What to do with Thoroughbreds mane?

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AGAGE

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Not sure what to do with Teds mane. He refuses to have it pulled, even when sedated following teeth rasp! As such, I have had to trim it with scissors and thinning rakes for the past 4 years of owning him. I'm not very good at making it look straight or presentable; it's either far too short or wonky!

I don't know whether to attempt to grow his mane, and save myself the trouble of trimming it. I've never known any tb's with long manes to know if it looks all right or a bit strange. When I worked as a groom all the horses manes were pulled.

At present his mane is the longest it has ever been- about 5 inches. We don't compete anymore, so don't need to worry about plaiting it.

Ted has a thick mane but not much of a forelock- in fact it's quiet an embarrassing collection of a few strands of hair and some fluff- so not sure how he would look with a mane and no real forelock.

Do thoroughbreds look o.k. with manes? Or is it a strange look?

I realise the only way of knowing if it suits him is to try and grow it, but wondered if any of you had tb's with longer manes.
 
Hi Silverted,

My young warmblood has a strange mane, its very thin and lucky for me does not need to be pulled
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I cut it with scissors to keep it short and neat, but always do it when she has a mane full of shampoo which stops it looking cut, as it never drys totally straight.

If I was you I think I would stick to the rake and scissors and keep it nice and smart
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Gem
 
i use a thinning knife and have on all the horses i worked with to, it gives a really natural result if you do it right, i used to make the mistake of pulling it a wee bit to short now i just make it a wee bit to long and it looks far better, they seem to accept the knife no prob, if i stayed near you i'd of offered to do it for you but i'm in scotland lol x
 
I had the same problem with my TB - he didn't used to let me near it! This was because he'd been 'Tubed' & they'd been quite rough with him. He therefore wouldn't let anyone near his neck (or mane). We have since overcome this but it took a couple of years.
The only way round it was to use a Solocomb. Because he could barely notice this he was fine! He was still a bit funny about me doing the bits up the top of his mane (by ears). You may find a Solocomb is the answer as he can't feel it & it gives a more 'natural' look.
Might be worth a try - Good luck!
 
I used scissors on my TBs mane. You get used to it after a while, it dos take abit of pratice to get it neat, i usally cut it and let it settle and then finish it off by trimming it again the next day. Saves the arguement of pulling with my horse =]
 
at the moment i am in agree with smurphy. my boy has a thick mane and doesn't like it pulled/solo comb or scissors. so i just do it a bit at a time. my mare has a very odd mane and has lost half of it due to rugs this winter (not amused) i usually solo comb it, it is so temping just the hog it and start again but she is so pretty i don't think it would suit her
 
generally tbs suit a hog imo lots of polo ponies are tb types and are generally hogged also the horses in the kings troops are hogged and they look so very smart
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x
 
I've always had a pulling obsession but then i bought Charlie who wont let me touch it with a pulling comb!

I've found the best thing is to use one of those tail rakes on it and then scissors for any horrendous long bits. I usually do it far to short then i dont have to do it very often as it looks better when its grown out a little.

Good luck with it!
 
I have the same problem with mine and decided to bite the bullet and i have just twitched him for the first time in four years and pulled it absolutely no problem and for once it looks lovely rather than the solo comb bogbrush!!

Sharonxx
 
Have you tried a Solocomb? Used correctly (ie. slowly and only a few hairs at a time) it gives a finish almost identical to pulling minus the discomfort for the horse. I think long manes on TBs look terrible really, makes their necks look really weedy and horrible.
 
Thanks for all your responses. I think I will go out and buy a solo comb and a thinning knife, and have a try. I haven't used a solo comb in years. Twitching him is also very difficult- I would guess that his previous owners twitched him, as as soon as he sees the twitch, he hides and lifts his head as high as he can and generally becomes impossible!

I'll see how the solo combs etc. work out and if still looks awful ,I might hogg him. Previously when I accidentally trimmed his mane far too short -he had moved quickly and as he did so, I snipped a huge chunk out of his mane, and made the decision to try and make it straight, but v. short about 1.5 inches long. When this happened his mane seemed to go into shock and it stuck up vertically, as if it had been hogged and grown slightly and I was surprised that he actually looked quiet nice.
 
We've let our TB's mane grow and to be honest it doesn't look great. It makes his neck look very weedy. He's out of work atm so there's not been much point in doing much with it as it's an extra layer of warmth if we end up turning him away. Normally we cut his mane with scissors. My husband's efforts are diabolical and so I end up tidying it up!
 
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