Trimming a long mane short

[BBP]

I'm thinking PRE/Fresian/Arab type long names. How many of you have trimmed yours to a more sports horse type look? My horse is 3/4 pre and 1/4 Welsh b. Some people think he looks very Spanish and that the long mane is fine for him, other people say he is more a sports pony type and would really suit a short mane. His mane is about 12 inches long and never gets any longer. It's think and tidy enough and doesn't offend me in any way but it's not the beautiful unicorn like big flowing mane of a lot of spaniards (or my sisters semi retired Connemara x!). We were discussing the other day if I should try trimming it and see if I like it but I'm not even brave enough to cut my own hair!

Sadly I'm not on Facebook right now and no longer have photobucket so can't post a photo for opinions, but I'd love to see yours if you have done similar.

(Note: pony and I don't do anything serious, so he doesn't have to look a certain way and I won't pull it so it would be a strategic blade trim and thin, but I do take pride in my horse looking smart when out and about)

 

[Meowy Catkin]

CM is an anglo-arab and twice over the years that I've owned her i've had to cut her mane short due to her 'dreadlocking' it. I just couldn't get the tangles out, so I used scissors to cut the main length off and then managed to brush out the short length that was left. I then used a thinning tool to make it look a bit less of a bodge job. Show horse people would probably prefer her with a short mane as she is a hack type, but TBH, I'm so used to long manes now that i don't find short ones aesthetically pleasing anymore, so I'm glad that it grows back again.

 

[honetpot]

I think this looks quite good, if you want to plait
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFgNcbJ-pNI
My young stock natives get done once a year. If its really long I cut a few inches off and then use a mane rake to do the ends or thin it, it gives it a natural look.

 

[Chinchilla]

Hmm well our Shetland had a mane that was below his elbows, had to be at least a foot long, (which is pretty extreme for something 36" high) - it wouldn't have been an issue but he is rather fond of shoving his head in patches of teasels....so we clipped it to about half what it was originally, straightened it up with scissors and are now waiting for it to grow a bit so the ends can be pulled to make it look more natural.

 

[Leo Walker]

Cut it to just below the required length then cut up into it to soften the edges. So hold the scissors pointing up towards the sky and take tiny little snips up and down the mane until it looks natural.

 

[BBP]

Thanks all. I guess the worst that would happen is he looks wierd and it grows back!

 

[Fleece Navidad]

I have a Connemara, (so not quite PRE/Arab level long flowing mane) who can grow some serious mane, but he lives out all year round and the necks of the rugs wreck his mane, so when I get fed up of it looking wonky, I shorten it.

Old pics of a long mane

Current short mane - a little shorter than I'd really like

Three days under a neck and it's ignoring gravity a little

The reason for the current short mane

Start by shortening it a little, and gradually bring it up, that way if you decide you don't like it it won't take too long to get back to what it was. But as you said, hair grows!

 

[NZJenny]

I hogged my Arabian for endurance. He hated having it pulled and got far to hot under it long.

 

[Gazen]

I love long thick manes. My horses are allowed to grow their manes.

To keep the mane tidy I damped it down, comb through then then fluff it up. Using scissors take off 2-3 cm in a nice straight edge. Comb through and fluff it up again and snip off any wonky bits. Then use thinning scissors diagonally on about the first cm or so and it looks completely natural and neat.