Native hairiness

[Glitter's fun]

Another vote for mane plaiting. If you trim it, it will just get wider & taller. If you pull it she will hate you!

 

[rabatsa]

I am in the trim camp. I took the idea from another thread and have trimmed the end of the dock on my cob mare, as in heavy horse but not so extreme, it has really thinned out her excessive hairy tail to manageable proportions and no one looking at her knows. I have shortened her mane by cutting up into it with scissors, still a work in progress and needs another couple of inches off yet, clippers did the feather in.

 

[catkin]

Embrace the hair. To tidy without losing the Dales-ness comb the mane and maybe plait it for riding, perhaps shorten the tail if it gets too long by feathering the ends off. A occasional wipe-through of mane and tail with olive oil keeps the tangles at bay. Oiling the feather with pigoil can help keep them dry, mite-free and cleanish, but make sure you patch test first.

How will she be kept? That for me would be the deciding factor in how much trimming, if any, is best done. A pony with full hair has built-in fly switches for summer and built-in neck warmer/umbrella in winter.....

 

[abbijay]

It's your horse, do whatever makes you happy!
I had a loan shire horse that had mane down his shoulder and i hated it but I was told I couldn't trim it up. I did "tidy" it up gradually over the next 2 years but still had a LOT of mane.
I wouldn't "go the whole hog" (if you'll pardon the pun) straight away, I would start by going up 6 inches, leave it a week and then see if I wanted to take another 6 inches off... Taking it off is quick, if it looks ridiculous afterwards it take FOREVER to grow back.

 

[rara007]

Keep the mane plaited

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Fells come in black, brown, bay, grey and the very odd rare chestnut but they go on the x register. They can be bred from but not shown.

Dale's can be black, brown, bay or grey.

 

[SDMabel]

Nooo A total crime !!!

I think trimming the ends to get rid of any straggly bits is fine, I cut up and into my hairy traditionals mane so it looks like bowl cuttish .

For any ridden activity other than showing I whip it up into a running plait to keep it out of both of our ways - it also then becomes a fab oh sh*t strap

(pictures is of my previous mare but you get the jist)

 

[Gloi]

Dale's can be black, brown, bay or grey.

And roan which is very lovely.

 

[Prancerpoos]

Another one for a running plait. I used to be able to knock one up in about 5 minutes on my haffie. Didn’t look as good as the poster’s pony plait, but it worked.

 

[Flowerofthefen]

I couldn't stand the hairyness!! As others have said if you want to show its a different matter. I would go for what makes her comfortable and I can't imagine a huge mane or constantly keeping it in plaits is very comfortable. I would pull to a nice length which means it still sits nicely to one side and get rid of the feathers. I would trim the chin but obviously leave the whiskers.

 

[Glitter's fun]

@newboult51
Just to remind you - here you are happy with your lovely mare.
This is in "tackroom" so I think you can see it without logging in.

 

[Fransurrey]

With my extra hairy gypsy cob, I compromise by doing a twice yearly thinning of the mane, tail and feathers, in the Autumn (to help cope with winter) and Spring. Initially I trimmed him up to make the feathers look Welsh rather than Irish, which looked amazing and natural to the point somebody told me how lucky I was that he barely had any feather. Since then, I have thinned by putting a tubigrip on the leg, as if for the farrier, then pulled the bottom inch or so out of the tubigrip and cut it off at the coronet band. This leaves him with feather that looks natural, but he's not standing on it in winter or dragging it through mud. The other way of doing it, which is my preference for Spring (in case one day I get round to showing!), is to use thinning scissors, again, focussing on the underlying layer, but this needs a lot more time and care to create a natural look.

With the tail I thin from underneath, partly because this is what hangs down and collects the poop (in fact I've been known to just cut clods of poo out of his tail, rather than brush) and again in the Autumn I trim it so that it doesn't hang in the mud. Poo clods are cut with standard scissors, then the sides are neatened with the thinning scissors.

Mane I do with thinning scissors only, brushing the mane to the wrong side and thinning the top layer, then combing it back over. That way I maintain length and prettiness, but it's much easier to brush, plait and condition once a week (Cowboy Magic Serum is your friend!).

 

[Fjord]

Having just got a very hairy, grey fell, I feel your pain.

 

[Kaylum]

Just do not under any circumstances plait the tail and leave in when turned out. Seen a very nasty accident on fb when a tail got caught and was ripped off.

 

[ponynutz]

Can’t blame you as I’m not a huge fan of hairiness, but I have embraced it with our Shetland (slightly easier as it’s all a bit smaller!) Can you do a running plait to keep the mane tidy?

This is what I do (might find your reins undo the plait at the end so I always leave a little bit out)

 

[pistolpete]

My friend has a highland who she does two running plaits in for riding. One starting at the top one starting at the bottom. Meets in the middle. You could just do the bottom plait when you ride? Depends how hot she gets. Lovely pony. I wouldn’t completely change a native. My highland had slightly less hair at the either so I didn’t have a problem.

 

[Chianti]

I have just bought a very hairy Dales pony. Her mane is monster sized, gets in the way of everything and is impossible to keep untangled. She has hairy legs and a beard.
Am I committing some sort of native pony crime by whipping off her feathers, trimming her mane and tail and generally giving her a tidy up? I was thinking of keeping her mane at about 6 inches rather than the current 2-3 foot!

Thank you

I would be wary about taking off feathers as they do seem to help prevent mud fever. I'd just shorten her mane and leave the rest. The beard is good if they're out a lot as the rain runs off it!