to plait or not? (dressage)

W

welshied

Well-Known Member
Joined
12 March 2009
Messages
2,119
Visit site
Taking my welsh d to his first dressage test next week (only walk and trot) but do i leave him 'au natural' or plait him up? his mane is already pulled
 
I always feel it is respectful to the judge to plait and have good turn out. probably gone now as i'm a little old fashioned by todays standards
 
I do dressage with my new forest and I don't plait him - not because i am disrespectful of the judge but because I turn him out to breed standards and am proud that he is a native pony. I also wear a tweed jacket and tie rather than navy and stock.
 
If mane is already pulled then plait but if, like me you have natives with fairly long/ thick manes, it's almost impossible to plait neatly and evenly. I would hope judges wouldn't penalise me for not having plaited, particularly as ponies are native m&m (and live out 24/7) but if they do then there is nothing I can do. Certainly don't want to pull, trim and shave my beautiful girls' hair.
 
If they're true natives with full on feathers and unpulled mane then plaiting is very difficult- unless you do a running plait, of course.

I'd plait him up :)

(ignores the fact that for local unaff. dressage, Reg just has a damp body brush over his mane, because plaiting is faff... Looks just as smart. For anything 'proper', or eventing, he is plaited though!)
 
You wont necessary look messy if not plaited and it has not stopped my pony winning and beating the plaited warmbloods and no judge has ever commented on him not being plaited.

BE staff are saying it is ok not to plait for the dressage for eventing if you have a native but could not find anything for BD.

http://www.britisheventing.com/messages.asp?topicid=9115&section=00010001000200490001

I also think that things are changing with more native ponies and traditional cobs moving up the ranks unplaited ponies and cobs are becoming more accepted.
 
Last edited:
My welsh D has a fairly longish mane and I have plaited and left him natural.
I tend to go by the weather as the wind can make him look a bit scruffy!! I like to leave him to his breed standards though because I'm proud of my native. I think if your pony is clean and well presented, it doesn't matter. Just present him at his best- whether that is plaited or not.
 
As his mane is already pulled I would plait him up.

I usually do the mane and leave the forelock. If it wasn't pulled then I'll not bother.

You can get away with just rubber bands - no need to sew it IMO.
 
Plait it looks so much smarter, my connie is always plaited for dressage and it looks so much smarter that way.
 
I have a welsh D and we go plaited, his mane is pulled too. The only time we didn't was last weekend as the weather was so terrible and he lives out that his mane was a nightmare and all frizzy, so we opted to brylcreme it down and go native for the day - a few others had done the same!!
 
Sorry to hijack...am in same boat but with an Exmoor, mostly do unaff but made aff debut last week (was a little naughty but that's another story :o) his mane is huge, thick and long, should it be in a running plait, he's an Exmoor so pretty much the most native of the natives, I always thought unplaited but this thread has me worrying?
 
KidnapMoss said:
Sorry to hijack...am in same boat but with an Exmoor, mostly do unaff but made aff debut last week (was a little naughty but that's another story :o) his mane is huge, thick and long, should it be in a running plait, he's an Exmoor so pretty much the most native of the natives, I always thought unplaited but this thread has me worrying?
Click to expand...

I'd leave it natural - just turn out same as you would a showing class, even a running plait would be difficult to get into an exmoor mane!! I have seen a couple of highlands at aff. left natural, no one has a problem with this, and it's nice to see our native breeds competing amongst all the warmbloods!!
 
With my connie I do whatever I feel like. Sometimes I do normal plaits, sometimes I do native. I've never had a negative comment about either way, and it seems to bare no reflection on more marks.

I've also written for a lot of dressage tests, and only once had a judge comment that she wished native ponies were plaited. And even then, she was a professional and didn't undermark the test of said pony.

So really, go with what you feel like/want to do!
 
It's an ettiquette thing!

Plaiting your horse is a mark of respect to your horse and the dressage judge. For long manes a running plait looks good. Sometimes though if I've competed a horse with a scrawny neck leaving the mane free tends to visually bulk up the neck.

One pet hate I have is bling browbands in dressage - recently had to deal with one that was so blingy that it distracted your eye whenever the sun caught it.

I remember the days when you showed a dressage horse in a plain cavesson noseband bridle. Needing anything else showed the judge that you had mouth issues.
 
I always plait as a symbol of looking smart and it's respectful to turn yourself and your horse out well, for your own benefit as much as the judges. That and I enjoy plaiting...

ETA- Hoping to get out SJ this summer too, and plan to plait for that.

With regards to the bling browband the Tnavas mention, K has a very subtle one and it looks like a plain browband, but with just a little decoration which I think is very smart, IMHO anyway.
 
If you can plait neatly then do so, if not leave it au natural but as neat as possible.

There's nothing in the rules to say that you should plait so you won't be penalised.

I've always plaited for dressage but I do a lot of writing and not a single judge has remarked about unplaited horses!
 
maisie06 said:
I'd leave it natural - just turn out same as you would a showing class, even a running plait would be difficult to get into an exmoor mane!! I have seen a couple of highlands at aff. left natural, no one has a problem with this, and it's nice to see our native breeds competing amongst all the warmbloods!!
Click to expand...

This makes me feel better...everything else we turn out as we would for dressage, inc navy jacket, long boots, white saddle square, no ones ever said anything in fact most people just come to say hello becuse he's a bit of a novelty but I'm worried about the judges now...first impressions and all that...maybe I will practise a running plait although I fear that he literally has to much mane, I can't touch it as his day jobs a show pony :D

This is the best photo example of the mane I can find...impossible task? :o

Mossy2011208.jpg
 
KidnapMoss said:
This makes me feel better...everything else we turn out as we would for dressage, inc navy jacket, long boots, white saddle square, no ones ever said anything in fact most people just come to say hello becuse he's a bit of a novelty but I'm worried about the judges now...first impressions and all that...maybe I will practise a running plait although I fear that he literally has to much mane, I can't touch it as his day jobs a show pony :D

This is the best photo example of the mane I can find...impossible task? :o

Mossy2011208.jpg
Click to expand...

He's cute! I'd leave it as it is, its perfectly acceptable to leave a M+M au natural like you would for a M+M show class :)
 
Think i will plait as sweetitch means we don't really have a tidy mane to leave it natural but plaiting up tends to hide his bad bits it will be his first ridden comp so at least we will look the part if nothing else
 
KidnapMoss said:
This makes me feel better...everything else we turn out as we would for dressage, inc navy jacket, long boots, white saddle square, no ones ever said anything in fact most people just come to say hello becuse he's a bit of a novelty but I'm worried about the judges now...first impressions and all that...maybe I will practise a running plait although I fear that he literally has to much mane, I can't touch it as his day jobs a show pony :D

This is the best photo example of the mane I can find...impossible task? :o

Mossy2011208.jpg
Click to expand...

I have the same problem with Hoopy - I really don't think I'd be able to put even a running plait in her mane, so think I will go natural when we make our dressage debut next month!
 
The exmoor is absolutely gorgeous and i would not plait him I think he would look smarter just the way he is.

It is really hard to plait running or traditional a thick native mane which is pulled to the correct length for showing for some breeds and to look smart.

I know many traditionalists like plaited manes but many of them have traditional style dressage horses as well.

I have to say I like doing dressage on a native pony, I like that he looks different to the big horses and that he is not plaited. I also like it very much when he wins. I am not being disrespectful to the judge as there is nothing in the rules that says he has to be plaited and I am always polite.

My friend who has an arab also does not plait her arab.
 
Thanks he is rather handsome!

This is him in dressage mode...so apart from the mane everything else is as it should be...(apart from his silly face, mid whinny :o)

HM4DEC.jpg


....better example of his amazing mane, I think I will leave it as it is, convinced now! I think he looks smart! Thank you SO1 I was worried I was being disrespectful to the judge but feel better now. We don't yet win but we do have fun and it's nice showing that natives can be all rounders :)

wwaprilcoke.jpg


Musileemoo..hoops? Exmoor hoopy? Hi!*:D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top