Pulling manes...magic tools??

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DipseyDeb

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Help....my boy gets the hump and I don't have the patience to stand there forever doing a little bit at a time...(and it makes my arm ache!) any magic tools you use that you could recommend??
 
A solo comb would stop your boy getting moody as its got a blade that cuts he mane rather than pulls it..only thing is the mane grows thicker as its being cut so i end up then having to use thinning scissors.
 
Mane rake from the underside to thin it, then solo comb to finish (backcombing a bit at a time before using the blade) - takes me about 10/15 minutes.
 
Do NOT use a solo comb... they chop bits of hair at different lengths and it grows back like a bottle brush and looks awful. I've lost count of the number of horses manes I've had to rescue after a solo comb "attack".

Use a mane drag every day to thin it over time, and shorten length by point cutting with scissors - so brush mane all over neatly and cut the tips in the same direction as the hair, just snipping at the ends, because you are snipping, rather than chopping the hair at right angles, it looks natural and pulled.

If you need to you can then just pull a couple of bits every day and don't have to start a marathon session which upsets your horse. I find most horses only need thinning (i.e. pulling) in the middle of the neck where the mane is thickest, and you can control the length with point cutting.
 
A dog coat thinning too, only about a tenner from ebay or most pet shops, fantastic item and much nicer effect than a solo comb. I use one of them to thin in out and then occasionally use scissors to shorten it, if you use scissors like a hairdresser (i.e cut UP the hair not across) it looks fine. Thankfully Henry is pretty good to have his mane pulled but especially over winter when it’s cold I tend to use the above method. No one has ever noticed that I cheat :D
 
Polotash said:
Do NOT use a solo comb... they chop bits of hair at different lengths and it grows back like a bottle brush and looks awful. I've lost count of the number of horses manes I've had to rescue after a solo comb "attack".
Click to expand...

Errr - maybe you have, but not if you do it properly!
 
Mrs B said:
Errr - maybe you have, but not if you do it properly!
Click to expand...

I don't use them, I just have to sort out liveries and pupils horses when they muck them up and come to me in tears!

Perhaps there is a way to use them that doesn't make a hideous mess but i've never seen it. Since it works on the premise that it cuts hair as you pull through it's bound to cut hair from the whole length of the mane, not just snipping the ends, so it's bound to make it thicker... as other people on this post have noted.
 
I used a mane rake at the beginning of the year and was REALLY pleased with the results until........ now. Eugh, mane's never looked so rubbish. I guess it's all the short bits growing back now but really, it does look mank. I'm going back to using a thinning blade and a mane-pulling comb once it grows back a bit. I guess, like with all things, mane pulling gadgets are best used in moderation!!! :p
 
Mrs B said:
Mane rake from the underside to thin it, then solo comb to finish (backcombing a bit at a time before using the blade)
Click to expand...

This exactly. I was told not to use a solo comb when I first got my pony but he would rather kill me than let me pull his mane so I had to try something different. I think the key with the solo comb is to make sure you only do small bits at a time and I always cut the mane at an angle.
 
I agree with Polotash about the solocombs cutting the hair at different lengths, my horses previous owner used a solocomb as you cant get near him with an ordinary pulling comb and it looked lovely sitting there but try plaiting a mane which has been trimmed with a solocomb is a nightmare and you get left with all these sticky out bits! I was lucky that my boy didnt have too thick a mane so I used to trim it with scissors but NEVER cut horizontally comb the mane through then snip up the way with the scirrors (similar to how a hairdresser trims the ends of your hair) this provided a neat looking mane and all the hair the same length to plait!
 
When I've raked the mane from the underside to thin it, I only use the solo comb to trim length, backcombing very slightly, again from the underside - so I guess a similar action to scissor blades. Then just use the blade action to trim any stray hairs to the same length... but there again, I don't plait him!

Mind you, it was easier with polo ponies - just hog 'em:D
 
Have to agree with Polotash, the solo comb sounds wonderfully easy to use and get a good result on, but in practise its a dangerous piece of kit!!
I have been threatened by my daughters never to touch one again. There is probably an expert way to use it, but I sure as hell dont have it. I leave it to the expert mane pullers!
 
My boy is very sensitive to me pulling his mane, do went down the solo comb route and mane rake thingy.... Gave up and just hogged him in the end :)
 
never pull manes as god it hurts - well some one pulling my hair hurts me !!- I (or rather my gorgeous daughter) back combs and snips so get a soft line - nice mane happy dozing mare and no sore fingers either - result
 
Im no good at pulling manes but at the stud to get all the length off stud groom usually cheated anf used a mane thining come, get the thickness off and then use it to chop the length off, just sort of pull it across at the rough length you want it then all you have to do is tidy up the ends instead of pullin the whole mane. Much easier when you got bout 100 tb broodmares to do.

had a quick look and something like this is what we use.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Smart-Gro...Horse_Wear_Equipment&var=&hash=item800f1f74b7
 
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