im glad that i have a fine tb with a short mane and tail! so not that bad when its windy! more when she poo's down it and gets stuck! lol no thick tangly manes and tails!

 

[superted1989]

I know it's the wind etc.........................but I do like to think of the fairies having a lovely ride on my lad when he comes in with intricate works of art all down his neck!

 

[caberston]

but if its the wind its a very clever wind plait because the knot and the bit of wood going through the middle of it holding it together, a bit like chop sticks holding your hair together?

the twig getting lodged in the middle is why it gets so tangled!

 

[GypsyGirl]

the twig getting lodged in the middle is why it gets so tangled!

there wasnt a twig in there though? was just 2 parts of hair from the mane in the shape of a U then at the bottom of the U it came down plaited and twisted then knotted at the end with a bit of stick in the middle of the knot holding it together? I will google a picture and see if I can find one similar, sounds silly but its just like the shape of a wish bone

 

[FionaM12]

there wasnt a twig in there though? was just 2 parts of hair from the mane in the shape of a U then at the bottom of the U it came down plaited and twisted then knotted at the end with a bit of stick in the middle of the knot holding it together? I will google a picture and see if I can find one similar, sounds silly but its just like the shape of a wish bone

Erm... Aren't a twig and a bit of stick the same thing?

 

[Capriole]

A week later I discovered that said livery pony's new sharer had put a plait in her mane so she could tell her apart from all the other similar coloured ponies in the field - oops Still, don't think she ever managed to catch the wrong one!

lol, i was talking to someone at a stud that does that, so the grooms can tell what identikit bay thoroughbred mare needs bringing in, its the one with X plait in X place....

 

[GypsyGirl]

ok it was just like this, apart from it was ALOT more detailed being plaited, then the knot at the end was thicker and held together by a piece of stick/wood/something hard and pointy .. also it was wider apart the 2 pieces of mane if that makes sence? got the picture from google images

 

[tallyho!]

Classic wind plait. Amazing isn't it!!!!

 

[much-jittering]

What's a bridlepath, in this context? I've never heard this term used for part of a horse.

bridlepath being the poll? sometimes people cut it short where the bridle goes, i do it on my mare to stop her mane getting tangled in with her forelock under the bridle x

Yes that's what I meant! Have only ever heard it termed a bridlepath, never called anything else. Much quicker than saying 'the bit behind the ears where the headpiece goes'. I have never accidentally attacked an actual bridlepath with a pair of scissors, or attempted to ride accross the back of a horse's ears so it can't be too confusing when you're used to 2 uses for the word lol.

 

[Ibblebibble]

oh my boys are much more intricate than that pic, we obviously have very stylish wind down here I'll take a picture next time

 

[FionaM12]

Yes that's what I meant! Have only ever heard it termed a bridlepath, never called anything else. Much quicker than saying 'the bit behind the ears where the headpiece goes'. I have never accidentally attacked an actual bridlepath with a pair of scissors, or attempted to ride accross the back of a horse's ears so it can't be too confusing when you're used to 2 uses for the word lol.

Not confusing at all. I'd just not heard the term. I've been a long time "out of horses" for health reasons, and either this term wasn't in use 35 years ago, or I just hadn't come across it.

 

[caberston]

ok it was just like this, apart from it was ALOT more detailed being plaited, then the knot at the end was thicker and held together by a piece of stick/wood/something hard and pointy .. also it was wider apart the 2 pieces of mane if that makes sence? got the picture from google images

wind plait! having a twig/stick/bit of wood/ whatever you want to call it just makes it more tangled and more secure! if a thief wanted to mark the horse why would they bother fiddling around and knotting the mane in such a way? surely they'd just do a bog-standard plait and be done with it

 

[EstherYoung]

Wolf's best one was a series of them all down his neck and a string of hawthorn berries on twigs threaded through them. It looked very festive and he looked very proud of himself. He got very peed off when I tried to remove them.

Spud and baby bro Felix are always doing intricate hairstyles, and they quite often have added 'decoration' in them. Because they're worth it..... Or because someone wants to steal them at least 8 times a night