spanish/running/french plait...?? Im confused!!

[oliviacharley]

Im rubbish at plaiting up....just cant see to get it right and my horse normally ends up at shows looking like he has doughnuts up his neck then neat little plaits!!
So im going for the arab/spanish plait which I seemed to pull off tonight...
I was just wondering if people can give me tips on plaiting up....?? Do you do it the night before, wet the mane, gel, hairspray...?
Any advice would be great to help me out....my horses has fine hair too....

 

[Weezy]

No way will a running plait stay in over night IMHO. It needs to be done fresh, on dirty hair (it will fall out quickly on very clean hair) and you can use a little gel/spray to lay the top bits down if they are wispy. You need to have a play with how tight to do it to suit your horse because it does depend on how much they use their neck

 

[DuckToller]

Agree with Weezy, it needs to be done on the day and dirty mane is best. I also now sew along the plait to keep it in, especially the middle bit. I have a great video of my daughter on her hairy 11.2 doing a dressage to Elvis test, and as she cantered round to Return to Sender, the plait very slowly but determindly unravelled from the middle section and fell out. Ooops.