Plaiting experts... Tell me your secrets

G

Gracie21

Well-Known Member
Joined
9 March 2011
Messages
1,886
Location
Sunny Bournemouth!
Visit site
Questions:
-How do you manage to get them so tight? I pull them really tight but by the time I sew them in the top bit is a bit raised again!

-Why do his plaits always come out flat and super messy when I take his hood off in the morning? I use lots of gel & spray! Should I revert back to old tights?!



I try so hard! They take me 90mins and they look beautiful and perfect when I finish-But in the morning they are a right mess like they've been in for days!

I couldn't bare to do them in the morning, he's an impatient fidget and I'm a stress head on show day!

Step by step guides please!

We have a qualifier in hand show next weekend and I want him to look as booootiful as can be!
 
I always plait the night before, just not enough time (takes me nearly an hour to plait up!) and I am all fingers and thumbs as I'm stressed! They come out perfect, and more than good enough for showing (I am an uptight perfectionist so there is no way I would do this if they didn't stay nice!). Over night they are either left as they are, or I pop a full neck rug on.

Try not to plait freshly washed mane, it is too slippy to be able to get the plaits tight.
I must admit I find it easier without any spray/gel etc as anything seems to make it a little slippy. I just brush over with a wet brush to keep the flyaway bits stuck together.
I spearate a bit and then plait as tight as I can all the way down the plait and then stich the end up, before rolling (rather than folding) the plait up to the base of the mane and stitching in place.

I find sewing the plaits helps me get them much tighter. If you are doing less plaits at the moment then maybe try plaiting up smaller sections of mane to help you get them tighter.

Do you pull the mane, or use a thinning comb/solo comb? I find unless I pull that anything else gives me short hairs that I just can't pull into the plait and it makes the mane v v hard to plait up well. OH mare isn't v keen on pulling but if I do it in tiny bits every couple of days (after exercise is better) then she barely notices and it doesn't bother her.
 
not such a good picture but most recent, hadn't been combed
jack4-2.jpg


This is last year, but laid flat.

347.jpg


Sorry if they're massive!
Bummer, I thought that would be the response. My friend does hers the night before and they look lovely :(

I always plait the night before, just not enough time (takes me nearly an hour to plait up!) and I am all fingers and thumbs as I'm stressed! They come out perfect, and more than good enough for showing (I am an uptight perfectionist so there is no way I would do this if they didn't stay nice!). Over night they are either left as they are, or I pop a full neck rug on.

Try not to plait freshly washed mane, it is too slippy to be able to get the plaits tight.
I must admit I find it easier without any spray/gel etc as anything seems to make it a little slippy. I just brush over with a wet brush to keep the flyaway bits stuck together.
I spearate a bit and then plait as tight as I can all the way down the plait and then stich the end up, before rolling (rather than folding) the plait up to the base of the mane and stitching in place.

I find sewing the plaits helps me get them much tighter. If you are doing less plaits at the moment then maybe try plaiting up smaller sections of mane to help you get them tighter.
Click to expand...

I don't ever wash it & I think they are quite small already, although maybe I'll have a play during the week and see if even smaller=easier! :)
 
Last edited:
If you take 90 mins to do them I am not surprised you need to do it the night before but they will not be as good.
Try just plaiting down in the evening make sure they are really tight and banded at the ends, get your thread ready and in the morning damp the mane and roll up and sew in.
It should not take more than 15 mins and all the loose bits can be tightly sewn in.

The mane needs to be well pulled in the first place for plaits to go in well.
 
Is the top pic the sort of length it is when you plait? If so then I would take about an inch or even 2 off the bottom, long skinny plaits are impossible!! If the main isn't as thick as you'd like then just use scissors. If you comb the mane carefully down flat and then trim from the withers towards the ears, then point the (blunt ended!) scissors upwards and take little snips it will lessen the 'bowl cut' look and will look v presentable. Think shorter mane should really help you out.
 
I'd want the mane slightly shorter for good results unless you're a real pro. First few cross-overs need to be really tight. Easier to get a good result sewing rather than bands. If you plait night before use tights. Mostly its practice though. If you can, try & practice tight plaits on something with a frizzy mane, once you've mastered that a finer one is a doddle. And slightly dampen top of mane first, easier to get whispy bits in & to get it tight. Easiest way is also to get quick so you can do it in the morning.
 
Thank you! I will take some more length off it. It's quite thin so snipping is preferable, although frowned upon by my mum (I'll have to keep it a secret ;))

I wish I was a pro haha! :D I sew, and dampen.
I'll try to get quick, but only if he agrees to stand! :)
 
Pull or cut the mane so it is sorter but not too short. Don't put any mane and tail or conditioner in mane, ever. Use easy plait or another sticky spray, or spit on your hands (!). Band at the bottom, but sew up. :).
 
Lovely pony :) I agree re taking a bit of the length off. I asked for a pic in case it was one of those bog brush manes which never stay in well if done the night before but it looks like a nice mane. I love plaiting, shame you aren't a bit closer to me or I'd have said I'd come and give you a hand.
 
Tell you what, Suzi, if you're anywhere near me you are more than welcome to come on a plaiting visit :)

I am awful at plaits. I blame having short hair from a youngster, I never did the whole plaiting own/dolls hair thing so I have no clue how to do it now for my hoss. Fortunately I don't show, but I do hunt and occasionally do dressage, where I have to rely on kindly friends to help, or pay the yard to do it !

Saying that, I'm about to buy a horse whose mane falls on the wrong side, so friend has said if I plait it the right way and leave it overnight (unrolled), that re-trains the mane to fall on the proper side. I will be a plaiting expert at the end of that!

Ummm...or I decide I really don't care what side it grows on ?!
 
As everyone else has said i'd take quite a bit of length off, i always scissor my boys mane, he really suits it like a showjumpers mane lol
I always plait in the morning if i'm doing something, i tend to be to stressed to sleep well anyway so just means i'm doing something productive.
And practice practice practice i'm afraid, i enjoy plaiting and once i'm started and the mane is the right length it doesn't take that long
 
Bernster said:
Tell you what, Suzi, if you're anywhere near me you are more than welcome to come on a plaiting visit :)

I am awful at plaits. I blame having short hair from a youngster, I never did the whole plaiting own/dolls hair thing so I have no clue how to do it now for my hoss. Fortunately I don't show, but I do hunt and occasionally do dressage, where I have to rely on kindly friends to help, or pay the yard to do it !

Saying that, I'm about to buy a horse whose mane falls on the wrong side, so friend has said if I plait it the right way and leave it overnight (unrolled), that re-trains the mane to fall on the proper side. I will be a plaiting expert at the end of that!

Ummm...or I decide I really don't care what side it grows on ?!
Click to expand...

Haha you probably aren't far from me - I work in London! My horses are in Kent though, which is where I live (hate hate hate commuting :( ) It is true that with some manes you can more or less retrain them to lie on the correct side but it does take a lot of work.... I have a TB whose mane lies on the wrong side but I just keep it short and thin and plait it on the right - this means I have to pull it from the right too otherwise the regrowth would be on the wrong side, if you see what I mean.
 
I agree, you need to plait in the morning. I use a very thin wool as thread, rather than cotton, and cut 12 inch lengths of it and plait it in from about half way down the plait, then twist it around the end to secure it, thread it into the needle then roll up the plait and secure. I find this gives the neatest appearance.
 
lol seriously though practise really is the key - keep at it and post some before and after pics on here to inspire you to keep going?
Click to expand...

This is a fantastic idea :)
Sunday morning early wake up call is looming... His mane is 2" shorter now and he looks cute! :)

Thanks wagtail *writes down & makes mental note*

I have always folded, I will roll on sunday! I think it may require a post with before & after pics ;)
 
Ron's mane is about 4 inches long at the most. I never shampoo it, and I never put any sprays or gels in it. Ron's mane is really thin at the top and near his withers and mega thick between, so they can end up looking crowded in the middle when he's needing his mane pulled.

Have a play about with a comb and some bands and work out how big a section of mane you need each to be in order to make an odd number of even sized plaits.

If I plait up the night before then I stitch them in. Takes a little longer, but makes them look neater and stay in better. I usually put 13 plaits in his mane, not that he has a long or short neck particularly, just because it makes the plaits a nice size for staying neat.

if you have lots of bits that stick out, try doing each one as a mini french braid to help hold those bits in.

IMO using a stretch hood will flatten your plaits and push them out of shape. Use a loose fitting hood if you must, or no hood at all is better still.

As for sorting the fidget.... Ron used to be, but the more we did it the better he's got. he's better if he's loose and if he's got haylage to eat. I put his haylage in the corner and line him up against the wall, and put my tub down next to his shoulder to stand on, and that sort of encourages him to stand still and eat his haylage whilst I plait up. if he's in a strop I'll put his head collar on and put one foot on the lead rope! :)
 
You need a reasonably thin pulled mane of the correct length.

Fold if using plaiting bands, roll if sewing.

Don't try to plait a recently washed mane, if you must wash it, use washing up liquid as it doesn't make it bouncy.

I've never had any success with using hoods or tights over plaits the night before, and its always better to plait the morning of the show if you have time, but if not, I use hairspray the night before and this usually leaves a good result!
 
I dampen the mane with a body brush dipped in a bucket of water and then sprayed with hairspray; this gives the mane quite a tacky feel so its easy to plait and get a grip on and keeps in all loose hairs. Then seperate, and plait down as tight as possible ( My plaits lie flush to the neck when unrolled as the top is so tight!) Band the bottem, and tuck the little bit at the end back into the band so theres no spikey bit at the bottom, and then for showing sew up, anything else i just band. Manes should be the right length to fold twice and form a neat 'button'.

I can do three manes in about an 1 hour when sewn up and 45 mins banded and other people pay me to do it now and it used to take me hours- practise! :)
 
To help keep the "wispy" bits in place, dip your figures in egg white.......it's a bit messy/sticky but does work on mine xx
 
i have read all the replys, but I would pull it a little shorter from the 1st picture. Wet it with water, LOTS OF WATER!
Split into sections.
then band in the plaits at the bottom, do all up the neck, then tread or band together, go from bottom to top if you right handed then you do rub them out with your arm, and top to bottom if left handed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top