PRE / Spanish horse people: mane length for dressage?

Andiamo

Andiamo

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Hi to the Spanish horse fans,

I have a lovely gelding, with a stunning long flowing, wavy mane.
That's the good part - it's beautiful!!

The downside is that it is a lot of maintenance, I spend more time plaiting and combing and washing than I spend on my own hair!!! Also, when plaited, it is just soooooooo long, that it is not possible to get it right up to the crest, and it flops down, and within 20 minutes of riding, he looks like he's been dragged through a hedge backwards. I want it to look neat and tidy for dressage tests this summer, and want it right up / tight at the crest so that he looks really smart.

Should I shorten it? reduce the length? Right now the longest part of it is about 2 and a half feet long!! I'll never do "showing" with him, he is just for dressage, so is it OK to give him a wee bit of a trim? or is it sacriligious / a hangable crime? ;)

There are two other Spanish dressage horses on the yard, and their manes only come down to the underside of their neck...they look very smart when plaited, and the plaits stay in place and tight. I'm thinking about giving a trim to this sort of length.

What do you think? (please be nice!)
 
Nooooo!!! If you don't want to dressage him with his stunning flowing mane - my personal choice - you could part it down the middle and do 2 plaits, one down each side of his crest. It will make him look even more gorgeous than having just one tight plait.
 
Don't shorten it, you will regret it.
I would avoid washing (hardly ever do this with my PRE). Use either baby oil or the Cowboy Magic show sheen stuff in the spray bottle. I rarely brush unless it desperately needs it.
I leave my boy's mane loose during the day unless it is very hot and then I plait in rat's tails. BUT I always plait when I ride (schooling or hacking) as I find the mane gets caught in the reins otherwise. It takes me about 4 minutes as I've done it so many times now so is not really a hardship
Agree that you need to do 2 plaits. You will find that if you stand on a box and plait with your hands higher than his crest you will have more chance of getting a tighter result.
 
My spanish type doesnt ever get his mane washed. Im growing it out because I had to hog it awhile ago but its looking lush now :) Basically, once/twice a month I spray mane n tail detangler in the mane, brush comb through it and then plait it in a few sections, usually big ones lol I usually leave it plaited up and every few days I comb it through and replait to keep it easy to maintain. This works for my horse but it may not for others
 
My friend's Andy has his down/unplaited all of the time including competing BD. It's nearly down to the top of his foreleg now. She just keeps it combed and sprays it with mane and tail conditioner.
 
Split and do two plaits either one down either side or one with the middle section of mane then the other over the top.

Are you plaiting the night before? Because that never works. Either plait load and go or plait when you arrive at the show.
 
Nooooo, please dont shorten it, for shows do a running plait this is my boy ready for a show.

mane.jpg


Mane2-1.jpg
 
I appreciate all your tips everyone :) Spanish Tapas and Sangrini for everyone

I don't actually wash it - in 8 months I've probably done it twice, and only because it was filthy, caked with mud. I can't leave it down, as it gets really tangled when it is loose - even just in the field or in his box. One little draft and it's completely tangled. I don't like riding with it long because it gets caught in the reins...had a little incident once where he took off at 100 mph suddenly - I went to take up the reins, and all I got was handfuls of mane! ;) ...from that day on it has been plaited!
I put a mane conditioner in it every couple of days. Most of the time it is just in a few long plaits to keep it out of the way, it doesn't look that smart, but it's fast and functional.
For special events, or when I have time, I do the running plait up at his crest, but within minutes it has flopped over, and slowly is falling apart, it doesn't stay tight (even though it starts off that way). I will try the two plaits, one down each side. Geez, one of you can do a running plait in 4 minutes!!!! That is seriously impressive!!! I can manage it in about 8 minutes, but that's as fast as it gets!!
His long black wavy mane is absolutely stunning, I love to look at him when it is down and flowing, he looks gorgeous :) ....so I will leave it as it is, keep plaiting. But it's just going to keep getting longer and longer! I don't think I want it down around his knees!! ;))

I will try to get some pics of it.

Thanks for all your advice!
I saw some recent pics of a PRE in a dressage comp, and it had had it's mane cut short like a warmblood...a bit of a shame! I find the mane is part of what makes them so special! :)
 
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